MORE and more these days, I find my consultations morphing into a lifestyle coaching session. Conversations mostly surround dietary choices, sleep habits and strength training. My goal isn’t just to prescribe or operate, I’d rather help women take control of the lifestyle choices we already know are driving their health. You see, women’s health on a whole is shaped not only by medical care or family history, but by daily lifestyle choices. What we eat, the products we use, and even how we move our bodies all influence gynaecological well-being.

External exposures

Beauty should not come at the cost of health. I was always taught that not everything that’s easy is necessarily good for you…and the beauty industry thrives on convenience. Recent testing of synthetic braiding hair revealed harmful chemicals such as volatile organic compounds and lead, with potential to disrupt hormones and cause long-term damage. Hair relaxers, which have been used for decades, have been linked in large cohort studies to higher risks of fibroids and uterine cancers. Gel manicures, cured under UV lamps, expose hands to radiation that damages DNA and raises skin cancer risk. The risk is significant enough for the products to be now banned in Europe…yet we still use them.

Nutrition from within

Food, on the other hand, can be protective. Women with low vitamin D levels are more likely to develop fibroids, and supplementation has been shown to slow their growth. Combining vitamin D with green tea extract has led to fibroid shrinkage of up to 30 per cent in some studies. N-acetylcysteine (NAC), a supplement with antioxidant properties, has been shown to reduce endometriosis pain, slow cyst progression and even shrink some of them. Omega-3 fish oils and turmeric also demonstrate anti-inflammatory effects that benefit pain and reproductive health.

Movement as medicine

Just as important is how we move. Exercise lowers systemic inflammation and reduces insulin resistance, both key drivers of gynaecological disease. Strength training deserves special mention – by building muscle, it improves metabolism, stabilises hormones, and protects bone health across a woman’s lifetime.

Women must be vigilant, not only about getting regular well woman visits, but be cognisant of what goes into and onto the body. Beauty, food, and movement choices are all silent prescriptions for long-term health.

Dr Ryan Halsall, MBBS DMOG FACOG FMAS, is a consultant OBGYN | Minimally Invasive Surgeon. He operates ILAP Medical, Suite 2, 22 Windsor Avenue, Kingston.

Dr Ryan Halsall.