Empowered Health

Endometriosis is a disorder where the endometrial tissue– tissue similar to that of the uterus lining– appears in other parts of your body, usually in the pelvic region, but could spread as high as your lungs. An estimated one in ten American women have endo, however, many women remain undiagnosed. On average, it takes a decade to finally get a diagnosis. That’s a long time to deal with chronic pain, being dismissed, and the stress of it all. There is currently no cause or cure, leaving many in the dark about what’s going on with their bodies. We talk with some of the women who have endured endometriosis along with experts Dr. Stacey Missmer, the scientific director of the Boston Center of Endometriosis, and Dr. Ken Sinervo of the Center for Endometriosis Care.

This episode is a continuation from episode 16 of our conversation with investigative reporter Gary Taubes, author of "Good Calories, Bad Calories", "Why We Get Fat", and "The Case Against Sugar." Taubes has written extensively on how dogmatic beliefs around a low-fat diet are flawed and how bad science has contributed to that. If you haven't listened to that conversation from last week, we would suggest you do that first.

Gary Taubes is an investigative science journalist who has spent the last 40 years covering controversial science. Back in 2002, his New York Times Magazine piece "What if It's All Been a Big Fat Lie?" led Taubes to gain recognition as one of the few reporters taking on the challenge of questioning the conventional dietary wisdom. The article turned into a deeper investigation of the medical science establishment, resulting in his best-selling books “Good Calories, Bad Calories” and “Why We Get Fat: And What To Do About It.” In the first episode of a two-part series, Taubes discusses how questioning “pathological science” has caused him to bump heads with the scientific community. Pathological science is a term used when scientists trick themselves into believing what the want the result of their studies to be, not what the results show.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in men and women alike, but the symptoms, causes, and outcomes differ among the sexes. Heart disease is a catch-all for many cardiovascular conditions, so for this episode, we are focusing on small vessel disease. Women tend to get blockages in the small vessels, whereas men have plaque build-up in their large arteries. Cardiologists Dr. Janet Wei of the Barbara Streisand Women's Heart Center at the Cedars-Sinai Smidt Heart Institute and Dr. Giulia Sheftel of Newton-Wellesley Hospital discuss how these blockages happen, Yentl Syndrome, and the interplay of estrogen and heart health.

We spend a great deal of time on Empowered Health discussing how sex differences affect culture and science, but accounting for gender identity is key to an all-encompassing understanding of health issues. Author and activist Sarah McBride joins us to discuss the complexity of gender identity. McBride is a transgender advocate who works as the press secretary of the Human Rights Campaign. During her senior year at American University, known for its hyper-politicized campus in the heart of D.C., McBride made headlines when she came out as transgender while serving as study body president. Since then, she had a critical role in passing legislature banning gender identity discrimination in Delaware, was the first openly transgender person to address a major party convention, and published a book detailing her experience in the fight for transgender equality.

In Italy, pregnant women are likely to enjoy a glass of wine once a week. In Japan, sushi remains a staple for dinner even during the third trimester. In America, women are told over and over again that these items, and a laundry list of others, must be restricted during pregnancy. Economist Emily Oster breaks down the typical pregnancy recommendations with data-driven research in "Expecting Better" to provide women a better understanding of the choices they can make during pregnancy. Oster's latest book, "Cribsheet", weighs the pros and cons of sleep training, breastfeeding, and the many other decisions parents have to make during early childhood.

Nearly 12 million U.S. women and girls aged 12 to 52 are living in poverty. This 40-year age range spans the average American's menstruating years. If most of these females are struggling to afford food, how can they be expected to buy tampons? For low-income menstruators, the financial burden of menstruating makes the monthly occurrence even worse. The American College of Obstetrics estimates two-thirds of low-income women don't have enough money to buy menstrual products at least one time per year. Nadya Okamoto of PERIOD. The Menstrual Movement and Kate Sanetra-Butler of Dignity Matters, two leaders working to end period poverty, break down why it should be a right to health for every woman to have access to menstrual products. Colorado Rep. Leslie Herod fills us in what it's like to get your period in prison and the bill she sponsored to better those conditions.

In November 2018, Chinese scientist He Jiankui announced the birth of the first CRISPR babies. You may have seen CRISPR popping up in science news over the past few years, but still don't really understand what it is. This week, bioethicist Francoise Baylis breaks down what exactly this gene-editing technology could mean for humanity, from futuristic super senses to disease-resistant babies. 

Every hour an American veteran dies by suicide. Behind every one of them, a wife, girlfriend, partner and often young children are left trying to process the loss and their new future. Who cares for these survivors? How do we, as a country, honor them? Turns out until recently we weren’t. This episode will answer those questions and draw a parallel between those veterans who are traumatized by a comrade’s death abroad and the women who have a similar experience when they lose their loved ones at home.  

Pornography in the United States is a massive business; some reports estimate it brings in approximately one trillion dollars in annual revenue. In this episode, we look at the differences in how women and men consume porn, how it impacts relationships and its influence on society at large. We discuss pornography's cultural implications with Samuel Perry, professor of sociology and religious studies, Cindy Gallop, CEO of MakeLoveNotPorn, and Dr. Gail Dines, anti-porn scholar and CEO of Culture Reframed.

Author Sarah McColl discusses her memoir "Joy Enough", a tribute to her late mother. McColl joins Empowered Health for a conversation on the mother-daughter dynamic, transitioning through periods of loss, and experiencing joy during life's ups and downs.

There has been a commonly held belief that there was nothing one could do to prevent Alzheimer's. Dr. Dale Bredesen has found that your memory's fate isn't necessarily sealed with an APOE4 gene. The neuroscientist's research shows that lifestyle changes may actually be the key to starving off the disease before it's too late.

The solution to the U.S. maternal mortality crisis lies in understanding the problem. Data collection, bias taught in medical school, government intervention, moms advocating for other moms, rouge-OB determined to disrupt the status quo, a not-for-profit invested in getting this right and one mother's story of how she almost died– we get into it all in just an hour.

Over the past few decades, the maternal mortality rate has continued to decline in all the developed countries– except for the United States. Women today are twice as likely as their mothers to die before, during, or after childbirth. For black mothers, this risk is even greater.

Could your time of the month alter the way you experience marijuana? This week we look at how estrogen heightens the effects of THC, what getting high during pregnancy means for the fetus, and why CBD is all the rage right now.

In this bonus episode of Empowered Health, we did a follow up with Dr. Gabbay and Dr. Hallberg in response to Monday's episode on diabetes

For years, type two diabetics have been treating themselves with insulin injections and other medications. The medical team at Virta Health has introduced a new method to not only treat type two diabetes but potentially reverse it: a low-carbohydrate diet.

Bottling up anger has been linked to a degrade in overall health, especially in autoimmune diseases where 75% of American patients are female. We discuss this and other ways women are psychologically and physically suppressed in society with Soraya Chemaly, author of the bestselling book ”Rage Becomes Her.”

Earlier this month, the media began pumping out headlines about "keto crotch", an unpleasant odor downtown plaguing women on the ketogenic diet. The timing of this media blitz and the lack of research on the phenomenon seemed suspicious, so we decided to investigate.  

Created and hosted by journalist Emily Kumler, Empowered Health stems from a history of frustration in finding reliable information on women’s bodies and how to best care for them. Each week, we will be breaking down the barriers of health misinformation and arming women with the knowledge they need to live healthier, happier lives.