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This week on Live Well Be Well, I'm joined by the extraordinary Dr. Nighat Arif, NHS GP, women's health advocate, author of The Knowledge and the brand new The Family Health Bible, and one of the most courageous voices in medicine today.

Dr. Nighat has spent nearly two decades in the NHS holding space for the women the system has failed and she's built an online community of millions by doing exactly what she does in her surgery: speaking honestly, clearly, and without shame about the things nobody else will say.

Here's What We Dive Into:

- How a dare from Dr. Nighat's sister during lockdown sparked a global conversation about vaginal dryness and why she chose to begin it in Punjabi.

- Why perimenopause can begin as early as 38 to 40, and what the research says about Black and Asian women going through this transition two to five years earlier than average.

- How medical gaslighting and medical misogyny show up in real consultations including Dr. Nighat's own experiences of being dismissed as a patient, both for PCOS and for lichen sclerosis.

- Why Dr. Nighat now recommends that women start moisturising their vulva and vagina from the age of 20, and which ingredients to avoid.

- How the vaginal ring works, why it's barely spoken about, and why the seven-day pill break has more to do with the Pope than with medicine.

- Why Trump's defunding of women's health research and the framing of female bodies as a "business opportunity" is one of the most urgent issues facing medicine right now.

Love,

Sarah Ann 💛

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If You Enjoyed This Episode, You Might Also Like:

Why You Still Can’t Orgasm (The Step-By-Step Guide) | Dr. Laurie Mintz, Sex Therapist

https://youtu.be/gr6RWK2LFJE

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00:00 Intro

00:47 Breaking the Taboo on Vaginal Dryness

03:30 The 3 AM Patient Story That Redefined Perimenopause

07:24 Understanding Your Hormonal Journey from Puberty to Midlife

10:21 Why Black and Asian Women Reach Menopause 2-5 Years Earlier

17:33 When Your Doctor Tells You to "Grin and Bear It"

22:18 What Women Need to Know to Reclaim Their Bodies

34:52 Why Nutrition and Lifestyle Are Your First Line of Defense

39:20 The Postmenopausal Brain Rewires for Confidence

58:35 From Lichen Sclerosis to Spotting Cancer Early

01:05:48 How to Moisturize and Protect Your Vulva as You Age

01:12:21 Why No One Is Talking About the Vaginal Ring (But Should Be)

01:23:10 Funding, Defunding, and the Future of Women’s Health

01:47:42 How Grassroots Equity is Closing the Healthcare Gap for All Women

Why Doctors Keep Ignoring Women’s Symptoms | Dr. Nighat Ari

Live Well Be Well with Sarah Ann Macklin | Health, Lifestyle, Nutrition