I recently spoke at a men’s health event, and a powerful stat caught my attention: men die, on average, seven years earlier than women and experience higher mortality in 14 of the 15 leading causes of death in the U.S.

The reason? A lot of men delay going to the doctor.

But here’s what hit me: women do go to the doctor and we’re still not getting the care we need. We’re showing up, speaking up, and too often… we’re being ignored.

After working with thousands of women over the past decade, I can confidently say the problem isn’t a lack of effort from women. It’s that our system isn’t designed with women in mind. Most of what’s taught in medical school is still based on male biology.

The Problem:

Women face a full-on epidemic of underdiagnosed and undertreated chronic conditions. These aren’t just stats. They’re the patterns I see every day in clinical practice:

• Osteoporosis: 80% of those diagnosed are women. One in two women over the age of 50 will suffer a fracture related to bone loss.
  
• Autoimmune Disease: 80% of all autoimmune diagnoses occur in women.
  
• Alzheimer’s Disease: Two-thirds of cases are women.
  
• Thyroid Dysfunction: Women are 5–8x more likely than men to develop thyroid issues.
  
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS): Women are 2–3x more likely to be diagnosed.
  
• Migraines: Up to 3x more common in women than men.
  
• Metabolic Dysfunction: Hormonal changes during perimenopause and menopause lead women to accumulate more visceral fat, increasing the risk for diabetes, stroke, and heart disease, the leading cause of death in postmenopausal women.

And here’s the worst part: even though women are more likely to seek care for these issues, they’re less likely to receive timely, accurate, or effective treatment. It starts with delayed diagnoses and often, it ends in symptoms being normalized, brushed off, or completely missed.

The Diagnostic Delay Dilemma

One of the most frustrating patterns I see in our practice is how long it takes for women to receive a proper diagnosis. Many of our clients spend years (sometimes even decades) being told their symptoms are “normal,” “age-related,” or “in their head.”

Endometriosis? The average diagnosis takes 11 years. 

Autoimmune disease? Eight years. 

Even cancer and type 2 diabetes are diagnosed significantly later in women than in men—up to four years later for diabetes, even when symptoms are present.

Every one of those years is time lost. Time when conditions could have been prevented, reversed, or at the very least, better managed.

And if a woman is lucky enough to receive a diagnosis? 

She may still receive less aggressive treatment compared to men. Cardiovascular disease is the number one killer of postmenopausal women, yet a systematic review found that women are less likely to be hospitalized than men with the same health conditions, more likely to be misdiagnosed, and pay 18% more out of pocket for care. 

Employer-sponsored coverage provides $1.34 billion less for women than men in the United States.

Why Are Women Being Dismissed?

If you’ve ever felt like you were begging someone to take your symptoms seriously, you’re not alone. This isn’t in your head, and it’s not “just stress.” I hear this from women every single day.

The truth is: women’s symptoms often show up differently than men’s. And too often, they’re minimized because they don’t fit neatly into a diagnostic box.

Fatigue. Bloating. Brain fog. Mood swings. Pain that moves or can’t be explained by imaging. These are real symptoms with real root causes but many women are told they’re “just stressed,” “too sensitive,” or “getting older.”

We see this play out in our work all the time:

• A client with debilitating GI symptoms was told it was “just anxiety.” We discovered significant dysbiosis and food sensitivities and within six months, her symptoms were gone.
  
• Another client in chronic pain was told she had a “low pain tolerance.” Three months into an anti-inflammatory protocol, she was pain-free.
  
• Too many women are told, “This is just a normal part of aging.” Then they follow a personalized plan with us and feel 10 years younger.
  

Part of the problem is systemic. About 80% of pain studies are conducted on male subjects even though 70% of chronic pain sufferers are female. We’re applying male data to female bodies and expecting the same outcomes. It doesn’t work.

Adding to this problem is the fact that many conditions present differently in women than in men. For example, cardiovascular disease—long stereotyped as chest pain and left-arm numbness—can present in women as nausea, fatigue, or gastrointestinal discomfort. 

Without proper training in these gender-specific variations, providers may overlook serious diagnoses.

Together, these factors contribute to a medical system in which women’s symptoms are too often dismissed, misunderstood, or inappropriately treated, delaying care and undermining trust between patients and practitioners.

The Biggest Blind Spot in Medicine: Perimenopause and Menopause

Of all the gaps in women’s healthcare, the one that frustrates me the most? Menopause and perimenopause.

Perimenopause and menopause aren’t just about hot flashes. They’re about metabolic shifts, bone loss, mood changes, brain fog, insulin resistance, and increased cardiovascular risk. And yet, most doctors aren’t trained to treat it.

• Only 31.3% of OB/GYN residency programs in the U.S. include menopause education.
• Fewer than 7% of primary care providers feel adequately trained to treat menopause-related concerns.
• Just 20.8% of residents report having formal menopause training, and when they do have it, it’s often just a single rotation.

And fear-mongering around hormone therapy as a result of misinterpreted data from a 2002 Women’s Health Initiative Study still prevents many women from getting the support they need. 

These gaps lead to a fundamental misunderstanding of the biological changes that are happening in women that can contribute to dysfunction and disease if not well managed.

What’s at Stake Without Hormonal Support?

The hormonal changes that happen in perimenopause and menopause don’t just lead to uncomfortable symptoms. They can increase the risk of developing major chronic disease if not properly managed.

• Osteoporosis: Women lose up to 20% of their bone density in the first 5–7 years post-menopause due to decreasing estrogen levels.
• Cognitive Decline: Estrogen regulates neurotransmitters and reduces brain inflammation so a reduction in estrogen contributes to poorer neurotransmitter synthesis.
• Mood Disorders: Women in perimenopause are twice as likely to report depressive and/or anxious symptoms due to plummeting progesterone levels as well as wildly fluctuating estrogen levels.
• Autoimmune Disease: The risk of developing autoimmune disease increases due to the hormonal fluctuations of perimenopause.
• Cardiovascular Disease: Loss of estrogen leads to higher LDL and vascular inflammation, making heart disease the leading cause of death in post-menopausal women.
• Type 2 Diabetes: Abdominal fat, weight loss resistance, and insulin resistance increase with hormonal changes.
  

We see these patterns play out every day. One of our clients, a 46-year-old woman, gained 10 pounds in a single month without changing her diet or exercise. After running a DUTCH hormone test, her progesterone was low, especially when compared to estrogen, which occurs in perimenopause. After three months of targeted support (diet, lifestyle, and supplements), she told us, she “popped like a balloon,” losing the weight that felt impossible to lose. 

What Women Can Do Now

This revolution in women’s health is happening, but it’s not happening fast enough. While we push for systemic change, there are things you can do right now:

• Trust your body
  • You know your body best. If something feels off, make sure it gets the medical attention it deserves. Never let a practitioner tell you that a disruptive symptom is normal or not a problem.
• Change providers if needed
  • You do not have to stay with providers who you feel do not take you or your symptoms seriously. 
• Seek root-cause practitioners
  • Your symptoms are never siloed, even though the medical system is set up to address your conditions separately. Find a practitioner who looks at how all of your symptoms, lab values, and conditions play together to target the root cause.
• Don’t accept “you’re just aging” or “it’s in your head” as answers. Keep asking “why”, until someone helps you find the answer.