Womankind

The government has renewed its commitment to women's health. But how much will really change in practice? The UK government published a renewed Women's Health Strategy in April 2026, setting out reforms aimed at addressing longstanding failures in how the NHS identifies, assesses and treats women. The strategy was published by the Department of Health and Social Care alongside NHS England, and covers gynaecological care, menopause support, pain management, menstrual health ed

The research on vitamin D has moved well beyond bones and sunlight. Here is what women need to know about its wider role in the body. Most women know the basics: not enough sun means not enough vitamin D, and not enough vitamin D is bad for bones. That part is true, and it matters. But it is also a fraction of the picture. Vitamin D is now one of the most researched nutrients in medicine, and the emerging science places it at the centre of everything from immune function to c

Millions of women are living with perimenopause without knowing that is what it is. A study published earlier this year in Menopause, the journal of The Menopause Society, has found a striking gap between the symptoms women associate with perimenopause and the symptoms they actually experience. The research, conducted in collaboration with Mayo Clinic and the women's health app Flo, surveyed 17,494 women from 158 countries and is the largest global study of perimenopause know

What happens in the gut does not stay in the gut, especially when it comes to hormones. Most women are aware that oestrogen is produced by the ovaries. Fewer know that the gut plays a significant role in determining how much oestrogen actually circulates in the body at any given time. A review published earlier this year in the journal Nutrients has brought new attention to a mechanism that sits at the intersection of gut health and hormonal health, with particular relevance

Assessing what stage of menopause you are in is key to managing symptoms and making changes to your lifestyle.