Women’s Health Conversations 2025, a two-day summit held in Orlando, Florida, brought leading menopause medical experts together to present education on a biological shift and what women can do to feel well during their Second Act. The event kicked off with a VIP event with Dr. Mary Claire Haver, The ‘Pause Life.
“Unbreakable” and Women’s Health Conversations 2025
Dr. Vonda Wright is well-known and often cited for her work in publishing The Musculoskeletal Syndrome of Menopause. The paper reviewed current research on the effects of menopause on muscles and bones. It has been downloaded almost 500,000 times and is open access on the internet, free and accessible to all. Three months ago, Dr. Wright published a book titled Unbreakable. Dr. Wright founded Women’s Health Conversations, a gathering of menopause medical experts to relay education to clinicians, health professionals, and everyday women (and a very few men). This was the summit’s second annual meeting.
Women are 51% of the population. This gender drives 85% of consumer purchases. Women are powerful, economically— but not treated that way in research or healthcare. Of the $48 billion the National Institute on Health spends on health research, only $4.6 billion is on research specific to women. The speakers at Women’s Health Conversations are devoting their careers to learning and leading in this space. Here are some of the summit’s takeaways.
When most people think of struggles of midlife women, they think of hot flashes. Perimenopause is a transition of fluctuating hormonal levels leading up to menopause. Symptoms include: frozen shoulder, itchy ears, body odor, underarm odor, achy joints, burning tongue, vertigo, heart palpitations, brain fog, increased allergies, rectal pain, crawling skin, itchy skin, dry mouth, increased cavities, urinary tract infections, dyspareunia (painful sex), bloating, indigestion, gas, anxiety, mood swings, food cravings, clumsiness, and decreased desire for sex. We’re talking about more than just kicking off the bed sheets.
Dr. Jayne Morgan, Women’s Health Conversations 2025 (Photo courtesy of Luxe Creative)
Both men and women experience hormonal shifts in midlife, said Jayne Morgan, M.D., a cardiologist and women’s health expert. In a session titled “Heart, Hormones, and Menopause,” she answered the question of “Shouldn’t menopause just be allowed to proceed, uninterrupted, since it really is just part of the natural aging process?”
Not only does menopause increase the risk of heart disease in women, but when we look at things like the ‘natural aging process,’ we can look at things like erectile dysfunction, which is also a part of the natural aging process (in men). Consider all the hormone therapies available – think Viagra to injectables and intraurethral suppositories, penile pumps, penile implants, even testosterone therapy. So when you look at that argument about the “natural aging process,” is that really an argument? Or is it just that just good old fashioned gender bias in the healthcare system?
–Dr. Jayne Morgan, Women’s Health Conversations 2025
During and after menopause, health risks amplify for women. Heart disease is the number one killer of women. The risk doubles during menopause. In early life, a woman’s risk of heart disease is less than a man’s. During menopause, it is equal to that of a man. After menopause, it is greater than that of a man. The calf muscles are the heart of the legs. They are an indicator of vascular health. According to Dr. Jayne Morgan, the stronger your calves, the stronger your heart.
Dr. Louisa Nicola, Women’s Health Conversations 2025 (Photo courtesy of Luxe Creative)
Biological changes in menopause start with the brain. The brain is forever changed with menopause. In a lecture titled “The Brain Code,” Dr. Louisa Nicola explained that her research is specifically on the brain and midlife women. She is concerned about aging women and the risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease. Dr. Nicola doubled-down on the global Alzheimer’s Disease prevalence. 55 million people worldwide have Alzheimer’s Disease. That number, she said, is going to triple (165 million) by the year 2050. TWO-THIRDS OF ALL ALZHEIMER’S PATIENTS ARE FEMALE.
Dr. Mary Claire Haver noted that, on average, women experience a 20% increase in LDL cholesterol in midlife. (You can remember “LDL” as your lousy cholesterol.) “Lifestyle,” she said, “is the most important thing for longevity, but even active women will deal with metabolic changes with menopause.” (See “How to apply well-being” below for lifestyle deposits.) Dr. Haver is the author of The New Menopause: Navigating Your Path Through Hormonal Changes with Purpose, Power, and Facts. In April 2026, her new book, The New Perimenopause, will be published (available for preorder now).
Dr. Mary Claire Haver, Women’s Health Conversations 2025 (Photo courtesy of Luxe Creative)
Estradiol (E2) in women drops, dramatically, for most women between their mid-forties and mid-fifties. This crash affects muscle, bone, cartilage, and satellite cells. While men’s testosterone declines slowly, women’s hormones fall off a cliff— it explains a biological shift. Dr. Vonda Wright said, “When estrogen changes the very chemistry of our brains, no wonder we don’t recognize ourselves.”
Bye Bye Black Box
In a landmark decision on Nov. 10, 2025, the FDA ordered the removal of the “black box” on menopause hormone replacement therapy (HRT) products. The black box warned women of risks of breast cancer, dementia, cardiovascular disease and stroke. This warning was a result of the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) study in the late 1990s and early 2000s. This study has been widely criticised. (The women were older, average 63- many post-menopausal- and didn’t consider the main reason women turn to HRT: relief of menopause symptoms.) The reversal was twenty years in the works. Several of the medical doctors presenting at Women’s Health Conversations 2025 have spoken in front of congressional hearings on this matter. Dr. Vonda Wright sat in front of the FDA in July 2025 and advocated for the removal of the black box from vaginal estrogen. Doing away with the stern warning will lift fear that has caused countless women to suffer with symptoms of menopause.
“Fine means passable, and- ironically- it’s exhausting.” Dr. Vonda Wright, Unbreakable, xiii
Women’s Health In Real Life: How to Apply Well-Being
The key to feeling beyond fine, feeling well, is a domino stack of right decisions. Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) helps. It is not the only domino women have lying on the table. What are those dominoes? The answer may surprise you. There was nary a mention of spa days- besides the benefit of breath and meditation- in the advice given in Unbreakable nor at Women’s Health Conversations. The onus is on women to differentiate between what will help our health and what is a bill-of-goods. Fellow holistic health expert, Rachael Brown, and I put our knowledge to application at Orlando World Center Marriott.
Orlando World Center Marriott is a 2,010-room hotel (the world’s largest Marriott brand!) where Rachael Brown and Brook Benten put theoretical well-being to practice. (Photo courtesy of Orlando World Center Marriott)
High Fiber Food
Dr. Louisa Nicola said, “I want you to really hear me on this: every single thing you eat is either strengthening your brain or weakening it.” She went on to explain that one extensive, longitudinal study found that leafy green and cruciferous vegetables preserve your brain from cognitive decline (Journal of Neurology, 2018). A balanced gut microbiome can keep inflammation in check, allowing nutrient sensing to work properly. “On the flip side, an imbalanced gut microbiome can lead to low grade inflammation that interferes with nutrient signaling, potentially leading to issues like insulin resistance, obesity, and autoimmune disease.” Dr. Vonda Wright, Unbreakable, p.19. What you eat today will affect your gut microbiota tomorrow.
In my first book, Lift Light, Get Lean, dietitians Nicole Ninteau, PhD, MPH, RD, LD and Anna Cataldo, PhD, MS, RD, LD contributed this information about fiber: “If food moves too quickly or too slowly through the gut, it can cause serious GI distress and alter your gut bacteria for the worse. Adequate fiber consumption will help maintain blood sugar levels. Fiber has been shown to reduce the risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome. Choose foods that are naturally high in fiber, such as whole grains, nuts, legumes and vegetables, rather than fiber supplements. Beyond fiber content, these foods are also nutrient dense, meaning they supply a lot of vitamins, minerals, and other beneficial nutrients that supplements do not.” Brook Benten et al., Lift Light, Get Lean, p.24
MenoWell Menopause Energy Bars contain 9 grams of fiber and 7 grams of protein.
The USDA recommends 25 grams of fiber for women under 50 and 21 grams of fiber for women over 50. Dr. Vonda Wright recommends that active women set a goal of 30 grams. Eat leafy greens, non-starchy vegetables, nuts and seeds.
Cruciferous vegetables on the carrot hummus plate at Falls Pool Bar and Grill at Orlando World Center Marriott was my personal favorite for high fiber whole food to consume my daily fiber from the earth while traveling. (Pro tip: ask for double vegetables, no pita bread.)
High Protein Food
There is no macronutrient that Dr. Vonda Wright champions for active aging women more than protein. Protein is composed of amino acids. Amino acids are the building blocks of life. Protein repairs cells and tissue, makes neurotransmitters like serotonin, helps the body to heal, keeps the immune system strong. There is no food more essential for maintaining muscle and bone than protein. Dr. Vonda Wright, Unbreakable, p. 134
A protein is considered to be “complete” if it contains all essential amino acids that your body doesn’t make, naturally. Those are: histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, theronine, tryptophan, and valine. Bioavailability is the protein’s ability to be digested, absorbed, and utilized by the body. Animal proteins are bioavailable and provide all essential amino acids (complete protein!). Fish, poultry, eggs, and dairy products are good examples of complete proteins. It’s possible to adhere to a vegan diet and consume complete protein, but it’s going to mean combining two or more vegetables to make up for the essential amino acid missing. (For instance, rice and peas make a complete protein. Rice is high in lysine but low in methionine. Peas are high in methionine but low in lysine. When eaten together, voila! A complete protein!)
To be Unbreakable, Dr. Vonda Wright recommends that midlife women follow the USDA’s current guidelines for active women and aim for 1.4 to 2.2 grams of protein per kilogram of ideal body weight per day.
My guest, Rachael Brown, ate a veggie-loaded Greek salad topped with a heaping helping of complete protein (chicken breast) at Falls Pool Bar and Grill at Orlando World Center Marriott.
A rainbow roll from Mikado Japanese Steakhouse at Orlando World Center Marriott provides 20 grams of protein from salmon, yellowtail, tuna, crab and rice. That was my dinner. It was so delicious that I ordered a second for a total sum of 40 grams of protein.
Lift Heavy Weight
Strength training is crucial for preserving muscle mass. In chapter 8 of Unbreakable, Dr. Wright notes that without a weight training practice, aging can lead to a decline in muscle mass as early as our thirties! Dr. Wright refers to little pink dumbbells as “mamby pamby” weights. She implores women to lose the mamby pamby weights and pick up some heavy stuff. This was echoed by Dr. Mary Claire Haver. Dr. Haver said if she could go back and teach her younger self a lesson, it would be to back off of the marathon running and do heavy strength training. “Left to their own devices, women don’t lift anywhere near as much weight as they should. A recent meta-analysis showed that the average lifter selects loads equal to 53 percent of their 1RM (one repetition max). You would have to lift that weight dozens of reps to make muscle, and even then, it wouldn’t be sufficient for building the muscle strength we want.” Dr. Vonda Wright, Unbreakable, p.113
Orlando World Center Marriott has a fully-equipped 4,000 square foot fitness center. The strength training category is covered with an assortment of pin-placed selectorized equipment, plate-loaded equipment, assisted pull-up, adjustable benches, dumbbells, kettlebells, and functional fitness space for push-ups and core.
Cardiovascular Health and Fitness
As a personal trainer with 26 years of experience, I have trained countless clients who hate to run. They come to me, reporting that they want to improve their health and fitness, then proceed to tell self-effacing tales about how they’ve tried running in the past and it did not go well. They think I’m going to make them run anyway. It surprises me every time– not that they dislike running. It surprises me that they think of all of the hundreds of things a person can do to improve the health of their most vital, enduring organ (their heart), they have to run. It couldn’t be further from the truth. It is important to get some impact on the bones for bone health, so exclusively doing the recumbent bike, elliptical machine or swimming isn’t a great option for that reason. But mixing those with impact activities, like hiking, stair climbing, jumping rope, and rucking are viable options. There’s always a way to get heart-healthy movement in. Rucking is like walking with a weighted vest. The difference is the weight is all on your back and generally quite a bit heavier than a vest. Sliding on a rucksack and going on a power walk (a “power walk” for most people is 3.5-4.2 miles per hour. It is the fastest you can walk without transitioning to a jog) is an optimal way to get Zone 2 cardio while strengthening your bones by carrying weight.
Dr. Vonda Wright recommends the “80/20” method. Move at medium-effort levels (60-70% of what you would consider your “all out”) 80 percent of the time. Include intervals of max effort (90-100% of your all out) 20 percent of the time.
“The 80/20 method reduces DNA damage by increasing your natural free-radical fighting antioxidants and revving up your DNA repair crews,” writes Dr. Wright. “It improves cellular adaptability, fires up cellular cleanup crews and increases levels of anti-inflammatory cytokines. It even helps to maintain stem cell function and promotes tissue regeneration.” Dr. Vonda Wright, Unbreakable, p.97-98
I tossed a hefty load in my GORUCK rucksack and hit the 1.5-mile jogging trail at Orlando World Center Marriott for a power walk before attending Women’s Health Conversations. This cardio workout came with the added perk of breathtaking views and fresh morning air.
Sleep
When estrogen flies the coop, quality of sleep suffers. “Estrogen plays critical roles in falling and staying asleep. It helps with the metabolism of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that is the precursor to melatonin. Melatonin regulates our sleep-wake cycle.” Dr. Vonda Wright, Unbreakable, p.161
The problem with this can knock every other domino down. Insufficient sleep causes stress. Stress releases inflammatory substances into the bloodstream, which can aggravate heart disease or increase the risk of heart attack or stroke. It’s no secret that under stress, our ability to make sound health choices is compromised. We may stress-eat (not broccoli, tofu and quinoa!), drink alcohol, and stop working out. These unhealthy behaviors raise the risk of elevated blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, and heart disease.
There are choices everyone can make to create an environment conducive for sleep.
Dr. Mary Claire Haver, Women’s Health Conversations 2025 (Photo courtesy of Luxe Creative)
In a VIP Q&A with Dr. Mary Claire Haver at Women’s Health Conversations, Dr. Haver said that she fiercely protects her sleep. She said that she knows that if she has a couple of alcoholic beverages, she’s making a conscious choice not to sleep. Alcohol interferes with sleep. If we’re hoisting quality sleep to the top of our totem poles, alcohol doesn’t belong.
Avoid screens and snacks before bed. The blue light from a smart phone can suppress melatonin, making it difficult to fall and stay asleep. Natural sleep patterns are at odds with screen time. Digestion requires energy. It can disrupt sleep and also lead to weight gain.
The guest rooms at Orlando World Center Marriott feature plush comforters, new dreamlike mattresses, and floor-to-ceiling blackout curtains. Rachael and I are staunch practitioners of the aforementioned sleep disciplines. In our Queen/Queen guest room on property, we got regal shut-eye.
Mindset (Reframe Age)
Rachael and I had a blast traveling as two adult women, blazing down waterslides like twelve-year-old girls. Symptoms of menopause are not all in your head. But addressing them is actionable. You have to believe that you (yes, you!) can have fun and do adventurous things. The jubilee doesn’t stop with the hotel’s unique water attractions. Golf-lovers can check out Hawk’s Landing Golf Club, an 18-hole championship course designed by Robert Cupp, Jr. (Personalized instruction is offered on-site through Orlando Golf Academy.) Whether revisiting what you used to enjoy, like whizzing down waterslides, or trying something new, don’t let menopause pause your sense of curiosity and adventure.
Forbes voted Orlando World Center Marriott’s Falls Pool one of the “World’s Coolest Hotel Pools.” It boasts a 400,000 gallon zero-entry heated pool with waterfalls, two 200-foot winding slides, a 90-foot speed slides, kid’s splash zone and 4 jumbo televisions. (Yes, televisions in the pool, between waterfalls!)
Check out these incredible holiday specials at Orlando World Center Marriott.
Social Connection
Dr. Vonda Wright encouraged all attendees at Women’s Health Conversations to “Find Your Four.” Your four are four women that you can turn to and find solace when the meno-load gets heavy. (If four sounds like a lot, start with one!) She mentioned in “Unbreakable” that she suffered for three years, not knowing how to manage her hormones while trying all of her usual lifestyle practices. It was over a conversation with a midlife friend, a nurse, that she learned about compound hormones that ended up being a life-changer for her.
“As recently as 2019,” Dr. Vonda Wright wrote in “Unbreakable” and also mentioned at Women’s Health Conversations, “a survey published in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings reported that only 7 percent of U.S. resident physicians in family medicine, internal medicine, and obstetrics and gynecology felt sufficiently trained to help women during menopause.” Dr. Vonda Wright, Unbreakable, p.167
The dearth of menopause education in medicine is pathetic. (This is not a new phenomenon!) Conversely, a few close women trustingly bound together can carry the meno-motherlode. Midlife women are not broken. Midlife women are not “fine.” They are well women, navigating a new normal. As with most things, midlife women are better together.
Brook and Rachael lifted weights at the fitness center at Orlando World Center Marriott.
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Brook Benten, M.Ed., ACSM-EP, is an exercise physiologist, certified personal trainer, and wellness coach in Austin, TX. She has written three books, including a memoir, SWEAT with Brook Benten, and well-being guide, 10 Minutes to Slim and Sober. Her career started by leading fitness classes, starring in workout DVDs, and modeling as a cover girl for exercise equipment. She now speaks and writes for brands with women at the helm.
Cover image courtesy of Luxe Creative.