Our guest this week is Dr Carys Sonnenberg, a highly qualified and experienced GP and menopause doctor, with a passion for women’s health.Carys qualified as a doctor in 1996 and has been a GP for over 20 years specialising in women’s health and menopause. She runs a women’s health clinic in her NHS practice where she helps patients manage their contraception, PMS, PCOS, endometriosis, and menopause. Carys founded Rowena Health so that she could also provide top-quality care to more women and set up a clinic where she can practice at the highest standard.Last year we met Dr Carys Sonnenberg in Parliament Square at the Menopause Rally and instantly knew we wanted to have a longer Menopause chat for the podcast. Dr Carys wants women to live life to the fullest in menopause and tells us that our metabolic health is not something we can see and it’s not a sexy topic but it is very important for our future health. We find out that there are around 3.5 million women living with a heart or circulatory disease (including heart disease and stroke) in the UK. Heart attacks kill an average of more than 70 women every day and people from some ethnic backgrounds are more prone to insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome.So what is Metabolic syndrome?Have you ever been told that your body has become resistant to the hormone insulin, leading to high blood sugar levels?Are you concerned about High blood pressure?Has your waistline got bigger in menopause, is it greater than 80cm?Do you have unhealthy levels of blood fats ?These are a collection of ‘health risk factors’, and having three of these might suggest you have metabolic syndrome. Dr Carys explains what Metabolic Syndrome has to do with Menopause, what exactly insulin does and what insulin resistance is and how it affects us, now and longer term health. Plus what we can do about it, Metabolic syndrome is not to be feared but learned from. We also ask Carys about Statins and high cholesterol an more. This is a conversation you don’t want to miss. We continue with our Book Collective, Femina by Janina Ramirez and this week we chat about chapter 5- Polymaths and Scientists. We meet Hildegard a medieval nun who writes about orgasms, advocates for abortion and describes her Visions/menopause migraines? There’s a book heist too - it’s a humdinger of a chapter! One of our lovely collective has sent in a biscuit recipe for our Foodie Collective, Grantham Ginger Bread.Ingredients:100 grs butter or margarine. 350 grs caster sugar. 1 egg, beaten. 250 grs self-raising flour. 5 ml ground ginger.Method:Grease and line 2 baking sheets. Heat oven to 150°. Cream butter and sugar together in a bowl until pale and fluffy. Gradually beat in the egg. Sift the ginger and flour into the mix work in with a fork to form a dough. Roll the dough into walnut size balls. Place on the baking sheets apart. Bake for 40-45 minutes. There’s a fantastic quote from Jinty and we meet the vigilante group of women from Enfield North London that are keeping their children safe on the streets. We look at the harmful chemicals in some sunscreens and the Gender Health gap of the week! It’s another episode brimming with chat, your comments, and all the usual shenanigans. So, settle in for this hour(ish) podcast full of meaningful chat. .To watch the full un-edited interview, go to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFgmHLcdx28eco-XlkWYwUAOur campaign for a Menopause Clinic in Devon is moving closer but we still need signatures on our petition: https://www.change.org/p/wheresmyclinicOr to send your testimonials please email us: menopauseclinicdc@gmail.comAnd finally, if you would like the templates to send to your MP or CCG please visit our website: https://menopauseclinicfordevon.co.uk Dr Carys Sonnenberg:W: https://rowenahealth.co.uk/author/carysadmin01I: @drcaryssonnenbergI: @rowenahealth_menopausecareF: Rowena Health Menopause--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/womenkindcoll