Historians debate the exact decade modern medicine began. Maybe it was in the 1860s, when antiseptics and vaccines became more widely available. Maybe in the 1920s, when penicillin and insulin were discovered.
What we know for sure is that, no matter where you peg its start, it’s taken more than a hundred years for mainstream medicine to recognize that, as physiologist and nutrition scientist Dr. Stacy Sims puts it, women are not just small men. Women’s bodies have their own distinct alchemy of anatomy, hormones, and physical abilities that require different approaches, treatments, and solutions.
The Livelong Women's Health Summit brings together a number of top experts in the fields of women's health and longevity.(Courtesy of Livelong Media)
“Women’s health has historically been understudied, underfunded, and misunderstood in general,” says Katie Gaudu, executive co-founder and COO of Livelong Media. “Women were not even widely included in clinical trials until the early 1990s.”
Even today, though science is evolving quickly in areas like hormonal health and brain longevity, says Gaudu, women's access to those new findings remains uneven. “Women often feel like they’re piecing together information from social media about conditions like menopause and bone health,” she explains.
Democratizing that knowledge is the driving force behind the Livelong Women’s Health Summit coming to San Francisco April 17th and 18th. “The event revolves around the core pillars of women’s health,” Gaudu continues. “Of course, the practical things we can do like nutrition, exercise, and sleep, but also looking at some of those specific challenges and hormonal cycles that have been historically overlooked.”
As a center of innovation in health tech and longevity science, the Bay Area was a natural fit for this year’s Livelong Women’s Health Summit. “The Bay Area has an incredibly engaged community of women that are smart and well educated,” says Gaudu. But as far as conferences go, this one isn’t exactly typical.
The Livelong Summit isn't your typical conference.(Courtesy of Livelong Media)
There are expert panels and TED Talk-style presentations, yes, but there are also walking meditations, a social connection lab, dance breaks, and “a few other fun surprises.” Movie star and paragon of health and activism Jane Fonda is the keynote speaker. Others like Sims, a leading expert on how women should fuel their bodies differently than men, and OB/GYN Dr. Mary Claire Haver, author of The New Menopause and The New Perimenopause, won’t just be speaking at attendees but engaging them in Q&As and discussions.
The agenda of sessions held on the main stage on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning reads like a laundry list of the most pressing women’s health issues, most of which the majority of us know little more than the basics: “Understanding Your Hormonal & Ovarian Clock,” “When Estrogen Leaves the Building,” “Cellular Mechanisms of Aging,” “What You Must Know About Your Heart Health.” Before breaking for lunch on Saturday, attendees gather to put together a concrete 90-day longevity blueprint with Harvard-trained physician and New York Times bestselling author, Dr. Sara Szal Gottfried.
Breakout sessions and workshops on Saturday afternoon dive deeply into topics like stress, the gut-brain axis, GLP-1 medications, and hair and hormones. Attendees can choose one, or several, of the 30 90-minute breakout labs that follow, small-group conversations facilitated by experts on everything from endometriosis and fertility to chronic disease prevention and career longevity. Between sessions, perusing an exhibit hall featuring women–centered health and wellness products coming to market from more than 75 brands and vendors will be time well spent.
The Livelong Women's Health Summit will be held at The Masonic in Nob Hill.
“The goal for us is to just make credible health info more accessible and actionable,” Gaudu says. Arming women with deeper, more complete knowledge about the latest science gives them a better understanding not just about how to make the right choices for health and longevity, but the actual scope of what those choices are—something that’s still difficult to find in a doctor’s office.
“We know women are living longer than ever; the real question is how well we live,” says Gaudu. They’ll find all the answers they need at the Livelong Women’s Health Summit.
// Livelong Women’s Health Summit will be held April 17-18 at The Masonic, 1111 California St. (Nob Hill). Get more info and $50 off tickets with the code 7x7 at livelongwoman.com
