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"If you're apple- rather than pear-shaped, with a tendency to gather fat around your waist, you'll know how difficult it is to keep slim. What you may not know is how dangerous the fat around your middle really is (more so than fat on your thighs or bottom), increasing your risk of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure and certain cancers.

"Because of where the fat sits on your body, normal diets, even rigorous exercise regimes rarely work. However I have devised a simple lifestyle plan that does...

"Periods can be missed both at the beginning and end of our reproductive life. In the beginning, when we enter puberty, hormones can take a number of months to settle down into a proper rhythm. Much the same thing occurs as we move towards the menopause, and missing periods can be quite common. There are also natural reasons why we do not have periods – for example, during pregnancy and while breastfeeding. However, if you suffer from an...

"Up to 70 percent of women in the West experience breast changes that fluctuate with their menstrual cycles. Their breasts can feel so tender, swollen and/or lumpy that the discomfort is unbearable. Some women complain that they canﾒt bear to be hugged, and find sleeping very difficult because they can't get comfortable.

Are there any symptoms?

"The symptoms are grouped under a variety of different umbrella terms, including cyclical breast pain, cyclical mastalgia (which literally means breast pain), cyclical mastitis or fibrocystic breast disease. Despite their severity and the disruption they can cause, most breast problems are...

"What is a smear test?

A cervical smear test is a simple test designed to detect abnormalities in the cells of the cervix. It is also called a Pap (Papanicolaou) smear after the doctor who invented it. A small instrument called a speculum is inserted into the vagina and a spatula is put inside this in order to reach the neck of the womb (the cervix). Cells are gently scraped from the surface of the cervix, smeared onto a glass slide and then sent to a laboratory for examination...

What is cystitis?

"Cystitis is an inflammation of the bladder, and it can be the result of infection, irritation, or bruising, or even a combination of these three factors. Women are more prone to cystitis than men because the tube (urethra) that runs from the bladder to the outside of the body is much shorter (about 5cm/2ins) in women than it is in men (about 18cm/7ins). This means that bacteria can more easily travel to a woman's bladder than it can a man's. What's more, the...

"Endometriosis is a very common gynaecological condition which can affect up to 15 percent of all women. Half of all women with endometriosis will be infertile. After fibroids, endometriosis is the most common gynaecological problem. The National Endometriosis Society estimates that between 1.5 and 2 million women in Britain have endometriosis. In the US that number is closer to 5 million.

"Endometriosis is more common in childless women over the age of 30. It is now believed that endometriosis is...

What are fibroids?

"Fibroids (also called myomas) are non-cancerous growths in or on the muscular wall of the womb (the myometrium). They can vary in number and size, according to the individual. Doctors will refer to the size of a fibroid in terms of a developing baby that size – in other words, 12 weeks. Some fibroids can be as small as a pea, but others can be as large as a...

"Like the menopause, pregnancy is not an illness but a natural event but there can be complications and uncomfortable symptoms that can be distressing and even debilitating for some women. It's also very important that you know how to reach and maintain a state of optimum health in order to prepare for a comfortable pregnancy and the delivery of a healthy baby.

"At more than any other time, you will be considering what you eat when you are pregnant. The responsibility of feeding (indeed, growing!) another human being should never be taken lightly. You need to know...

"Every woman's periods are different, and it can be difficult to assess whether or not your bleeding is heavier than it should be. Periods are obviously a personal subject, and most of us have no way of knowing if our bleeding is the same as that of our friends or anyone else. How do specialists gauge it? Well, thanks to a number of women who...

Hysterectomy is the most commonly performed operation, and it has, over the past decades, been used to ‘solve’ all manner of female problems. Hysterectomies are rarely performed to save lives, many are unnecessary and the most common reason for a hysterectomy is heavy periods. Frankly, the removal of a fundamental part of a woman's body for this reason is nothing short of scandalous...

"Over the past twenty years, fertility problems have increased dramatically. At least 25 percent of couples planning a baby will have trouble conceiving, and more and more couples are turning to fertility treatments to help them have a family. On average, young couples can expect to wait an average of three years before conceiving, and, as a result, very few doctors will...

"Suffering from irregular periods is a fairly clear indication that your cycles have become imbalanced. There are a variety of reasons for this, which we will discuss below, and also many ways to address the imbalance. Many women are unconcerned about having irregular cycles until they begin trying for a baby, but other women find it very...