What we’re reading: Best women’s health books for this summer

In a world where knowledge is power, women’s health has emerged as a crucial subject that deserves utmost attention and understanding.

With the diverse and complex nature of women’s bodies and experiences, it is vital for women to have access to resources that empower them to take charge of their wellbeing. This is where the realm of women’s health books becomes an invaluable treasure trove of wisdom, compassion, and knowledge.

In need of a recommendation? These are the books we will be reading this season. Time to switch that OOO on and lose yourself in a smart summer read.

The Female Body Bible by Dr Emma Ross , Baz Moffat and Dr Bella Smith

The Female Body Bible was an instant Sunday Times Best Seller. Merging the latest science with the combined experience of its three expert authors: NHS doctor Bella Smith, sports research scientist Dr Emma Ross and athletic coach Baz Moffat, The Female Body Bible busts the myths and taboos that persist around women’s bodies.

This isn’t just a book, it’s a movement – a call to action. Every woman deserves to know more about her body and everyone, regardless of their sex, needs to know more about women’s bodies to remove the vestiges of secrecy and shame once and for all. This is the playbook of all the elements that go into getting the most out of your body, and a selection of strategies that you can try to find out what works for you and your incredible body.

Instead of prioritising how a body looks, we need to focus on how it feels and functions. When we listen to our body, understand how it works and embrace and nurture it, health, fitness and happiness will follow.

Everything You Need to Know About The Menopause (but were too afraid to ask) by Kate Muir

This is the thinking woman’s guide to the perimenopause and perimenopause by Kate Muir who also produced two ground-breaking documentaries with Davina McCall on the menopause for Channel 4.

The book is both personal and political, and debunks the myths and sloppy science around the menopause and the benefits of hormone replacement therapy.

Muir explains how women have been gaslighted for years about their symptoms, and told to “keep calm and carry on”, yet we now know that menopause can seriously affect mental health, with symptoms like depression, anxiety and sleeplessness.

The memory loss and brain fog which the majority of women suffer in perimenopause and menopause can really lower confidence at work, and in a UK survey one in ten women said they had left jobs due to menopause symptoms. That’s got to change.

The book also contains interviews with a diverse range of women about their experiences, and provides advice for those women who don’t want to take HRT. For those who do, there is good news: HRT doesn’t just prevent symptoms – it also helps lower the risk of osteoporosis, dementia and heart disease, as well as improving women’s sex lives.

The Definitive Guide to the Perimenopause and Menopause by Dr Louise Newson

The Definitive Guide to the Perimenopause and Menopause covers the key facts about hormones, their importance, and their effects on our bodies. It explores family histories and their effects on menopause, the complete guide to HRT, libidos, mental and physical health, how menopause affects our careers and relationships and so much more.

The book contains exclusive new medical research and answers the questions women most often ask Louise in her surgery. There are real stories from women who want their experiences to benefit others. And there is clear advice from other medical experts in related fields including neurology, nutrition, psychology, and oncology.

Dr Louise Newson says: “A lack of knowledge about menopause and access to treatment has left women needlessly suffering for decades.  Every day I receive so many messages from those who are struggling to cope and are desperate for answers.

“I have written this book to help women to feel informed, empowered and confident about getting the best menopause care, regardless of their age, background, or health history.

“From symptoms to treatments, and taking a holistic approach to health and wellbeing, this book is going to take away the guesswork for those going through menopause. I want this book to transform the way we think about perimenopause and menopause and to help everyone who reads it.”

Know Your Endo by Jessica Murnane

Endometriosis isn’t just about having “painful periods.” It can be a complex, debilitating, and all-encompassing condition that impacts one’s mental health, relationships, and career. Endo affects one in 10 women and girls across the globe, but even after receiving a diagnosis, many are still left in the dark about their condition.

In Know Your Endo , Jessica Murnane breaks through the misinformation and gives essential guidance, encouragement, and practical lifestyle tools to help those living with endo have more control and feel better in their bodies.

In this empowering and heartfelt guide, Jessica, who suffers from endo herself, shares a progressive five-week plan focused on learning a new management tool each week. Including sections on diet (with recipes!), movement, products, and personal-care rituals, Know Your Endo eases readers into a new lifestyle and arms them with the information needed to truly understand their condition.

Insights and help from endometriosis doctors and experts are woven throughout, as well as first-person accounts of how endo can impact every aspect of your life.

Finally, there’s a resource for all people suffering in silence from this chronic condition offering what they need hope.

Moody: A 21st Century Hormone Guide by Amy Thomson

There is a secret inside you which, once you understand it fully, has the capacity to unlock untold potential. Once you learn the science of your hormones, you will be able to harness it forever.

Hormones were something Amy Thomson, founder and CEO of the women’s health app and tech service Moody, never paid attention to, until one day her periods stopped and what had been an inconvenience each month became a barometer for her body’s health and mental happiness.

When she discovered that her hormonal burnout was driven by stress, she quit her job and focused on trying to understand how her body worked, to establish why and how she had pushed herself too far.

In this guide, Amy shares the research and science behind how our hormones work for twenty-first-century survival, how understanding them can help you build better and healthier routines, and why the systems and cycles inside us are an invisible but powerful force.

With insights from nutritionists, gynaecologists, endocrinologists, personal trainers and others, Moody provides a holistic and practical blueprint for understanding your hormones and optimising your life around them.

Up To Speed: The Groundbreaking Science of Women Athletes by Christine Yu

Over the last 50 years, women have made extraordinary advances in athletics. More women than ever are playing sports and staying active longer.

Whether they’re elite athletes looking for an edge or enthusiastic amateurs, women deserve a culture of sports that helps them training programmes and equipment designed to work with their bodies, as well as guidelines for nutrition and injury prevention that are based in science and tailored to their lived experience.

Yet too often the guidance women receive is based on research that fails to consider their experiences or their bodies. So much of what we take as gospel about exercise and sports science is based solely on studies of men.

The good news is, this is finally changing. Researchers are creating more inclusive studies to close the gender data gap. They’re examining the ways women can boost athletic performance, reduce injury, and stay healthy.

Sports and health journalist Christine Yu disentangles myth and gender bias from real science, making the case for new approaches that can help women athletes excel at every stage of life, from adolescence to adulthood, through pregnancy, menopause, and beyond.

She explains the latest research and celebrates the researchers, athletes, and advocates pushing back against the status quo and proposing better solutions to improve the active and athletic lives of women and girls.