The Equinox Women’s Health Advisory Board member answers your FAQs.
Discussions surrounding women’s health rarely get the care they deserve. Social media is flooded with long-disproved myths and baseless hacks meant to go viral. Meanwhile, artificial intelligence chatbots — which roughly one third of adults use for health information and advice — offer tips that can be inaccurate or, worse, put your health at risk.
It’s time to cut through the noise. Each month, the Equinox Women’s Health Advisory Board is opening up its inbox and addressing your most pressing wellness questions. Consider this your direct line to a group of leading women’s health experts across specialties.
In this installment, Advisory Board Member Kara Goldman, M.D., a double board-certified expert in reproductive endocrinology, answers your FAQs.
Have a wellness question for the Women's Health Advisory Board? Submit your query here.
People might not think about their ovarian health until they’re concerned about fertility. Why can this limited lens be a problem?
Dr. Goldman: The ovary is one of the most important — and most overlooked — organs in the body. For decades, we've viewed it primarily through the lens of fertility, but its influence extends far beyond whether someone can have children.
The ovary is an endocrine organ, producing hormones that shape the health of the brain, heart, bones, muscles, metabolism, and immune system throughout a woman's lifetime. Reproductive aging begins decades before menopause, making the ovary one of the earliest organs to show signs of aging. Understanding ovarian aging isn't just about extending fertility; it's about learning how to help women live healthier, longer lives.
What practices do you wish people would implement now to support their ovarian health in the long run?
Dr. Goldman: There is no single intervention that has been proven to preserve ovarian function, although this is an active area of research for myself and others. Many of the habits that promote healthy aging overall are likely beneficial for the ovaries as well. Regular exercise, good sleep, a nutrient-rich diet, maintaining metabolic health, avoiding smoking, and minimizing unnecessary environmental toxin exposures are all important places to start.
Just as importantly, I encourage women to learn about their reproductive health early rather than waiting until they're trying to conceive. The earlier we understand how the ovaries age — and why some women experience accelerated ovarian aging — we'll be better positioned to develop strategies that preserve both fertility and long-term health.
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What fertility or reproductive health biomarkers aren’t talked about enough?
Dr. Goldman: Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) is an important biomarker because it provides insight into ovarian reserve and can help women make informed decisions about reproductive planning. While it's one valuable piece of information, it doesn't capture the full picture of ovarian health or predict an individual's reproductive future on its own.
I think the next frontier is moving beyond single biomarkers to an integrated view of reproductive health — combining reproductive, metabolic, cardiovascular, inflammatory, and other aging biomarkers to better understand a woman's overall health trajectory. The ovary may ultimately become one of our earliest and most informative windows into biological aging, helping us improve not only fertility care but women's health across the lifespan.
There’s a lot of talk about perimenopause right now. What misconceptions do you often hear? What does the science actually say?
Dr. Goldman: One of the biggest misconceptions is that symptoms related to menopause can be treated only once periods stop.
In reality, ovarian aging is a gradual process, and the hormonal fluctuations of perimenopause often begin years before the final menstrual period. Women may still have regular menstrual cycles while experiencing symptoms such as poor sleep, mood changes, hot flashes, vaginal dryness, changes in libido, or shifts in body composition, yet many don't recognize these as part of the same biological transition.
As a result, it's not uncommon for women to see multiple healthcare providers before someone recognizes perimenopause as a unifying explanation for at least some of their symptoms. The good news is that we're learning much more about this transition, allowing us to recognize it earlier and tailor treatment to each woman's symptoms, health history, and goals.
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What excites you most about the future of infertility treatment and fertility preservation?
Dr. Goldman: This is a particularly exciting time in reproductive medicine. We're moving beyond simply treating infertility toward understanding — and eventually modifying — the biology of ovarian aging itself. Advances in molecular biology, genomics, and precision medicine are helping us uncover why ovarian aging occurs at different rates between women and bringing us closer to interventions that could preserve ovarian function before it's lost.
At the same time, fertility preservation is becoming increasingly accessible for patients facing cancer treatment and other medical conditions that threaten fertility. What excites me most is that the discoveries we make to improve fertility today may ultimately transform women's health far beyond reproduction, helping women live healthier, longer lives.
Editor’s note: Responses have been lightly edited for length, clarity, and accuracy. The views expressed are those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities they represent.