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August 12, 2026 / 7:00 AM EDT
/ CBS News
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For this week's "Healthful," I sat down with my very own doctor, Rachel Rubin, to tackle the important topic of menopause: How your body changes, why women may be needlessly suffering, and what you can actually do about it.Here's what I learned in our conversation, streaming now on YouTube and available wherever you listen to your podcasts:Menopause as "a castration event""Menopause is a castration event, whether we like it or not, whether it's natural or not," Dr. Rubin said. "Whether it's supposed to happen or not, we are outliving our ovaries."Rubin described menopause as essentially the ovarian function turning off: Your ovaries no longer make estrogen, progesterone or testosterone. "You're not making the hormones that you were during your reproductive years, and that has consequences because you have hormone receptors throughout your entire body," she explained.The severity and symptoms are different for everyone, but women commonly experience hot flashes, poor sleep, mood changes, weight gain and memory issues. While Rubin said some men see a natural decline of testosterone as they age, they "don't really get to 'castrate' levels." She explained her castration remarks in the context of a gas tank analogy: "Women, their gas tank is zero. Men, they kind of live at like half a tank, and maybe if they get to a quarter of the tank, they can go to their doctor, they get some testosterone, and they go back to half to three-quarters tank and they feel great."Vaginal hormones can prevent UTIs — and save billions in MedicareUrinary tract infections are common during and after menopause, and if untreated, can lead to sepsis, hospitalization and even death. It's why Rubin said she thinks all menopausal women should be offered vaginal hormones, which fix the urinary tract's microbiome and can prevent UTIs.
