What women need to know about their hormone health, plus a deep dive on testosterone for women
Dr Louise Newson BSc (Hons) MBChB (Hons) MRCP FRCGP DHEALTH
Dr Louise Newson is a doctor, women’s hormone specialist and leading menopause expert. She’s the founder of Newson Clinic and The Dr Louise Newson podcast, co-founder of the free Balance app and a Sunday Times bestselling author.
How do hormones affect your body?
Hormones influence every cell and organ in your body. When levels fluctuate or decline, this can affect your brain, heart, muscles, joints, skin, hair and metabolism. These changes can also influence your future health, including the risk of osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease and dementia.
How do hormones affect your mind?
Fluctuating and declining hormones can lead to mood swings, irritability, depression, anxiety, loss of confidence, memory problems and brain fog. In fact, symptoms affecting your brain are more common than hot flushes and night sweats.
Are hormones safe and effective?
Bioidentical hormones, including estradiol, progesterone and testosterone, have the same chemical structure as the hormones your body naturally produces. Treatment can improve symptoms and offer longer-term health benefits for some women.
At Newson Clinic, treatment is individualised. Clinicians consider symptoms, medical history and response to treatment, with regular reviews so it can be adjusted when needed. We also discuss hormone treatments alongside lifestyle, nutrition and exercise, taking a holistic, whole-person approach to improving current and future health.
Dr Rebecca Lewis MBBS FRCA DRCOG MRCGP
Dr Rebecca Lewis is a doctor, women’s hormone specialist and co-founder and director of Newson Clinic and the free Balance app.
Why is testosterone important for women?
Testosterone is the most abundant biologically active hormone in younger women. Receptors are found throughout the brain and body, and testosterone plays an important role in energy, mood, memory, concentration, muscles, bones and sexual function.
Newly published research from Newson Research and Baylor College of Medicine examined the effects of adding testosterone to the existing hormone treatment of 279 women.
After around three months, 15 of the 24 symptoms assessed had improved significantly. Among women experiencing these symptoms at the beginning of the study, 54.8% reported improved libido, 37.5% improved memory and 32.8% improved concentration.*
The findings indicate that the potential benefits of testosterone may extend beyond libido, with improvements reported across symptoms affecting cognition, mood, energy, muscles and joints, as well as genitourinary and endocrine health.
*(Hernandez et al., The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 2026;23(9):qdag116. doi:10.1093/jsxmed/qdag116)
We can discuss testosterone as part of an individualised hormone treatment plan to help improve symptoms. Hormonal symptoms and treatment responses are highly individual, so treatment should always be personalised to each woman’s needs and medical history.
Newson Clinic
185 Ashley Rd, Bank Medispa, Altrincham, Hale, WA15 9SQ
Tel: 01789 595004 / www.newsonhealth.co.uk
