A Whole-Woman Approach to Complex Health
by Dr Solomon
Every woman is a melktert. She presents a resilient crust to the world: the strength that lets her wear her many aprons, carry her family, excel at work, and show up for everyone else. Beneath that crust lies her soft, vulnerable centre: her health, her needs, the parts she often neglects. And woven through it all is her cinnamon: her personality, her spice, her unique attitude. Without the cinnamon, she is not herself.
"These are not separate ingredients. They are synergistic. The crust without the filling is hollow. The filling without the crust collapses. The whole is far greater than the sum of its parts."
The Nine Slices of Women's Health
In my practice, I have come to see that women's health challenges rarely arrive alone. They are interlinked, layered, and must be understood as a whole. These are the nine slices I assess:
Gynaecological & Reproductive Health
Periods, fertility, menopause, pelvic health
The Bladder
Interstitial cystitis, painful bladder syndrome
Gut Health
Coeliac disease, reflux, IBD, IBS
Metabolic & Endocrine
Diabetes, thyroid disorders, hormonal balance
Inflammation & Autoimmunity
Chronic inflammatory conditions
Nutritional Deficiencies
Iron, B12, vitamin D and beyond
Physical Pain
Lower back pain, chronic pelvic pain, pelvic floor dysfunction
Weight & Obesity
With all its metabolic, physical and emotional challenges
Psychological Health
Depression, anxiety, PTSD, and the lasting impact of abuse
These slices are almost never isolated. They influence one another. They share roots. And they demand a clinician who sees the whole melktert, not just one slice.
The Onion Peel: When Protection Becomes Prison
Over time, many women develop onion peels — layers of coping and defence that may once have helped them survive, but have grown thicker, denser, and ultimately suffocating. They crush the crust. They smother the soft centre. They dull the cinnamon.
A woman cannot truly heal her melktert without unpeeling these layers. This is not weakness. This is the work of restoration.
Micro (within herself)
Overthinking, stubbornness, anxiety loops, catastrophising, minimising her own symptoms, self-medicating with painkillers, chasing quick fixes, perfectionism, emotional numbing.
Meso (in her relationships)
Caregiver burnout, conflict avoidance, enmeshment, the inability to receive help, relationships that drain rather than sustain.
Macro (in the world around her)
Medical dismissal, cultural pressure to "just get on with it," economic stress, fragmented healthcare that treats one slice while ignoring the rest.
The peels began as protection. They became prison. Unpeeling them is not punishment — it is how the melktert breathes again.
My Approach
My assessment is thorough because women's health is complex. I do not believe in quick fixes for chronic, layered problems. I believe in:
- Listening until the whole story emerges
- Investigating across all nine slices, not just the obvious one
- Recognising the onion peels that are blocking recovery
- Partnering with you to unpeel them, gently and persistently
- Restoring the synergy of your crust, your centre, and your cinnamon
Workshops
I also offer workshops for women who want to understand this model more deeply — to recognise their own melktert, identify their onion peels, and begin the work of unpeeling in a supported, structured environment.