Women's Health

Womens Health

HEALTH

Personal health is one of the most important issues anyone has to deal with. Proper nutrition, regular medical check-ups and sensible exercise are important for everyone's health. But womens health also includes a lot of special considerations, which every woman should be aware of. Everything from a woman's monthly cycle, to pregnancy, to menopause, to weight loss brings up specific concerns for women's health care.

At the most basic level, women should make sure their diet contains all the necessary vitamins and minerals. Women are more prone to osteoporosis, especially after menopause, and anemia, especially if they tend to have a heavy menstrual cycle. It seems like common sense that ensuring adequate calcium and iron intake can help prevent these conditions, but neither mineral is properly metabolised if taken on its own. In order to properly metabolise iron, you must have adequate levels of fat in your diet, and in order to prevent calcium depletion, you must balance your calcium intake with proper levels of magnesium, so choosing the proper dietary supplements may not be as simple as it seems. Many vitamins and minerals have "helper" nutrients like this that are essential in enabling proper absorption or use in your body .

Also, throughout a woman's life her fluctuating hormone levels can have major effects on mood and overall womens health. Again, diet and nutrition can help alleviate some of the unpleasant effects of hormonal changes. It is important to maintain a proper balance of Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids in the diet. Most modern diets have far too much Omega 6 (found especially in red meats and fast food) and far too little Omega 3 (found especially in fish and flax seed) Fatty acids not only help metabolize fat-soluble vitamins like Iron, but Omega 3 fatty acids specifically have been shown to improve memory, mood stability and general brain function. Soy products contain phyto-estrogens, which may help minimize the effects of monthly hormone fluctuations and menopausal symptoms. If you feel you have hormone-related heath or emotional problems, it may be worthwhile to see a nutritionist before trying traditional medical treatment. A diet imbalance could be causing much of the problem!

Every woman and parent should be aware of the signs of eating disorders, which are much more common among women than men. Bulimia is marked by 'binge' eating followed by some kind of 'purging' behavior, often involving forced vomiting or abuse of laxative and diuretic pills. Anorexia is marked by overly obsessive and controlled eating behavior, where a young woman may refuse to eat all but very specific kinds of foods, and only eat very small portions at each meal. Women have naturally higher body fat than men, and should not expect to have the muscle definition of professional athletes or models. Understanding how a womans healthy body is supposed to look may help young women avoid the unrealistic body-image expectations that accompany such disorders, which often lead to severe, sometimes life-threatening nutritional deficiencies.

For women trying to have children, nutrition becomes even more important. Such simple matters as maintaining sufficient folic acid intake can prevent serious birth defects. Abstaining from alcohol will prevent fetal alcohol syndrome, and giving up cigarettes during pregnancy can help prevent low birth weight, among other things. During pregnancy some women become prone to a temporary form of Type II diabetes, and many women experience common conditions such as morning sickness and UTIs. Regular visits to the doctor are essential in tracking a pregnant womans health, and handling any pregnancy-related health complications as soon as possible.

Of course, that brings to mind another womens health issue on the flip side of the coin - contraception. Although it is very important to use condoms to prevent transmission of STDs, they are not the most reliable form of birth control available. If a woman definitely does not want to become pregnant, she should consider using a second form of birth control as well. Options range from physical barrier methods, such as diaphragms and cervical caps, to IUDs and hormonal options such as the pill, Norplant implants, monthly patches and Depo-Provera injections. All of these methods have their own advantages and drawbacks, and it is important for every woman to learn enough about them to make the best choice for her own use.

But not all women's health issues can be solved with diet, vitamins and pills. For some women, even with a properly balanced diet, monthly mood swings become serious enough to warrant medical attention, a condition known as PMT (pre-menstrual tension). Moodiness, headaches and other complaints, if serious enough to disrupt your daily routine, should be taken seriously and discussed with your doctor.

Menopause is another unavoidable health question for all women. Such questions as whether or not to take hormone replacements during and after menopause, and how best to deal with changing risks of health problems like osteoporosis and breast cancer are central to most women's experience of this life event. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is known to mitigate some of the most unpleasant symptoms during menopause, like hot flashes and extreme moodiness, and is thought to help some long-term issues like preventing osteoporosis, but long-term side effects like increased risk of certain types of cancer should also be considered.

Some people suggest that herbal, soy-based hormone treatments may be less dangerous than products like Premarin, but others contend such 'natural' remedies are also less effective for the symptoms they are meant to treat. Like birth control, medical options for dealing with menopause should be well understood by every woman as she approaches middle age. The treatments that seem to work best for one woman may not be as effective in another, and individuals may have different ideas about what risks and expenses are acceptable in this situation.

Every woman should not only discuss any questions about these issues with a qualified physician, but should feel free to research her questions on her own. Often, busy doctors may not have the time to keep informed about every new treatment for every illness or health concern their patients may have, or traditional doctors may be reluctant to discuss or recommend possible alternative treatments. By educating herself, and seeking out experts in different fields to consult, a woman can feel more assured that she's getting the best health care possible, whatever the issue.

Womens Health Links

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