Importance of Nutrition And Diet In Women’s Health

Be it indigenous women, in the remotest tribes of Central Africa or the urban Indian women, women’s health is a matter of great importance. For ages, women’s health has been considered important only when she comes to childbearing age. She is seen as a caregiver and nurturer and is deemed to put herself after everyone else.

Thankfully, times are changing. Women are being seen as individuals who have the right to take care of their health and well-being regardless of their social, economic, marital, and political status, and nutrition is a big part of that pursuit. Today, women are eating a healthier diet to combat stress, ease the symptoms of periods and menopause, stay fit during pregnancy, improve fertility, etc.

For every woman wishing to get healthier, here are five important nutrition and diet tips:

• Try to get as much nutrition as possible from natural foods. Use supplements only when you need to bridge an occasional diet gap. A balanced diet includes legumes, veggies, fruits, healthy fats, protein, and low amounts of processed, sugary, fried foods.
• Osteoporosis is a potential concern for all women as they get older. It’s best to include an adequate amount of calcium, magnesium, and vitamin D in your everyday diet. This will ensure good bone health.
• For women in the menstruating age, loss of blood can lead to iron deficiency. Iron is necessary to make haemoglobin which gets the oxygen into your blood. If you are a vegetarian or vegan, the best source of protein for you will be your standard green leafy vegetables, including spinach and kale. Dry fruits such as apricots and raisins are also a rich source of iron.
• A woman spends an average of 50 days a year on her period. That’s about 1/7 of a year. It’s important to ensure that your diet is healthy to deal with the already tedious symptoms triggered by the menstrual cycle. Remove caffeine and alcohol from your diet when you’re on your period or PMSing. Avoid excessive salt intake as that can cause bloating. Increase calcium, iron, zinc intake to maintain your overall fitness and well-being.
• Ask any woman of any age, and they will tell you how vitamin B9 is an absolute must in their diet. Its deficiency leads to mood fluctuations, lack of concentration, and makes you susceptible to mood disorders. For women who want to get pregnant or are pregnant, deficiency of folic acid (vitamin B9) is known to increase the chances of neurological birth defects in the unborn. Folic acid helps to produce oestrogen which can help ease the discomfort brought on by menopause.

As mentioned earlier, women now have a bigger voice when it comes to their health. Whether it is their dietary choices or reproductive choices, they are exercising more power. If they don’t wish to get pregnant, they can take a birth control pill, such as Mankind’s Unwanted 21, Regular Oral Contraceptive Tablet, which needs to be taken once every day for 21 days, followed by the period, and then a new pack. Or, in case of emergency or unprotected sex, women can take Mankind’s Unwanted 72, Emergency Contraceptive Tablets which is India’s No. 1 Emergency Contraceptive Tablet within 72 hours of unprotected sex.

So, go ahead and take care of yourself and every woman in your life, and remind her of her rights and choices.