Women are the pillars of the family. They always balance the demands of family, work, and society. They also have social pressure to eat in a certain way. But, maintaining a healthy diet can be difficult for women. Choosing healthy foods and drinks is the cornerstone of health. It boosts not only your energy but also keeps you healthy during various stages of life.
As women, we often prone to neglecting our health and dietary requirements. It can be because of our busy schedule or used to prioritize our family’s health before our own. This can also be one of the reasons that you are trying to stick to your diet plan so strict that it leaves you short on nutrients and low on energy.
The food choices you make every day may affect your health eventually in life. Choosing healthy food can prevent or manage various health problems that affect women. Also, it is important to note that women have different daily nutritional requirements than men.
Why women’s nutritional needs are higher than men’s?
As children, dietary requirements are the same in both genders. But as females reach puberty, the nutritional needs increase because of physical and hormonal changes.
Hormonal changes such as menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause can cause changes in the female body where a healthy diet plays an important role. While women need fewer calories than men, they require a higher amount of vitamins and minerals.
Here are a few healthy eating tips for women:
1: Iron-rich foods
The amount of blood present in your body depends on iron levels. Iron helps to form hemoglobin that carries oxygen in your blood. Iron is essential for everyone, but the amount needed is different for women in every phase of life. Because of loss of blood during menstruation, pregnancy, and delivery; women require the double amount of blood as men. Low levels of iron may cause iron-deficiency anaemia. Here are a few tips to get enough iron from your diet-
- Consume vitamin C-rich foods such as green leafy vegetables, citrus fruits such as lemon.
- Eat seafood and poultry food.
- Eat lean red meat.
- Avoid coffee, tea, or milk during meals.
- The daily requirement of iron–18 mg/day for an adult woman and 27 mg/day if pregnant.
2: Folate or vitamin B9 during reproductive age
Folate or vitamin B9 is essential during childbearing age. It decreases the risk of birth defects when taken before conception and during the first few weeks of pregnancy. Folate can also reduce the risk of getting certain types of cancer and helps to produce estrogen after menopause.
Foods to get folate or vitamin B9 are as follows:
- Legumes–lentils, peas
- Dark green leafy vegetables–spinach, kale
- Citrus fruits–oranges, grapefruits
- Nuts and seeds–walnut, almonds, flax seeds
- Fortified grains
- Avoid alcohol, nicotine.
- The daily requirement of folate–400 mcg/day
3: Calcium for strong bones
For healthy bones and teeth, we need to eat calcium-rich foods every day. Calcium also helps to regulate the heart’s normal rhythm and normal functioning of the nervous system. If you don’t get enough calcium, your bone will weaken, and this may lead to osteoporosis. Osteoporosis condition is more common in women than in men. Also, calcium deficiency can lead to irritability, weakness, fragile bones, etc. Some tips for more calcium consumption.
- Consume a lot of green leafy vegetables.
- Eat nuts and seeds–almonds, sesame seeds.
- Try to replace some meat items with tofu or tempeh.
- Reduce the intake of caffeine, alcohol
- The daily requirement of calcium–1000–1200 mg/day
4: Vitamin D and magnesium-rich foods
For healthy absorption of calcium, you need to take vitamin D and magnesium along with calcium. Without magnesium and vitamin D, the body is unable to metabolise and use calcium. Here are some sources of vitamin D and magnesium –
- Vitamin D–you can get the required amount of vitamin D from direct sunlight and foods such as fish, cod, milk, yoghurt, and fortified foods.
- The daily requirement of vitamin D–600 IU/day
- Magnesium–eat green leafy vegetables, broccoli, summer squash, and a variety of seeds.
- The daily requirement of magnesium–320-400 mg/day
