Women’s health and Essential Minerals for Hormone Balance

A healthy and nutritious diet plays an important role in sustaining the health of both men and women equally. When it comes to women’s health, the deficiency of certain essential nutrients can create a hormonal imbalance that dramatically affects her overall health. The common symptoms of a hormonal imbalance include PMS, menopause, fatigue, weight gain, hot flashes, thyroid imbalance, infertility, and various others. Medical studies show that all these symptoms appeared in the body of a woman due to deficiency of some or one of the mineral deficiencies in her food consumption. This is why, a nutrient rich diet is often recommended whenever any hormonal imbalance is noticed. Here we shall be discussing five of the most essential minerals that are required in a woman’s body to keep up with hormonal balance.

• Calcium: this essential mineral is commonly associated with the bones and teeth of our body. It is quite true as around 95% of calcium is needed to maintain our bone health as well as strong teeth. Women over the age of 50 commonly suffer from osteoporosis which is caused by calcium deficiency and thus millions of them report of fractures annually. The disease is further aggravated by hormonal imbalance (estrogen) in menopausal women. This hormonal imbalance due to calcium deficiency can also cause lower immunity, nerve signalling and cellular health.
• Magnesium: like calcium, magnesium is also required for optimal bone health in a woman’s body. This mineral also helps in various other processes in our body such as making new proteins, muscle activation, nerve communication and also hormonal development. This mineral helps in production of energy and also helps pregnant woman delay preterm birth. The symptoms of hormonal imbalancing like PMS, migraine headaches and muscular cramping and spasm can also be avoided with magnesium.
• Iron: anemia is a very common women’s health problem that is seen in many menstruating woman. This is mainly due to the deficiency of iron in the blood. Iron boosts the hemoglobin of red blood cells to carry oxygen throughout the blood stream, therefore its deficiency causes anemia especially in menstruating women as they lose blood during their menstruation cycle. Fatigue, weakness in body, cold hands and feet, rapid heartbeat, and headaches is some of the most common symptoms of anemia. While iron is required for menstruating women, excess of iron can cause problems in women after menopause as large amounts of this mineral can cause hormonal imbalance and lead to a number of problems.
• Zinc: poor dietary habits, hormonal replacement therapies, birth control medications can all lead to a massive deficiency of zinc. Lower levels of this mineral can cause an increased activity of the estrogen hormone in which a woman can suffer with infertility, PMS, and also an increase in the aging process. Zinc deficiency also makes it harder to tolerate stress.
• Selenium: known for its antioxidant properties, selenium is an essential mineral required in a woman’s body for protection against plenty of chronic ailments like heart disease, cancer, and autoimmune conditions. It also regulates the activity of thyroid hormone, estrogen, progesterone, follicle-stimulating hormone and luteotropic hormone.

The health of both men and women is a serious topic, but since a woman can be the backbone of her family, her health issues deserves a major concern. In the old times most of the women married earlier and became mothers at quite a young age; Because of this, their health suffered a lot and many of them died at a young age. However, the scenario is very different today. A woman may live to be 80-90 and even 100 years today, but only if she takes good care of her health.

General health issues of a woman

A woman may face a number of health related problems throughout her life. Some of the most common are migraine headaches, gallstones, arthritis, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and urinary tract infections. As soon as any of the symptoms of these ailments is noticed, women should visit their physicians as early as possible as these diseases can have a prolonged effect on their lives.

Common women’s health tips                                     

As said earlier a women’s health is a major issue of concern. A woman’s body need special attention and consideration and therefore even a small sign of any health related problem should not be ignored. Besides a regular check up, here we have three important tips related to a woman’s health that should be followed regularly to stay fit and active:

• Diet: the first and the foremost step towards maintaining a good health is consumption of a healthy diet that includes all necessary minerals, vitamins, and other nutrients required to maintain a good health. Make sure to eat a well balanced diet. Avoid junk foods like, pizzas, burgers and French fries. While cutting on junk food is essential, eating regularly is also necessary. Eat frequently but eat healthy foods like fruits and salads. This will keep away the hunger cravings and will minimize the chances of fat accumulation in your body. Consuming a healthy diet will improve a woman’s immunity to fight diseases and will make her stronger.

• Workout: along with a proper diet, exercising is very essential for every woman. Although, most women may think that doing the household chores themselves is enough exercise, this is typically wrong as she would be concentrating more on the household tasks rather than her body muscles or workout. A woman should spare some time only focusing on herself and her physical health. Exercises like squats, push-ups, pull-ups, running and yoga will help women keep energized as well as concentrate better on other work she does.

• Regular health check-ups: it is recommended that every woman, whether sick or not must visit a health clinic at least twice a year and have a full check up done. This includes a comprehensive check-up for general health, including heart diseases, cholesterol, diabetes, osteoporosis and screening for breast, ovarian and cervical cancers. A woman should also talk to the doctor about any irregular symptoms that she may have noticed in her body, as ignoring them might lead to severe issues later.

In order for a woman to stay fit and active she must eat a
healthy and nutritious diet.  Along with providing good nutrients to the body,
a well-rounded diet is a must for a woman to keep her energized as well as
looking and feeling great throughout her life. Here we have certain healthy
food tips that will help every woman to maintain her health:

·        Include fruits and vegetables in your diet
along with beans, legumes and other fibrous meals that keep you full for long.
Make sure that these foods are minimally processed and locally grown.

·
Since a woman is more prone to getting
osteoporosis than a man, she should make sure to add calcium rich foods in her
diet to support bone health.

·
Although protein is considered to be an
essential nutrient in a healthy diet, animal-based protein or a diet with
excess of protein levels can be dangerous for a woman. An excessive level of
protein in a woman’s body can lead to a loss of calcium from bones that may
subsequently lead to osteoporosis.

·
Consuming iron rich food is another
important thing that a woman should keep in mind. Iron which is an important
mineral for maintaining a woman’s health, is
heavily lost during the menstrual cycle. It is therefore important for women to
eat iron rich foods to assist in preventing anemia.

·
 A woman should cut back on the
consumption of alcohol and also caffeine. Consuming a high quantity of alcohol
can lead to a loss of calcium and can cause osteoporosis. Caffeine consumption
on the other hand can interfere with the hormonal balance.

·
Along with a healthy diet, a woman may
also take iron and calcium supplements, mainly to make sure they do not face
the deficiency of these two minerals. Also Vitamin D supplements are important
for a woman. Vitamin D helps in the absorption of calcium, and vitamin C
supplements helps in the absorption of iron.

Here is a list of a few of the essential foods that a woman
must include in her daily diet:

·
Milk: milk is one of the most essential dairy products
that every woman must necessarily include in her diet as it is one of the
richest sources of calcium and other nutrients like riboflavin, vitamin B12, potassium. Besides getting strong teeth and
healthy bones, it also helps in cutting the risk of breast cancer.

·
Vitamin C rich fruits: fruits rich in vitamin C like  strawberries, papaya, orange, grapefruit, guava, apples,
and citrus fruits should also be included in a woman’s diet. Vitamin C of these
fruits is a powerful antioxidant and also reduces the risk of coronary heart
disease.

·
Green Vegetables and whole grains:  green vegetables like cabbages, spinach, kale, broccoli, lettuce, and
various others possess a number of health benefits. Along with fiber, these
include a range of essential vitamins and folates. Whole grains like oatmeal
take care of the digestive system and reduce the risk of diabetes.