WOMEN’S Health Week is an annual health awareness campaign, this year running from September 6 to 10.
Women’s Health Week aims to raise awareness of the importance of maintaining good health and wellbeing and preventing future health problems for all women and girls in Australia.
In terms of nutrition, a balanced eating pattern is a cornerstone for women’s health.
Women, like men, should enjoy a variety of healthful foods from all of the foods groups, including whole grains, fruits, vegetables, healthy fats, low-fat or fat-free dairy and lean protein.
But women also have special nutrient needs and, during each stage of a woman’s life, these needs change.
Iron
Iron is important to good health, but the amount needed is different depending on a woman’s stage of life.
For example, iron needs are higher during pregnancy and lower after reaching menopause.
Foods that provide iron include red meat, chicken, turkey, pork, fish, kale, spinach, beans, lentils and some fortified ready-to-eat cereals.
Plant-based sources of iron are more easily absorbed by your body when eaten with vitamin C-rich foods.
To get both these nutrients at the same meal, trying fortified cereals with strawberries could be a good source, a spinach salad with orange slices throughout or additional tomatoes in a lentil or vegetable based soup could be other good meal options.
Calcium and Vitamin D
It’s well known that calcium is vital for healthy bones and teeth, for women it is important to eat a variety of calcium-rich foods each day.
Calcium encourages good bone health and helps to reduce the onset of osteoporosis, a bone disease in which the bones become weak and brittle.
Some calcium-rich foods include low-fat or fat-free milk, yoghurts and cheeses, sardines, tofu, soy beans, sesame seeds, green leafy vegetables as well as other calcium-fortified foods and beverages.
These include plant-based milks, juices and cereals. Sufficient amounts of vitamin D are also an important component of a woman’s diet.
Vitamin D plays a crucial supporting role in the maintenance of healthy bones.
Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium. The requirement for both calcium and vitamin D increases as women get older.
Good sources of vitamin D include fatty fish such as salmon, eggs and fortified foods and beverages, like milk, as well as some plant-based milk alternatives, yoghurts and juices.
Folate (Folic Acid) and Conception/Pregnancy
During pregnancy, folate, or folic acid as it’s commonly referred, plays an important role in decreasing the risk of neural birth defects of the growing foetus.
Folic acid is most commonly associated with a decreased risk of spina bifida.
The requirement for women who are not pregnant is 400 micrograms per day.
Including adequate amounts of foods that naturally contain folate, such as oranges, leafy green vegetables, beans and peas, will help increase your intake of this B vitamin.
There are also many foods that are fortified with folic acid, such as breakfast cereals, rice and breads.
Eating a variety of foods is recommended to help meet nutrient needs, but a dietary supplement with folic acid may also be necessary and perfectly safe to consume prior to and during pregnancy.
This is especially true for women who are pregnant or breastfeeding, since their daily need for folate is higher, approximately 500 micrograms per day.
Be sure to check with your GP or a registered dietitian or nutritionist before starting any new course of supplements during pregnancy and while breastfeeding.
Mental Health
A study conducted by the Department of Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh found that those who are pregnant are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of poor nutrition on mood because pregnancy and lactation are major nutritional stressors to the body.
The depletion of nutrient reserves throughout pregnancy and a lack of recovery postpartum may increase a woman’s risk of depression.
Therefore, there is an increased emphasis on correct nutritional practice during this time in order to prevent the risk of poor mental health.
It would be advised that should a woman be suffering with poor mental wellbeing during or after pregnancy, they should seek professional medical and nutritional advice as quickly as possible.
Danielle Wilcock, nutritionist & eating disorder practitioner
@mindbodynutrition_
