9 most underrated Women’s Health tips – Prioritize before Care ‘Giving’
It’s been decades that women moved beyond their hearths. The past centuries saw the suffrage movement and women equaling men in every academic and professional arena. Lately, we have even been warming up to a copious amount of legit feminism. However, something that’s still been tossing women’s health into the backyard of even the most happiest women is the SUPERWOMAN SYNDROME. No matter how far we come in terms of our short and long term goals, we must admit, that we are dying to be called a ‘SUPERWOMAN’ at least once in our lifetime. We love being the Jill of all Trades. Don’t we?
And then we toil hard to balance office deadlines with home chores, or manage home and the baby all without a cook or domestic help. Or even pay heed to all the judgement and taunts shoved at us for trying to avoid burnouts while doing any of these to live our lives without the unnecessary pressure.
Yes, that PRESSURE is absolutely UNNECESSARY.
But not anymore! Grab the torch of your health this International Women’s Day & lead life the way you’d love to live it. Because, if you don’t do it, NOBODY WILL.
Just skim over the below stats to understand all that could be grossly wrong with most of the women around us.
Source: www.myvites.com
Women tend to shoulder various responsibilities & juggle about their presence at the workforce & within the household every single day. Nevertheless, with gender, come some major differences in the way our body & hormones are made up.
Women’s Health & Hormones
Hormones are a very integral part of any human being. However, the female body, unlike the male, experiences a vivid range of changes beginning from adolescence & then transcending to menstruation over time with maternity & then menopause. Although men’s health is as significant and susceptible to major diseases our male buddies don’t really get to see so much happening to their bodies, do they?
Hence, naturally, our immune system differs from theirs & may render different responses to common life-threatening diseases.
So, if you’re a woman, you definitely need to gear up better, baby!
And here are 9 most underrated tips for women’s health that are starting to sound cliche, but are really doable and crucial.
1. Stop Comparing yourself to others
Stop comparing yourself with your favorite celebrities or even the pretty, ‘slim & sleek’ female acquaintances or friends. Even the celebs fall into a grotesque trap of ‘body image’ issues, which have seen very tragic results.
Comparison only leads to unnecessary resentment, envy, self-hate, self-pity & peer pressure. All our bodies are unique.
Love your body. Because it’s yours.
If you want to fix something to make it look and feel better, love it further. And think of realistic and organic ways to fix it.
Your body is like your kid. You never hate your kid for what he/she is. Your kid is only a reflection of how you handle him/her.
Makes sense?
2. Relax, Meditate & WORK OUT
In 2016, researchers found that silent heart attacks (Myocardial Infarction) constitute 45% of all heart attacks and increased the chances of dying from heart disease by 3 times.
As per this research, it was also found that silent heart attacks increased the chances of death from all causes by 34% and were more common in men but more likely to cause death in women.
And most of the heart attacks reported to have caused death shockingly occur very early in the mornings or even in sleep. Could you possibly reason with the incidence ratio?
You don’t really find yourself getting enough sleep or even waking up without an urge of rummaging through the chores of making yourself the breakfast & heading fast to work.
Or getting the kids up to school & pulling the day off systematically. Your day’s schedule board isn’t what you’re all meant for. Are you?
This kind of waking up in the morning is often the culprit behind sudden heart attacks.
So, make a habit of waking up with ease. The first thing you do in the morning should ideally be all about you. Cuddle with your pillows & roll over for a couple of minutes in bed after silencing your alarm. Open your eyes gracefully, rise & sit with ease. Take a deep breath. Jot a tiny fitness plan for yourself. Drink at least half a litre water on the empty stomach. Learn to meditate diligently & take to small exercise routines such as walking, jogging, running, Yoga or a little cardio. This will definitely work miracles for your heart, vis-Ă -vis cardiovascular health.
Here’s how you could plan your fitness goals despite a busy schedule.
3. Sleep be the pillar of women’s health
Studies show women as greater multi-taskers than the men folk.
Dr. Jim Horne, Britain’s leading expert in sleep science explains that an average woman needs 20 more minutes of sleep than men. Essentially, the more you use your brain during the day, the more it needs to rest while asleep. So, let yourself sleep sound every night for at least 7 hours.
4. Eat ON TIME
If you’re still with mum, hug yourself!
All that home-cooked food infused with love has been around to lift your moods & keep you from whining about the unhealthy & fat-laden platter you’re otherwise served at your hostel, PG, cafetaria or restaurant.
But when you’re somebody miles away from family, take charge of your diet, no matter how hard it feels.
Stick to a routine of meal timings. Ensure to have the 3 main meals along with 2 small snacker breaks every day. You could manage to lay your hands on a mini-stove or an air-fryer to save your day with some really healthy food cooked by you.
And never dare to skip meals. EVER! 🙂
5. Keep hydrated
Well, seriously, water isn’t something that only women need to drink in larger quantities.
Nevertheless, we women are infamous for retaining or holding urine in for abnormally longer time when outdoors or away from our very own cozy, fragrant & clean washrooms at home. And, so we often drink less water to avoid the pee ordeal. This, unfortunately, culminates in a never ending cycle.
While we avoid the loo anywhere other than our home to avoid UTI’s (Urinary Tract Infections) due to unhygienic conditions, holding your pee for hours, ironically ends us up in the UTI or bladder infection soup.
By the way, I personally find the PEE BUDDY’s Stand and Pee Reusable Urination Funnel extremely useful while travelling when finding
However, no matter what icky places we’ve been to, drinking plenty of water does rid us from microbes out of the body. In fact, even if you pick up an infection, chances are high that you may get rid of it naturally without any antibiotics.
CAUTION – NEVER self-medicate with OTC antibiotics. My trusted gynecologist always warns against this explaining how the wrong dosages and choices of antibiotics can end up killing the flora (good bacteria, which fight germs) from around your vagina/urethra and lead to more serious infections down there.
A majority of credible gynecologists recommend using a feminine intimate wash lotion to help yourself either occasionally or regularly (based on your exposure to less hygienic toilets), which helps maintain the right pH balance around your vagina to prevent conditions that could favor the entry of germs.
6. Strength Training
As compared to men, women tend to have their bone density decrease quite rapidly from their 30’s, primarily due to loss of Calcium. Although it may sound simple from the TV ads that sell ‘Calcium Supplementing’ milk powders, always check with your doctor whether it’s right for you or not.
Furthermore, make it a priority to reserve your exercise time for a balance between STRENGTH TRAINING & CARDIO at least 5 days a week.
Unlike popular myths, doing weights is not about bodybuilding. Well, yes, it does help your body build the right amount of strength and endurance. But burning fat from the right places is what plain cardio will never do for you. In short, you may lose weight easily with the right diet and cardio workouts. However, losing fat (toning) and building bone health is what strength training does for you, THE RIGHT WAY.
CAUTION – Never rely on random YOUTUBE VIDEOS to learn strength training. ALWAYS invest in a good and reputed TRAINER. And it doesn’t have to be in the gym always.
I’ve elaborated about why women need to do strength training as part of their normal fitness regime without the fear of bulking up. Women do not make testosterone to look manly upon embracing strength training; unless it’s some steroid at work.
7. Track your Periods
NO! I’m not talking about tracking your cycle only if you are planning a pregnancy.
Are periods only about making babies?
Anything between 25-35 days is considered as a normal menstrual cycle, should it occur at approximately the same interval every month. Also, the pattern of blood flow is also quite intriguing about why it should ideally be consistent during every cycle. Any irregularity in the menstrual cycle could possibly indicate hormonal disturbances, PCOS, ovarian cysts or even endometriosis. At the same time, it’d be awesome to keep a steady watch over your weight. Higher BMI’s are often known to cause menstrual abnormalities & thus affect your reproductive health adversely. Your gynecologist would be the best person to get in touch with.
My friend Roma Malhotra shares her experience with endometriosis in this post.
It’s also a common occurrence to notice fluctuations either in the cycle or the flow if you’ve lately lost or gained a significant amount of weight in a relatively short span of time. In such a situation, you could possibly wait for a month or two till you reach a steady weight, which may stabilize your menstrual cycle on its own.
In the long run, avoid using oral contraception unless & until that’s the only birth control method your doctor is recommending you. Oral contraceptives often interfere with your normal menstruation process & affect the release of your hormones that control it.
ALSO READ: Sustainable Menstruation
8. Breast Examination
The figure depicts an alarming range of statistics over the incidence of breast cancer in India. The younger women are at an even shockingly high risk of breast cancer.
Source: www.breastcancerindia.net
While following childbirth, breastfeeding your child is the best way to prevent breast cancer, regular self-examination & periodic mammography as recommended by your gynecologist could prove really helpful in diagnosing any breast anomalies or tumors.
Breasts, are beyond child nourishment and aesthetic appeal. Of course, they come in all shapes and sizes; but they’re a huge element of women’s health.
9. Protecting Skin Health
Makeup is largely a part of almost every woman’s skin care. With at least a compact/pressed face powder to even concealers or foundation that hold onto your skin every day, you need to follow a strict removal & moisturizing regimen to protect your skin from premature wrinkling & other adverse effects of the all-day makeup.
Always remove your makeup using a herbal cleansing milk lotion or coconut oil. Wash & pat your face dry. Use a mild moisturizer every time before going to bed.
Remember, women’s health is worth all the hype!
DISCLOSURE – This post contains an affiliated link. That means if you make any purchase through the link, I earn a tiny commission at no extra cost to you. If you do, well, I’m all thanks! 🙂
I ALWAYS make it a point to recommend services or products that I have myself used or experienced and undoubtedly liked. You may read my full disclosure.
I’m an ardent fitness & food enthusiast and all that I share with you is from my own experience and knowledge from training with a great trainer. However, I’m not a trainer myself. Hence, as always, I highly suggest that you commit to changes in diet and workouts upon a heads up or advice of a trusted doctor and trainer as well.
Because, we’re worth so much care and attention! 🙂
With all of these, I wish you a very HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY! To the kind of charismatic, charming & soulful woman that you are, #WomensDay is just about one day.
Do you have more women’s health tips to share? Tell me those in the comments and let’s congregate all the goodness! 🙂
Love the way how you explained the 9 health secrets – Love this post! Ashvini Keep it up!
An excellent post and a much needed read for all women! We do tend to neglect ourselves unless we are in too dire a condition! Very well researched and compiled!
I have always promoted looking after our health from the inside. It’s what inside that matters if it’s what outside that needs to look and feel good, right?
It’s the perfect post for women, especially over 30 years of age, Ashvini!
These are supposed to be easy, but so difficult in a woman’s life. Specially getting enough sleep and eating on time. Wish we would pay more attention to ourselves.
Extremely useful tips… but yes, wish we (including us men) could incorporate more of this into our daily lives as a regular thing. One step at a time, I guess.
These are excellent points and something we all should be mindful of. It is only after giving birth I realized how easily a mum’s health can go downhill due lack of sleep, or not having time to eat well or even remember to hydrate. We need to take care of ourselves too.
but so difficult in a woman’s life. Specially getting enough sleep and eating on time. Wish we would pay more attention to ourselves.