Women's Health & Nutrition

Women's Nutrition Tips For Optimal Health

By Louise O'Connor – Naturopath

Food is designed to nourish us and reflects the relationship we have with our selves. Decide now to retrain yourself to select delicious foods that are highly nutritious and packed with vitality.

By choosing foods that are as close to nature as possible, and eliminating negative habits from your life, you will look and feel healthier. You will also dramatically increase your energy levels.

By transforming your dietary and lifestyle choices you are teaching, and empowering yourself to nuture and respect your body. This is a process so allow yourself to make these life changing habits over time.

When you desire the foods that are healthy, you are allowing yourself to be nourished on a deeper level. This is true health.

NUTRITION & LIFESTYLE GUIDELINES

These guidelines are designed to support your quest for optimal health and apply to the wide range of health issues affecting women.

Strict diets are not recommended as they are too rigid and do not work in the long term. Diets impose rules that are not sustainable and the emotional and physical deprivation has a negative effect on your relationship to food.

• Increase the consumption of fruit, vegetables and salad greens in your diet:

  • Organic if possible.

  • Ideally you should consume 2-3 pieces of fruit and 3-4 serves of vegetables daily.

  • Choose whole-grains that are high in fibre. Whole-grain foods contain all parts of the grain. Example: oats, corn, rice, wheat, barley, rye, triticale and millet.

  • Limit processed wheat based foods. Example: boxed breakfast cereals, white bread and pasta.

  • Fibre is abundant in fruit, vegetables and whole-grains. Your body will respond extremely well to your new high fibre diet.

  • Also, a high fibre diet has a strong association with a reduced risk of serious diseases such as diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease.

  • Along with adequate purified water, dietary fibre will relieve constipation. It is normal to have a bowel movement once or twice a day and the stool should be soft and easy to pass.

• Increase good fats in your diet:

  • Cold water fish, free range eggs, avocadoes, extra virgin olive oil, macadamia nut oil and raw nuts and seeds are foods that are rich omega-3, omega-6 and omega-9 fatty acids, which play a critical role in health.

  • Research shows that good fats, especially the omega-3 oils, assist in inflammatory conditions and provide nutritional support for a range of conditions including cardiovascular disease, high LDL & VLDL cholesterol, rheumatoid arthritis and pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS).

  • It is possible to support a healthy diet with a good quality fish oil supplement high in EPA and DHA to boost omega-3 levels.

  • Limit the intake of saturated fats that are found in red meat, chicken, deli meats and dairy foods.

  • Avoid fast food and snack foods that contain trans fats or hydrogenated fats as these manufactured fats are linked to a greater risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and even Alzheimer’s disease.

• Protein foods such as fresh fish, lean red meat, free range or organic chicken, organic eggs or secondary protein such as whole grains and legumes should be eaten 1-2 times daily:
  • Fish does not contain saturated fat and should be eaten 2-3 times a week if you are not a vegetarian.

  • A high quality whey protein supplement can also be considered to increase your protein intake.

  • A protein shake made on soy milk with a banana or berries is a nutritious drink.

• Healthy snacks include:
  • fruit, nuts, seeds, fresh juices, protein shakes and natural yoghurt.

• Avoid refined carbohydrates:

  • Such as biscuits, cakes, chocolates, sweets, sugary breakfast cereals and soft drinks as these foods fast track weight gain.

  • Chromium can assist in reducing sugar cravings and improved blood sugar control.

• Reduce salt intake:
  • Only use small amounts of sea salt or Celtic salt

• Avoid high consumption of tea, coffee, energy drinks and soft drinks:
  • These leach minerals from the body. Minerals such as calcium and magnesium are particularly important for bone health.

• Avoid alcohol:

  • It is well accepted that women are more affected by alcohol than men due to their body size and a reduced capacity to process alcohol.

  • Research now shows that regular alcohol consumption can increase breast cancer risk.

• Digestion and assimilation is affected by stress:
  • Avoid eating on the run or while working.

  • Allow yourself time to eat in a relaxed environment and chew your food well.

• Stay well hydrated:

  • By drinking 1.5 – 2 litres of filtered water daily.

• Participate in light to moderate exercise:

  • 3-5 times a week.

• Quit smoking!

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