Women's Health:
An important topic that cannot be neglected
Women’s health is an important topic that has been neglected in
the past. Many of the studies done on disease and its prevention
were focused on men.
Today, however, women’s health is taking on a higher position in
society and people are realizing that while women have many of
the same diseases as men, their symptoms and treatments may not
always be the same.
Women represent fifty one percent of the population. Women's
health issues deserve as much attention as men since health care
matters impact women differently than men.
Due to the fact that many women have to juggle both labor at work
and labor at home, women often suffer from diseases specific to
their gender but they also are stricken with diseases previously
thought to only affect men.
Many diseases such as
osteoporosis also occur in a much greater proportion of women than men. And of course some diseases or issues such as menopause occur in women alone.
A number of diseases that affect women’s health can be genetic in
nature but others occur due to the effects of poor habits
accumulated by women, such as smoking, drugs and alcohol, high
cholesterol, and obesity (or the effects of dieting to avoid
it.)
Heart disease and stroke, two main cardiovascular diseases, are
the first and third causes of death for in the U.S. Despite many
women's fear of breast cancer, heart disease is actually the No.
1 killer of women in the United States. In 2002, heart disease
claimed the lives of 358,014 women, compared with 340,933 men.
Women are more likely than men to die within a few weeks of a
heart attack. Leading a healthy lifestyle can lower your risk of
heart disease, whether you're male or female.
Cancer falls in as the second leading cause of death among women.
Breast cancer finds itself as a leading killer of women today.
While family history and irregularities in the menstrual cycle at
an early age are the main risk factors, others include excess
weight, excessive alcohol consumption, a high fat diet, and
vitamin A
deficiency.
Millions of women already have or are at risk for osteoporosis.
Osteoporosis means that your bones get weak, and you’re more
likely to break a bone. Peak bone mass, the maximum bone density
and strength a person can attain, is lower for women than it is
for men. This, in addition to the rapid bone loss that occurs
with loss of estrogen at menopause, contributes to a greater risk
of osteoporosis among women than among men. That's why 80 percent
of people with osteoporosis are women.
By consuming foods rich in
calcium
and vitamin D and maintaining an active lifestyle, you'll be less likely to experience the effects of osteoporosis.
Baldness, while not being a killer of women, is still important
and isn't just a guy thing. Women can experience hair loss, too.
Gradual thinning of your hair is a normal part of aging. However,
excessive hair loss from your scalp can be the result of
heredity, poor nutrition, certain medications or underlying
medical conditions such as thyroid dysfunction.
Click here to read more about hair care and nutrition
Women are special.
They are caretakers.
But quite often they are even more.
A woman is a daughter, sometimes a wife and mother, and
grandmother, and sometimes she takes a different path. She may
be in all the previously mentioned roles or she may make a career
of her focus. Quite often women today are taking on both roles,
mother and career woman.
With any of these roles there comes a big responsibility.
However, women often focus on health care for their spouse and
children, while neglecting their own health. Taking time to
maintain good health is crucial, for yourself and for your family
members.
In today’s world there is more
stress
and taking on dual roles of mother a provider only increases that for women. Stress can cause many adverse health problems and shouldn’t be overlooked as just part of our daily lives.
Toxins
are another concern. Today, more than at any time in our
history, there are more toxins bombarding everyone’s body.
Studies have shown a stay at home mom has a higher possibility of
developing cancer due to the toxic products most generally used
in the home for cleaning, and such.
Even your
cosmetics and skin care products
can be creating adverse affects with your health today and in the future.
A lot of women have poor diets both because of societal pressures
to look like the model in the magazine and/or they just don’t
take the time to eat correctly. This can be especially true of
younger women and teens.
A woman “must” take care of herself now by maintaining proper
nutrition to live a long and healthy life.
At an early age, anemia is quite often a problem. Women need
iron, one the body can absorb, to keep up their energy.
Infertility, breast cancer, hypoglycemia are major concerns for a
woman with poor nutrition. She has a good chance to be plagued
by these maladies as well as endometriosis, which inhibits the
possibility of pregnancy if she does not provide her body with
the necessary vitamins and supplements.
PMS
can also be affected by nutrition or the lack of it.
As mentioned earlier, weight gain and obesity is something most
women worry about. Diet and proper nutrition are often ignored.
Too much bad food or too little good can both be harmful.
Weight gain,
however, is inevitable for most women and the older
she gets, the harder it is to keep off the weight, and thus the
diet and a woman’s health is compromised again.
Then the menopause stage of life enters the picture. Sometimes
a hysterectomy has occurred and this too creates an imbalance in
the body. After menopause, there is more chance of
osteoporosis.
Wow, women have a challenge in life.
But all of these challenges can be taken care of early on with a
halfway focus on the diet and a really great supplementation
program. Even for those of us who were always on a diet and had
no energy, there is hope. While some issues and diseases are
genetic in nature, a good diet and proper nutrition can help to
minimize everyone’s risk and increase your chances of staying
healthy.
I found the answer through products that were researched and
proven to be able to help me. They did help and I now have more
energy than a lot of younger women. So what I am telling you is
there is an answer.
Click here! to view a Landmark Nutritional Study
done by UC Berkeley
I have been taking Shaklee products for many years now and the Soy protein gives me the energy to get up and go everyday. Shaklee has just improved its vitamins and now have 12 different patents on their 'Vitalizer' vitamin strip.
If you haven's looked at it, PLEASE go back and look at the nutritional supplement study done by UC Berkeley. It is not just me saying how good these products are, it is a nationally recognized institution saying it.
You must believe there is a safe way to be healthy or you would
not be at this page. I love to share my story and what I have
done. I am still a “caretaker” as are most women, but I have
learned to share what I know and leave the rest up to the
individual with whom I shared.
The ball is in your court.
What can I do for you?
Think about it.
Please contact me, Shirley,
if you would like to hear more of my experiences or just share some of your concerns.
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