Taking care of your health as a person, is pretty important, yet as a woman there are certain things you need to think about and take care of that are different to men. In this article, we’re going to look at some of the best ways to take care of your health as a woman, and particularly as a mother.
The challenge is that most people don’t start taking proper care of their body until they are faced with a wake up call – often through blood test results that highlight the cause and effect of their past actions, such as diabetes.
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Interestingly, our bodies are very resilient, and can be put through a lot before the cracks start to show; but, your immune system can get overloaded, and if it is overloaded for a long period of time – like an old donkey that is loaded up, eventually, his legs will buckle and he will collapse.
In this sense, whilst your body is very resilient, there is a point when it has had “too much” and can’t cope with anymore strain – this is when serious conditions such as cancer, heart attacks, diabetes and chronic fatigue syndrome appear.
Therefore, prevention is much better than cure, and when it comes to taking care of your health as a woman there are a number of things you want to consider:
1. DIET
Sugar, along with trans fats and table salt, is one of the worst foods you can feed your body, yet it’s also prolific within most convenience meals and snacks we find ourselves living on.
The effects of these substances are toxic and can contribute to the major killer; such as heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes. Of course, it’s not always as easy to eat less sugar, salt and trans fat, however, as many people find themselves addicted to these foods – and with such busy lifestyles, many of us are dependent on the convenience of snacks that often contain these three ingredients.
When it comes to your diet, the simplest way to view things, is to consider your state of health to be that of a bank balance – in that there are things you can do that contribute to a positive balance and there are things you can do that make your health bank balance overdrawn.
For instance, taking vitamin supplements would be contributing to your bank balance whereas eating a doughnut would be depleting the account – and therefore what you eat determines your bank balance.
A handy way to make sure you have a balanced diet with a busy life is to consider using a healthy meal kit delivery service. This is a convenient way to ensure that you get healthy food and it can encourage you to try new recipes too!
2. ALKALISE
The majority of us have very acidic bodies, meaning we need to alkalise in order to keep things in balance with regard to homeostasis.
Many parts of modern life such as alcohol, junk food, smoking, stress, ready meals and spicy food makes our bodies more acidic. The challenge with this is that we need to keep a little more in balance, as if the needle gets pushed over into “too acidic” we start to experience health problems.
Think of cirrhosis of the liver, for instance, if you can picture what this looks like, it is as if the liver has been dipped in acid.
The most simple and cheap way to alkalise your body is to drink some natural spring water each morning with citrus fruit such as lemon or lime squeezed into it, along with a drop of apple cider vinegar and a sprinkle of bicarbonate of soda.
Also, eat as many dark green vegetables as possible, things such as cabbage, curly kale and broccoli are particularly good for alkalising your body. Then, there are powders such as spirulina and wheatgrass that can have an alkalising effect too.
3. HYDRATE
We all know that we need to drink more water, but we rarely take this much given advice – not because we don’t understand the importance of it, but because we find it a chore and often feel quite lazy when it comes to drinking water.
One of the best ways to ensure you drink enough is to carry two one litre bottles of water with you, each day, and be sure to drink these until they are empty, throughout the day… though, you want to add a litre of water to each hour of intense physical exercise you do.
4. BIRTH CONTROL
Something important for female health is to find a birth control solution that works best for your body, for instance a progesterone only contraceptive pill can work well for some women, whilst for others, having a coil, or the implant is an option they prefer on the basis they don’t have to remember to take it each day. The challenge is that some people react differently to different types of contraceptive measure, and therefore, you want to find what works best for your body and lifestyle.
5. PERIOD
When it comes to having your period, there are a number of things to consider, first off, you might want to look at natural alternatives to the chemical filled tampons which have bleach and dye within them, such as a mooncup. Then, when it comes to pain relief the best thing you can do is allow your body to rest and recover in bed, along with a hot water bottle pressed against your lower back. Though, if the pain gets too much Ibuprofen, Paracetamol or even Co-Codamol are all good options.
In a similar vein, you want to make sure you have regular smear tests to check for issues and if you are sexually active with more than one partner be sure to get regular STD check-ups as some diseases are symptomless but can affect your ability to have a child.
In summary, taking of your health as a woman is in the most part pretty simple; eat more healthy food and less unhealthy food. Find the right contraceptive measure for your body, take care of yourself when you are on your period and allow your body the rest it needs… plus, be sure to drink plenty of water and alkalise your body.
This is a collaborative post.