Is your health your priority?
Or does it come after your kids, work, family and home responsibilities?
Personal health takes a backseat for most women, with their hectic schedule of taking care of work, home, and all the people in their lives. This Women’s Day, make a positive change yourself and encourage around you to make “health” a priority. Ignoring health and living an unhealthy lifestyle can have bad repercussions on your health.
Here are some simple steps that’ll boost your health:
- Manage stress better – Stress is a part of everyday life while managing work, home chores, children responsibilities as well as social commitments. Plan in advance and learn to prioritize. Take some time out to meditate or practise yoga to deal with stress effectively. Setting aside even 10 minutes will help you relaxed, it helps deal with stress better leaves you calmer to start the next day.
- Quit fad diets – Fad diets don’t work and may do more harm to your body. Instead, focus on eating healthy foods of all varieties in moderate quantities. Cut down on salt and sugar intake, fried foods and processed foods and take out time for a fitness class.
- Choose the right fats – Avoid vanaspati (trans fatty acids), decrease refined oil content in your diet and add some ghee and coconut oil which are good fats to your diet.
- Attend menstrual discomfort – If you are facing irregular periods, heavy bleeding or severe period pain then it needs the attention of a gynaecologist. Do not take it lightly as this directly affects your reproductive health.
- Eat fresh – Eat home cooked meals as fresh food is richer in nutrients, antioxidants, vitamins and micro-nutrients when compared to preserved and packaged food. Choose natural foods, seasonal fruits and vegetables, whole grains, high-fiber greens, and leaner cuts of meat instead.
- Get enough sleep – The function of sleep is to not only to relax the body but also to rest and restore the mind. It is necessary to heal and repair your heart and blood vessels. Commit to sleeping a minimum of seven hours a day while aiming for eight, and you will feel yourself getting healthier and happier in a short amount of time.
- Say goodbye to sugar – Research suggests that eating too much sugar has serious ramifications on your health. From weight gain to high levels of cholesterol and blood sugar, sugar intake has been linked to a number of avoidable health issues.
- Stay hydrated – If you tend to forget to drink water through the day, make your bottle of water more visible. Keep it on your desk or in your room. Your goal is simply to finish drinking at least eight glasses or two litres of water in the course of the day.
- Do not skip meals – There will always be meetings and busy schedules to contend with. However, it is important to ensure that your daily schedule does not take time away from your meals.
- Exercise regularly – Whether you choose to take a walk, start your day with yoga routines, hit the gym for some strength training, or join an aerobics class adding a little bit of exercise to your daily routine can help reduce your cortisol levels. Daily activity will boost the health of your body as well as your mind.
Medical tests
Women’s bodies go through so much, from hormonal ups and downs to childbirth and menopause. Today’s fast-paced lifestyles only add more hurdles when it comes to maintaining a healthy daily routine. Regular screening ensures that any health issues are identified early. Being proactive regarding your health can prevent several health problems. We highly recommend that women must take these routine medical screening tests once they have crossed 35 years of age:
1. Pelvic Examination
It is always advisable that you visit your Gynaecologist periodically and have a complete pelvic examination and a Pap smear test. Cervical cancer is a leading cause of death amongst women in India.
2. Breast Examination
Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in India despite being easily identifiable. It is recommended that every woman should regularly undergo breast cancer screening with a mammogram. Early detection ensures better chances of recovery. Complete breast self-examination is also recommended every month. Examine your breasts for pain, tenderness, lump, thickening, or any discharge. Talk to your doctor if you spot anything unusual.
3. Bone Density Test
Osteoporosis is a common degenerative condition of the bones where vital minerals like calcium leach from the bones making them weak and brittle. This condition affects 80% of women and aggravates dramatically after a woman achieves menopause. This happens due to declining levels of hormone estrogen which plays a protective role on bones in women. Hence a bone density test helps to detect your bone condition.
4. Thyroid Test
Many women complain of unexplained weight gain, hair loss, brittle nails, and exhaustion. A common reason for this is an underactive thyroid or hypothyroidism which controls the metabolism of the body. Get your thyroid levels checked.
5. Diabetes Screening
A blood sugar test helps to diagnose diabetes and pre-diabetes. Diabetes is becoming an epidemic and is being detected at a much younger age than before. Diabetes has a tremendous impact on a woman’s health and has severe long-term complications. This test is recommended if you are overweight or are pregnant, have high blood pressure, or a strong family history of diabetes.
6. Lipid Profile Tests
This test checks for good and bad cholesterol along with triglycerides and total cholesterol levels. Cholesterol is a fat molecule, which is present in higher levels can get accumulated in the blood vessels and can affect the health of your heart, blood vessels, and brain.
7. Vitamin D Test
This is a vital nutrient needed for bone growth and maintenance. The most important source of vitamin D is exposure to the sun. Fatty fishes and fortified dairy products are also a good source. As we age, the tendency to synthesise this nutrient decreases.
8. Heart-Health Test
Sixty-four per cent of women who die from sudden cardiac death have no previous symptoms of this disease. The symptoms of heart disease also differ from men to women. Get your cardiac check-up done if you have a family history of hypertension, heart disease or if you’re overweight, or if you are a smoker.
From pregnancy to childbirth, menopause to cancer, as well as many other women’s health conditions is attended at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital. Consult our experts, please visit the below website for more details:
