Nutrition and Menstruation
Menstruation is the body’s way of preparing your hormones and uterus for a pregnancy. When the young women doesn’t conceive the uterus flushes out and begins its monthly cycle again. Nutrition during this time in life is particularly important.
Boosting Iron
Because a woman bleeds around 1/4 cup of blood or more each month she is going to need iron. Iron is lost with the loss of the blood.
Women who are in the years of childbearing they need 15mg of iron each day. If you become pregnant, double that. Older women over 50 are no longer bleeding and the iron isn’t the issue.
A symptom that is really quite difficult to contend with is when you get badly fatigued and weak with iron deficiency. You can then become anemic, which makes just being alive a major project. Do not let that happen. It’s an easy step to help a large problem.
Of course, in this state you should watch that your foods are iron rich. It is also a big help to take a multi-vitamin with iron in it. If you are dealing with the two varying problems of iron deficiency and calcium deficiency take supplements at different times per day to get the best absorption rate.
There are lots of foods to eat that have iron but iron from meat is the most effective. If you would rather not eat meat, you can get iron from plants but if you take vitamin C with plant iron, you will be doing the right thing. Products that will help your iron deficiency are red meats, chicken, fish, fortified cereal, enriched rice and legumes or beans.
Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS)
PMS is a nightmare for many women. It can ride in with huge amounts of symptoms or just be a pesky nuisance. No one knows about PMS but, of course, those hormones are probably the culprits. Do we see common denominators here? Two weeks before a cycle, the PMS comes in laden with bloating because of water retention, breast sensitivity and pain, headaches, even migraines, temporary weight gain and food cravings. It’s as bad as child bearing. Foods can help but some exacerbate an already miserable condition. Those are caffeine, simple sugars, salt, fat and alcohol. You want to steer yourself toward high calcium foods, plenty of fruits and vegetables, whole grains and non-fat dairy items. Again, exercise comes to the rescue by lowering your stress level and helping you sleep.
The subject of the B vitamins are taken to help with the PMS problems. Be careful and educate yourself on the right vitamin Bs because too much can be worse. To get the B6 that you need, eat some fish, soy, broccoli, bananas and spinach to name a few. The prescription for wellness is the same as with everything. Keep on getting on, eat well, keep active and keep happy.
Related posts:
- Menstrual Problems – Menstrual Cramps and Excessive Bleeding
- Nutrition and Menopause
- Simple Steps to a Healthier Diet – Proteins
- Nutritional Health Tips for Moms – Fats
- Nutrition Essential- Quality Protein
- Women’s Health Screening – Part 3
- Nutrition Essential – Slow-release Carbohydrates
- Depleted Mothers – Vulnerable Spots in Your Armor of Resilience
- Simple Steps to a Healthier Diet – Calcium, Fruits and Vegetables
- Coping with the Symptoms of Menopause
Filed Under: Health
