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Women’s Health

FACTS FOR FEMALES
• Put these things in your diary - pap smear, mammogram, and full blood test every two years or yearly for high risk women
• Common nutritional deficiencies seen in women include: essential fatty acids (oily fish, nuts and seeds, avocado, extra virgin olive oil), iron (red
meat, organ meats, mussels, oysters, blackstrap molasses, green leafy vegetables)zinc (oysters, red meat, nuts and seeds) iodine (iodised salt,
seaweed, seafood, yoghurt, eggs) calcium (fish with bones, dairy foods, sesame seeds, dark green leafy veges, tofu) and B vitamins especially
B6 and B9 (folate) (grains, nuts and seeds, green leafy vegetables, red meat, organ meats, brewers yeast, legumes). Be sure you are getting
these foods in to you!
• Don’t skip meals –initially it might feel like it helps you control your weight but your metabolism will suffer and long term your fat burning ability will decline
significantly
• Many women don’t eat enough protein (poultry, fish, red meat, tofu, eggs). Protein keeps you satisfied, helps kerb those sugar cravings and may
assist in weight loss
• If you are pre menopausal then it is time to load up onphytoestrogens (plant oestrogens) to assist your body through this time – linseeds/
flaxseeds, miso paste, tofu, tempeh, organic wholebean soy milk (such as bonsoy), seeds (sesame seeds in particular), mung bean and alfalfa
sprouts and wholegrains are all high in phytoestrogens
• Just by changing a few dietary and lifestyle habits you could dramatically increase your chances of conceiving. Try to cutout the coffee and
alcohol, give up the cigarettes, freshen up your fridge with lots of vegetables and fruits and start exercising. Your body will respond so quickly to
these changes and that may be all you need for you to become a mum.
• Are you tummy hungry or head hungry? Be a ‘mindful’ eater. Soon you will realise if you are eating for reasons other than nourishment (i.e. emotionalreasons such as stress or tired or environmental reasons such as you are at the movies, or you are at the service station and the chocolate bars were
on special)…

Love your muscles by exercising regularly
It is time to get excited about the resistance exercise girls
because the advantages are bountiful!

The likelihood of you turning in to a ‘look a like of Schwarzenegger’ is extremelylow unless you
are pumping the weights hours each day, in fact after that you wouldn’t even nearly look like him
because our hormones won’t allow it.
Weight training / resistance exercise is essential for bone strength, especially in women over 30
years old. Muscle also keeps your metabolism functioning at a higher rate all the time – even when
you are asleep. And remember – if you arevery thin while young, when you add in the weakening
that comes with age, you won’t be left with a lot of strength in your elderly years!
Many are now coming to appreciate the firmer look of some muscle on the female frame – but if
you’re still concerned, you can use lighter weights or resistance training such as intense yoga or
strengthening pilates and avoid adding bulk. If you keepweights low (or use body weight, for things
(like pushups or tricep dips) and perform high numbers of repetitions, your muscles should get
firmer and more toned without growing in size. Aim for 20+ repetitions of each exercise

Health at Work Pty Ltd GPO Box 4524, Melbourne VIC 3001
Ph: 61 3 9639 5039 Fax: 61 3 9639 5079

www.healthatwork.net.au

Women’s Health

Does your menstrual cyclerule your life?
Want some good news? It doesn’t have to!

While the exact cause of pre menstrual symptoms (PMS) is unknown, there are many factors that have been found to
contribute to this pattern of dysfunction. Imbalances in the female reproductive hormones, oestrogen and progesterone,
in the two weeks before a period are the most likely cause, however, other hormones can also play a...