Physiologically men and women are different, and so are their nutritional requirements. But factors like cultural environment, economic status, traditional habits, and unawareness hinder achieving optimum nutritional goals.
Studies suggest 30% of women are deficient in vitamins and minerals, leading them to health disorders. Unfortunately, over 75% of women require supplemental multivitamins to achieve the required nutrient content.
Nutritional requirements in women
Here are the factors that explain why women have different nutritional needs than men:
Nutrient deficiencies
Calcium Deficiency due to menopause
Hypoparathyroidism is a cause of calcium deficiency. Women with this condition do not produce parathyroid hormone, which controls calcium in our blood. Loss of calcium in the blood is called hypoglycemia. It is also a reason why women tend to have osteoporosis due to the constant depletion of bone density.
Women must start looking into their daily calcium content inclusion as they age. Since estrogen declines as they reach menopause, their bones start thinning faster.
Calcium deficiency is difficult to detect as it does not show early symptoms. Regular health check-ups and maintaining a healthy diet are the only ways to prevent such conditions. Dairy products have good calcium content, and leafy greens also provide the nutrient in bounty.
Folate for a healthy pregnancy
When a woman becomes pregnant, her nutrient requirements change. She must incorporate nutrients like iron, folate, zinc, iodine, and magnesium. Folate, or synthetically produced folic acid, is a critical nutrient for a growing fetus. It assists in strengthening a baby’s spinal cord and brain. Folate supplementation is necessary to prevent birth defects in children.
Iron to prevent anemia triggered by menstruation
Menstruating women inevitably have blood loss every month, leading to an iron deficiency. Not adding sufficient iron to your body or replenishing the blood loss can lead to anemia.
Anemia happens when our bodies do not have healthy red blood cells. Since the red blood cells carry oxygen to our tissues, we need iron-rich food. Low iron levels can cause fatigue, dizziness, and shortness of breath. Dark leafy greens, seafood, and dry fruits are good sources of iron.
Vitamin B12 supplementation
Both men and women might have vitamin B12 deficiency if they abstain from consuming fish, meat, and dairy products. Not having adequate vitamin B12 can lead to overall body weakness, dry skin, cognitive abnormalities, and loss of body balance. Vitamin B12 promotes hemoglobin production and enables our body to receive oxygen.
Menstruation
There are men in menstruation, but men don’t menstruate! It is reason enough to understand that our hormones and nutritional needs are different. A continuous blood loss for a period of 5 days on average requires nutritional replenishment.
According to the World Health Organization, almost 32% of women worldwide have symptoms of anemia due to iron deficiency. Pale skin, brittle nails, mouth ulcers, and shortness of breath are effects of anemia. Adding iron-rich food is imperative and should not be limited to menstruation week but followed throughout.
Pregnancy and Lactation
Folate, iron, and calcium are necessary nutrients women need to consume during pregnancy and lactation.
Women should consume 400 micrograms per day of folate regularly and 600 micrograms during pregnancy. Lactating mothers need 500 micrograms. Folate comes from broccoli, oranges, and dark leafy greens. It reduces the baby’s chances of being born with conditions like spina bifida or a weakened spinal cord.
The daily iron content for expecting women is 26 milligrams. For lactating mothers, it is 10 milligrams. Leafy greens, lean meat, beans, and fortified cereals can support such dietary requirements.
If a woman is pregnant or lactating before the age of 19, she will require 1,300 milligrams of calcium daily. Women above the age of 19 will need 1,000 milligrams. Calcium strengthens a baby’s bones, heart, nervous system, and muscles. Not consuming adequate calcium will make the growing baby remove calcium from the mother’s bones.
Diet and Food Choices
As nutritional requirements are separate for men and women, families must organize and stick to diets that suit personal needs. It might not be possible for everyone to make food separately throughout the day. However, when consuming the same food items, they must know how it contributes to their daily nutritional needs.
For example, just like supplementation will be an add-on requirement that women must consume to have enough vitamins and minerals, diet and food choices must also deliver nutrition individually.
Cultural Beliefs
Superstitious mindsets and cultural beliefs still impact decision-making for women’s wellbeing during menstruation and pregnancy. Families require education and awareness to go beyond traditional practices to not restrict women from eating certain types of food during these sensitive times. Instead, they should consume food that improves their wellbeing and helps a fetus grow healthily.
How do we improve women’s health?
Here are aspects we address as a growing health community to uplift the wellbeing of women:
Empowerment
Half Life To Health is a family of almost 250K. We are focused on empowering women by helping them understand their bodies. Our community across social media handles like Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube helps us stay connected, inform, educate, and empower families to focus on health and wellbeing. We are constantly trying to create awareness towards making healthier food choices and staying physically fit.
Supplementation
When members want to join our community, we go through their detailed case history to create a precise diet plan. Supplementation is necessary for women, according to test reports that suggest nutrient deficiencies. Vitamin D, folic acid, and iron are common deficiencies in women and must be addressed immediately.
Education and awareness
Communicating with women and families across social media to help people understand the distinctive nutritional requirements needed for women is our foremost priority. Half Life To Health is dedicated to sharing educational information to make women understand their bodies and keep themselves fit.
Through videos and blog posts, we provide you information to take utmost care of your nutritional requirements. Prioritizing women’s health helps us promote healthier families and become a bigger community that uplifts each other’s physical and mental well-being.
Gender equality
Through education, we help families understand how everyone has different nutritional requirements and why women should have different eating patterns. Breaking patterns from traditional eating methods and fighting societal barriers is necessary for good health and well-being.
A generational mindset continues to make most women take care of the kitchen and fulfill a family’s nutritional needs while neglecting themselves. They are the last to eat and often compromise on the quantity of food while serving others. Every family must discontinue such practices to help women have their food on time and with optimum nutrition. Only awareness can bring a shift in the mindset.
References:
Bruins, M.J. et al. (2018) Considerations for secondary prevention of nutritional deficiencies in high-risk groups in high-income countries, Nutrients. (Accessed: 09 May 2023) Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5793275/.
Brown, L.L. et al. (2021) Physiological need for calcium, iron, and folic acid for women of various subpopulations during pregnancy and beyond, Journal of women’s health (2002). (Accessed: 09 May 2023) Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8020528/.
C;, C.J. (no date) Iron deficiency in women: Assessment, causes and consequences, Current opinion in clinical nutrition and metabolic care. (Accessed: 09 May 2023) Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21934611.