Nutrition diet for women

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Nutrition diet for women

 

 

How do nutritional needs and diets change for women across their lifespan? The

effects of a woman's diet on her children start long before she becomes

pregnant. Stores of fat, protein, and other nutrients built up over the years

are called upon during pregnancy for fetal nourishment. During adolescence and

early adulthood, women need to increase food rich in calcium to build peak

(maximum) bone mass to reduce the risk of developing osteoporosis, a progressive

loss of bone with aging that causes bones to be more susceptible to fracture.

All women need more iron than men since younger women lose iron through

menstruation. Caloric intake varies for each person based on age, gender, and

activity level, but for the most part, women between 23 and 50 should eat about

2,200 calories per day to maintain their current weight, while older women need

fewer calories. No one should consumer fewer than 1,500 calories, even in

attempts to lose weight, according to the Food and Drug

Administration (FDA). The FDA recommends that everyone maintain healthy levels

of fat and fiber intake through out their adult lives.

What is a healthy diet? The United States Department of Agriculture and the

Department of Health and Human Services have jointly issued a complete report on

a healthy diet titled " Nutrition and Your Health: Dietary Guidelines for

Americans " and " Food Guidelines for Americans " . Healthy diets follow the food

guide " pyramid, " which recommends 6-11 servings of complex carbohydrates, 2-3

servings each of fruits and vegetables,1-2 servings each of dairy products and

proteins like meat, tofu, or beans, and sparing use of added fats and sugars. In

addition, the " Five A Day " Campaign is a national effort to get Americans to eat

at least five servings combined from the fruit and vegetable groups per day.

 

Ideal Menu for Vata, Pitta and Kapha

What weight is considered obese or overweight? The words obesity and

overweight are generally used interchangeably. However, according to the

Institute of Medicine report, their technical meanings are not identical.

Overweight refers to an excess of body weight that includes all tissues, such as

fat, bone and muscle. Obesity refers specifically to an excess of body fat. It

is possible to be overweight without being obese, as in the case of a body

builder who has a substantial amount of muscle mass. It is possible to be obese

without being overweight, as in the case of a very sedentary person who is

within the desirable weight range but who nevertheless has an excess of body

fat. However, most overweight people are also obese and vice versa. Men with

more than 25 percent and women with more than 30 percent body fat are considered

obese. The USFDA has released a chart detailing recommended weights relative to

height; women should be in the lower end of their appropriate

weight range, according to the chart.

 

Look for Women & Obesity.

How can I determine how much fat is okay to eat daily and have a healthy diet?

Your personal 'fat allowance' depends on how many calories you take in each day.

Remember, the total fat in your diet should average no more than 30 percent of

your calories, and saturated fat should be no more than 10 percent. The total

fat and saturated fat grams you should eat depends on how many calories you

consume each day. Check food labels to find out the number of fat grams (total

and saturated) in each serving.

 

Daily Fat Intake

TOTAL CALORIES

(per day)

TOTAL FAT*

(in grams)

SATURATED FAT**

(in grams)

1500

50

15

1800

60

18

2000

65

20

2500

80

25

 

* Amounts are equal to 30 percent of total calories (rounded down to the

nearest 5); the recommendation is to eat this much or less.

** Amounts are equal to 9 percent of total calories; the recommendation is to

eat less than 10 percent of total calories as saturated fat. Each gram of fat is

equal to 9 calories.

Are dietary supplements such as vitamins and minerals important in maintaining

a healthy diet? Dietary supplements have been prescribed by physicians to

correct nutrient deficiencies diagnosed. However, it has not been established

that large amounts of vitamins and minerals as dietary supplements will help

prevent or treat health problems or slow the aging process. Daily multivitamin

tablets may be beneficial to some people, but the value of the supplement is

dependent on many factors, including eating habits and overall health. While

some supplements only contain some of the identified nutrients important to

health, a well-balanced diet provides all the necessary nutrients. Large amounts

of some supplements may actually upset the natural balance of nutrients that the

body maintains. If you have illnesses such as diabetes, high blood pressure, or

arthritis, you should check with your doctor before taking any over-the-counter

dietary supplements.

 

Ayurvedic Supplements for natural balance of nutrients: Spirulina Plus

There are many weight-loss programs; how do you know which ones are safe and

successful? Almost any of the commercial weight-loss programs can work, but

only if they motivate you sufficiently to decrease the amount of calories you

eat or increase the amount of calories you burn each day (or both). A

responsible and safe weight-loss program should be able to document for you the

five following features:

· The diet should be safe, including all of the recommended daily

allowances for vitamins, minerals and protein and low-calorie, not low in

essential foodstuffs;

· The program should be directed toward a slow, steady weight loss

unless your doctor feels your particular health condition would benefit from

more rapid weight loss. Expect to lose only about a pound a week after the first

week or two.

· If you plan to lose more than 15-20 pounds, have any health

problems, or take medication on a regular basis, you should be evaluated by your

doctor before beginning a weight-loss program. Your physician should also be

able to advise you on the need for weight loss, the appropriateness of the

program you have in mind, and a sensible weight loss goal for you.

· The program should include plans for weight maintenance after the

loss phase is over. It should include help in permanently changing your dietary

habits and level of physical activity to alter a lifestyle that may have

contributed to weight gain in the past.

· A commercial weight-loss program should provide a detailed statement

of fees and costs of additional items such as dietary supplements.

****************

Should I take vitamins or other dietary supplements? The Federal Government’s

approach to dietary intervention, formulated by boards composed of nutrition

scientist, generally does not recommend supplementing the typical American diet

with vitamins or nutrients beyond the recommended daily allowances (RDAs), nor

does it suggest that some foods never be eaten. In contrast, many alternative

dietary approaches contend that no amount of manipulation of the typical

American diet is enough to promote optimum health or prevent eventual chronic

illness.

These alternative approaches represent a continuum of philosophies ranging

from the concept that supplementing the typical American diet somewhat beyond

the RDAs is necessary to promote optimum health, to the idea that

supplementation well beyond the RDAs is often required to reverse the effects of

long-term deficiencies. Other approaches advocate drastic dietary modification,

either eliminating or adding certain types of foods or macronutrients, to treat

specific types of conditions such as cancer and cardiovascular disease. Finally,

there is the view that certain major staples of typical American diet, such as

meat and dairy products, are basically unhealthy and should be generally

avoided.

There is a growing body of data supporting the notion that the RDAs for

minerals, such as calcium and magnesium, may be too low and that supplementation

may be necessary to prevent the onset of chronic diseases. In addition, the RDAs

for a number of vitamins and micronutrients, such as vitamin C, vitamin D,

vitamin E, folate, and beta-carotene, may not be adequate to prevent chronic

illness. For example, recent studies have found that the RDA for folate may need

to be doubled for women as well as men.

The FDA has said that a well-balanced diet will usually meet women's

allowances for vitamins and minerals. However, for good health, women need to

pay special attention to two minerals, calcium and iron.

How much calcium do women need? Both women and men need enough calcium to

build peak (maximum) bone mass during their early years of life. Low calcium

intake appears to be one important factor in the development of osteoporosis, a

disease in which bone density decreases and leads to weak bones. Women have a

greater risk than men of developing osteoporosis.

Therefore, particularly during adolescence and early adulthood, women should

increase their food sources of calcium. According to one FDA spokesperson, the

most important time to get a sufficient amount of calcium is while bone growth

and consolidation are occurring, a period that continues until approximately age

30 to 35. The idea is, if you can build a maximum peak of calcium deposits early

on, this may delay fractures that occur later in life.

 

The recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for calcium for woman 19 to 24 is

1,200 milligrams per day. For women 25 and older, the allowance drops to 800

milligrams, but that is still a significant amount, says Stephenson. " The need

for good dietary sources of calcium continues throughout life, " she says.

How do you get enough calcium without too many calories and fat? Dairy

products are powerhouses of calcium, but they needn’t be high-fat. Use 1 percent

or skim milk instead of whole milk or cream, and choose from lower fat cheeses,

yogurts, frozen yogurts, and ice cream substitutes.

In addition to dairy foods, other good sources of calcium include salmon, tofu

(soybean curd), certain vegetables (for example, broccoli), legumes (peas and

beans), calcium-enriched grain products, lime-processed tortillas, seeds, and

nuts.

Do I need to take an iron supplement? For women, the RDA for iron is 15

milligrams per day, 5 milligrams more than the RDA for men. Women need more of

this mineral because they lose an average of 15 to 20 milligrams of iron each

month during menstruation. Without enough iron, iron deficiency anemia can

develop and cause symptoms that include pallor, fatigue and headaches.

After menopause, body iron stores generally begin to increase. Therefore, iron

deficiency in women over 50 may indicate blood loss from another source, and

should be checked by a physician.

Animal products--meat, fish and poultry--are good and important sources of

iron. In addition, the type of iron, known as heme iron, in these foods is well

absorbed in the human intestine.

Dietary iron from plant sources, called non-heme, are found in peas and beans,

spinach and other green leafy vegetables, potatoes, and whole-grain and

iron-fortified cereal products. Although non-heme iron is not as well absorbed

as heme iron, the amount of non-heme iron absorbed from a meal is influenced by

other constituents in the diet. The addition of even relatively small amounts of

meat or foods containing vitamin C substantially increases the total amount of

iron absorbed from the entire meal.

 

 

 

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