Women’s Health: 5 Ways to Stay Healthy for an Older Woman

A holistic guide to the many aspects of women’s physical, mental and emotional health, women’s health, intelligence and wine! That’s where Dr. Lorena White shares her expertise and advice for achieving optimal health on Audible.

Whether it’s essential vitamins, prenatal care, dealing with acne, menopause, or identifying the causes of PCOS, here are 5 tips from this podcast to help you start your health journey.

Prioritize Vitamin D for Optimum Health

Vitamin D is one of the most essential nutrients in our body. When our bodies get the right amount of it, we are able to function optimally and a deficiency in this nutrient can cause our system to collapse.

“Vitamin D makes an enzyme that makes a chemical called acetylcholine. Acetylcholine is really important in our autonomic nervous system. When you take D it helps your body absorb the calcium and magnesium in food. A Another important factor is it keeps the kidney healthy. Avoiding calcium spillage in the urine. Kidney stones are one of the consequences of having low D.

Eat Green Vegetables for Optimum Prenatal Nutrition

The pre-natal phase of motherhood is clearly the most integral part of determining a healthy delivery. Nutrition is essential during this period, mothers who eat right and maintain a good lifestyle ensure that their babies stay healthy too. Here’s some expert guidance from Dr. Lorena White on the food sources pregnant or pregnant women must eat.

“In terms of supplements, your doctor should be able to recommend good prenatal vitamin and mineral supplements containing extra iron and calcium. Folate, folic acid, is not a B vitamin and is now being used to promote fertility and prevent neural tube defects such as spina bifida.” which is a serious abnormality in fetal development. One major source of folate is cooked greens and another we recommend is orange juice. If you are considering pregnancy and thinking If there’s any other possibility that you could be pregnant, to be sure, take a daily B complex vitamin that supplements and provides at least 400 micrograms of folate.”

Embrace Natural Care and Lifestyle Changes to Navigate Menopause

Menopause is one of the most common conditions that all women go through naturally. As women approach their menopause, they become increasingly dependent on over-the-counter medication for symptomatic relief.

Much of it is not needed or can have side effects, saying a quote from centuries before the advent of the pharmaceutical industry, “anything that is natural can be treated with dietary means”. Natural remedies, lifestyle changes and exercise help in relieving the effects of menopause to a great extent.

“We found in a survey of 1,100 women not too long ago, that 37 percent of women who were given antidepressants for menopause, 84 percent said they didn’t find it appropriate because they didn’t have clinical depression, and 41 50 percent were given hormone replacement therapy, 14 percent didn’t take it because they were too scared and of those who did, 62 percent dropped out because of adverse side effects in the first year.

They weren’t given anything else then because although everything we do is based on published medical research, most doctors don’t know about it.”

Reduce acne with diet and lifestyle changes

Acne scars and breakouts are a women’s nightmare. Rich diet and skin care routine can help in reducing acne but never skip it completely. The immune system is what responds to an overgrowth of bacteria on our skin such as c-acne, resulting in inflammation.

As suggested in this podcast, lab testing, dietician expertise, and adequate lifestyle changes do the trick away from acne for good. Popularly advertised harsh medicine in the market should be avoided. “Acne is a complex condition, it is caused by many factors and is influenced by factors like diet, stress, hormones, genetics etc. It is actually induced by a bacterial overgrowth on our skin.

This bacterium is called Cutibacterium acnes or C-acne and it is present on everyone’s skin. C-Acne occurs on your skin but when it is part of a balanced microbiome, you are healthy and you do not have any inflammation or acne. It’s only when it gets past a certain point, that you generate that inflammation, and your body reacts with that inflammation that you basically see on your face.”

Manage PCOS with Lifestyle Changes

Polycystic ovary syndrome is a condition where you have few, abnormal, or very long periods. It is often the result of too much of a male hormone called androgen which often results in the ovaries not releasing eggs. However, testosterone is not the only hormone imbalance that causes PCOS, our bodies produce other androgens that add to the condition of PCOS. “Hormone imbalance is one of the major PCOS root causes for most women with the condition.

While testosterone was made mostly in the ovaries, DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone) is another androgen that comes mostly from the adrenals. However, genetic factors also appear to be the reason that 20-30% of women with PCOS also have DHEA. This causes the symptoms associated with PCOS which are weight gain, hair loss, body and facial hair, and fertility.” As over the counter medications can be taken as prescribed by a doctor, a good diet and exercise are the most common. and effective ways to reduce the effects of PCOS.

Women need to engage more in informative conversations about health supported by medical evidence and effective solutions.