At Los Gatos Doc, our goal is to empower women to make their health a top priority and help them understand the key steps they can take to improve their health. Our advice to our women patients is to celebrate their health and take care of themselves first.
What are some self-care tips for women?
It’s never too early or too late to make healthy lifestyle changes in your life. Our five tips will show you how you can stay healthy and fit.
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Visit your primary care doctor
There are many steps a woman can take to achieve and maintain good health.
The first step is to make an appointment with your primary care doctor, as it’s a good idea to know where you’re at with your health. As a family doctor, my number one advice to women patients is to know their family medical history, understand their body changes, adopt beneficial habits into their lifestyles, and undergo routine preventive health screenings.
So make an appointment and discuss women’s health issues with your primary care doctor. Get your blood pressure, blood glucose, and cholesterol levels checked
Here are some baseline tests that I recommend for my patients:
- Blood Pressure to assess risk for hypertension (high blood pressure)
- Height/Weight (BMI) to assess risk for obesity
- Lipid panel to assess risk for hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol)
- Hemoglobin A1c to assess risk for diabetes
- Comprehensive Metabolic Panel (CMP) to assess risk for kidney and liver disorders
- Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) to assess risk for thyroid disorders
I couldn’t stress enough the importance of annual well-woman visits (checkup) and preventive screenings for women across different age groups. You’ll want to screen for any silent killers and catch them early on. Pap smear screening tests and routine mammograms, in particular, are crucial for women.
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Get Active
Most of us lead sedentary lives, often glued to our mobile or television screens.
Our overall health and fitness would be better, depression scores would be better, we’d feel better, we’d have more energy, and we’d sleep better if we moved more.
Regular exercise has the following benefits:
- Maintains a healthy weight
- Boosts metabolism
- Strengthens bones and builds muscle
- Supports heart health
- Reduces the risk for diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular conditions, and osteoporosis
There are many forms of exercise that you can try like yoga, pilates, high-intensity interval training (HIIT), jogging, weight lifting, or stair climbing.
As per the The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, you must aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity, or an equivalent combination each week.
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Eat Healthy
Pay attention to what you put in your body.
Adopt good food habits by eating a variety of fruits and vegetables, including dark green, red and orange; beans, peas, whole grains; fat-free or low-fat dairy; lean protein; and healthy oils, such as olive oil. Reduce your intake of salt and processed foods. Have a calcium supplement paired with Vitamin D as it helps the body absorb calcium better.
Drinking fluids is crucial to staying healthy and maintaining the proper functioning of your body, including your heart, brain, and muscles. A simple way to check your fluid intake is to check your urine. If it is colorless or light yellow, you are well hydrated. Dark yellow colored urine can be a sign of dehydration.
For women, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommends 9 cups or a little over 2 liters of fluid each day. Pregnant women should drink about 10 cups of water daily, and those who breastfeed need about 12 cups of water daily. You’ll need more water if you are outside on a hot day, or doing strenuous activity, or dehydrated or sick.
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Take Proper Rest
Many of us neglect our sleep in trade for work or leisure. Prioritize sleep. Try to get seven to nine hours of sleep each night for best health results. If you have trouble sleeping well, get yourself tested for obstructive sleep apnea or other sleep disorders.
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Prioritize Mental Health
Pay attention to your mental health, including managing stress.
One of the quickest ways to manage stress is to invoke the ‘Five Blessings’ rule. Count your blessings one by one and focus on what’s going on right in your life right now. This simple exercise can change your mood and life.
Practice prayer and mindfulness regularly as it lowers stress, enhances self-awareness, boosts brain power, and has multiple positive side effects. Make time to do things that make you feel happy and light.
Talking about your feelings with someone your trust can help you stay in good mental health and manage negative emotions. Keep yourself active, eat right, and take a break if you feel troubled.
If you’ve been dealing with mental issues that you cannot manage, don’t ignore them but seek help.
Final Thoughts
As a woman, you need to pay close attention to your health. Integrate beneficial habits into your lifestyle and undergo routine preventive health screenings to be at your healthiest and happiest best.
You can take control of your health today and help others in your family at the same time.
Take that first step to become healthier and contact Dr. V for a consultation today.