The human body requires a lot of essential nutrients to nourish itself and sustain health. But women often have little time to look after their own needs, especially for achieving a required daily intake of certain nutrients. They unknowingly let their health take a backseat in Favour of “more important” duties. It is crucial to realize the significance of certain essential nutrients for women, so we can work towards fulfilling their purpose.
Importance of Nutrition in Women’s Health
The nutrition requirements and calories per day for women vary from men’s requirements, because of several physiological and biological differences. Menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause all have distinct demands for nutrition. Nutrition is vital in the efficiency of many internal systems. The importance of nutrition for women’s health can be identified through:
1. Hormonal Balance: Nutrition deficiency in women causes imbalance in their hormonal functions, especially during menstruation and pregnancy. So, it’s doubly important to ensure that women don’t miss out on their nutrition requirement per day.
2. Reproductive Health: Ensuring nutritional health is crucial for women of childbearing age, as a lack of nutrients can impact fetal development. Women undergoing menopause should pay attention to their nutrition intake, to combat the physical and mental struggles that menopause causes.
3. Bone Health: Women generally have a lower bone mass, causing bone disorders like “osteoporosis”. The physiological changes during menopause even directly impact bone density. So, it is important to maintain the required calories per day for women to ensure bone health.
4. Energy Levels: Frequently feeling lethargic or fatigued can be linked to low nutrition levels, because nutrition helps in boosting energy. Therefore, having a balanced diet chart including carbs, proteins, and fats is important to sustain energy.
5. Mental Health: There is a direct relation between essential nutrients and mental health. Certain nutrients like omega-3 fatty acids support brain health, and can likely play a role in dealing with anxiety and depression.
These are only some of the effects that lack of nutrition can have on internal functionalities of women.
Nutrition During Pregnancy
A pregnant woman’s eating habits and appetite contribute greatly to the formation of the baby’s organs, bones, and brain. Proper nutrition is thus considered the cornerstone of a healthy pregnancy. Inadequate nutrition also affects the mother’s energy and ability to recover after childbirth. So, knowing and following the daily calorie requirement becomes critical for both the fetus as well as the mother. (1)
Essential Nutrients with a Balanced Diet Chart
To be able to draft a balanced diet chart for women to meet the nutrition requirement per day, we must first understand which essential nutrients to include, what need they fulfil, and the dietary sources that replenish our body with them.
1. Fiber helps with digestion and maintains healthy bowel movement.
Food Source: Whole grains like brown rice, quinoa, berries, apples, and broccoli are a good source for fibre in a regular diet.
*RDA: 25 g/day (Sedentary Adult Women), 30 g/day (Moderate Adult Women), 40 g/day (Heavy Adult Women)
2. Iron helps in the production of hemoglobin, preventing anemia in women by supporting oxygen transportation across cells. Women lose a lot of blood during menstruation, so including iron in their diet is crucial.
Food Source: Eating fish, eggs, and leafy vegetables provides sufficient iron to the body. Additionally, citrus-rich foods like lemons and oranges help iron get absorbed into the body quicker.
*RDA: 29 mg/day (Adult Women)
3. Calcium directly affects and maintains bone health.
Food Source: Dairy is the best source for calcium. Including milk, yogurt, cheese, etc. on the daily nutritional requirements chart fulfils the want for calcium.
*RDA: 1000 mg/day (Adult Women)
4. Vitamin D helps with calcium absorption and nurtures the immune system.
Food Source: Fatty fish (eg. salmon), egg yolks, and fortified cereals.
*RDA: 600 IU/day
5. Protein aids in building and repairing tissues, and helps produce certain hormones that sustain healthy skin, hair, and nails.
Food Source: Meat, fish, and eggs are a good source of protein. Paneer and tofu, lentils, beans, and chickpeas are adequate sources for vegetarians and vegans.
*RDA: 0.83g/kg/day
6. Omega-3 Fatty Acids are “healthy fats” that the body cannot produce on its own and must be acquired through external dietary sources. Omega-3s improve cardiovascular health – reducing sudden deaths caused by heart diseases, and having remedial effects on hypertension and rheumatoid arthritis. (2)
Food Source: Fatty fish like salmon, flaxseeds, walnuts, and chia seeds provide omega-3 fatty acids to the body.
Using this breakdown of essential nutrients, a daily nutritional requirements chart can be drafted for women to follow to maintain their health.
Nutritional Concerns in Older Women
Older adults are more prone to nutrition deficiency than younger people, because of lifestyle and dietary changes. The internal changes that come with aging – lower body mass, lower bone density, etc. – are usually forgotten when considering dietary requirements for older women. Loss of mobility because of sedentary routines also affects energy levels. Therefore, it is increasingly important to follow a nutritious diet plan including all necessary nutrients to support health. (3)
1. Protein is an important nutritional requirement for older women. The demand for protein increases with age, and shouldn’t be overlooked in women’s daily diet.
2. Vitamins B-12, A, C, D all meet various needs – maintaining vision, supporting the immune system, preventing chronic disease, etc. Many elderly women often lack Vitamin D, making it vital to create a balanced diet chart for women including all these vitamins adequately.
*RDA: Vitamin B-12 – 2.2 μg/day
Vitamin A – 840 μg/day
Vitamin C – 65 mg/day
Vitamin D – 600 IU
3. Calcium is another essential nutrient that older women tend to consume in lesser amounts than required for the body.
4. Zinc is shown to assist in immune function, among other physiological functions.
5. Copper is easy to include in a diet plan as it is abundantly present in a variety of foods.
However, copper deficiency is hard to diagnose because its symptoms can be confused with other nutritional problems that are already common in old people. So, it is doubly important to include copper sources in a daily diet program.
Final Thoughts
Nutritional demands and deficiencies should not be ignored, especially for women. Women face several hormonal changes, biological changes, and bodily developments throughout their life. They need sufficient nutrients and vitamins to correctly tackle this without compromising their health. Creating a diet rich in these nourishing foods is essential for their health and wellbeing to thrive.
FAQs
Q1. What are the most essential nutrients for women?
• Iron
• Calcium
• Protein
• Vitamin D
• Omega-3 Fatty Acids
• Folate (Vitamin B9)
These are essential nutrients for women that must be included in their daily diet plans.
Q2. What should a 35 year old woman eat?
The recommended diet plan for a woman in her 30s should be a healthy balance of all food groups – prioritizing whole grains (wheat, brown rice, oats) followed by fruits and vegetables, lean protein sources (lean meats, fish, lentils, beans, tofu), and healthy fats.
Q3. What are the nutritional needs of a woman?
The nutritional needs for women differ from that of men because of various biological and physiological distinctions. Common nutritional requirements for women throughout their lifespan (from pre-menstruation to menopause) include iron, calcium, folate, and vitamin D.
Q4. What are the 4 basic needs of a woman?
The basic nutritional needs include the four large food groups – proteins, carbohydrates, fats, and vitamins and minerals. A balanced diet including these groups in their appropriate amounts is required for women to maintain a healthy lifestyle.