A Dietary Perspective On The Phase In A Woman’s Life
As you may very well know, your diet plays into your life in so many ways—more than you may know!...
Most recent articles
Initial Thoughts & FAQ On Egg Donation
Ladies, so you are thinking about egg donation. Are you on the giving end or receiving end of this...
Most Common Women’S Health Issues
Woman are able to bear children, and because of this capacity, there are specific health issues that only effect women. Some of these issues are obvious, and a woman should schedule regular visits with her gynecologist in order to prevent and diagnose early any signs of female reproductive system related issues. However, there are also health issues that affect both genders, but are more prevalent in woman than men. It’s important to know the facts and keep abreast of your health. These are some of the most common health issues woman face:
Heart Disease
This disease is the top cause of death in both women and men, but it tends to be under-diagnosed in woman and caught too late for treatment to work. Heart attacks can be caused by coronary artery disease. This happens when the blood vessels become blocked or narrowed on their pathway to the heart. Risk factors include smoking, age, hereditary, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, inactivity or diabetes.
Breast Cancer
This type of cancer is the most common for women and second leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Unfortunately, many woman avoid going to the doctor and getting the appropriate screening done, because the fear of breast cancer is so great. Risk factors include increasing age, genes, family history, people of Caucasian descent, early onset of menstruation or late menopause, not having children, high alcohol use or obesity.
Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a disease that affects over 44 million Americans and 68% of them are women. The good news is that with education young, this disease can be preventable. Most of a human’s bone mass is developed before the age of thirty so, you need to make sure you take in enough calcium and do weight-bearing exercise to strengthen your bones as much as possible. Risk factors include being female, age, thin-framed bones, White or Asian race, family history, lack of calcium and vitamin D, anorexia, smoking and excessive alcohol.
Depression
Although depression is common in both women and men, it appears to double in its prevalence in woman. Two major causes of depression are hormone related and effect only women. These include postpartum depression after a pregnancy and around the time of menopause. Risk factors include a previous bout of depression, family history, heart problems, serious chronic illnesses, marital issues, substance abuse, stressful life events, physical or sexual abuse, anxiety or eating disorders.
Auto-Immune diseases
This is a group of diseases where the immune system mistakenly attacks, and destroys or alters tissues within the body. 75% Auto-immune diseases occur in women as opposed to 25% in men. Researchers are still trying to understand why the body turns on itself in this way but studies suggest that genetic, hormonal and environmental factors can be risk factors.