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Celebrate Women’s Health!
It’s
never too early or late to work toward being your healthiest you! This
National Women’s Health Week, May 8–14, is a great time to empower all
women to make their health a top priority.
Women often serve as primary caregivers for their families, putting the
needs of their spouses, partners, children, and parents before their own.
As a result, women’s health and well-being can become secondary. National
Women’s Health Week brings together communities, businesses, government,
health organizations, and other groups in an effort to promote women’s
health. So remind all the women in your life to be sure they are taking
care of their own health along with all the other people they care for.
Ladies: Have
You Taken Care of Your Health Checklist?
National Women’s Check-Up Day is
May 9. Follow these tips to help stay your healthiest.
Get preventive screenings. Visit a
health care professional to receive regular checkups and preventive
screenings. Important screenings for women include an annual physical,
blood pressure test, and screenings for cervical cancer (pap test),
cholesterol, and thyroid function. Starting at age 50, women should
get screened for breast cancer every one to two years. And after menopause,
women should get a bone density test to be screened for osteoporosis.
Get
active. Regular activity is one of the most effective strategies
for maintaining a healthy weight, along with reduced calorie intake. Being
physically active most days helps to improve your cardiorespiratory (heart,
lungs, and blood vessels) and muscular fitness, helps with mood, and can
help reduce your risk of cognitive decline.
Eat healthy. Eating healthy isn’t
really that difficult—and the health payoff is incredible. To reduce your
risk of chronic diet-related health issues:
- Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables—at least seven
servings per day
- Eat dark grains, such as whole wheat, oatmeal, and
brown rice—and avoid white grains
- Eat only lean proteins, including fish, skinless
poultry, lean red meats, dry beans, eggs (try just egg whites), and
nuts
- Cook primarily with monounsaturated fats, such as
olive oil
- Limit saturated and trans fats, cholesterol,
sodium, and excess sugars
- Drink alcohol in moderation—for women, that means
no more than one drink per day
Get enough sleep and manage stress.
Try to get a good night’s rest every night. Adequate sleep makes you more
productive and energetic—this means 7–8 hours per night. Recognize the
signs of stress and take action when you notice them. Focus on controlling
what you can, and let the rest of it go.
Avoid unhealthy behaviors. Smoking,
texting while driving, not wearing a seatbelt or bicycle helmet, and other
unhealthy or unsafe habits can severely damage your overall health.
Today, we’re more empowered than ever before to take control of our lives
and our health. Whether it’s pushing ourselves a little harder at the gym
or calling our doctors to make sure we’re up to date on our screenings, we
can all truly make a difference—not just for ourselves, but for all the
women we love.
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