Live a healthier life

There’s been a lot of research over time addressing the unique health needs of women. While health is a universal need, women’s health in particular has its own personality of sorts. Here are some tips you’ll stand a better chance of living a long and healthier life.

Healthy Heart: Heart disease remains the number one killer of women. Women’s heart health is about more than simply preventing heart attacks; high blood pressure, high cholesterol and lifestyle issues such as obesity significantly contribute to women’s heart health.Pay attention to risk factors such as diet, smoking, diabetes, and activity level, all of which contribute to heart health.

Go for cholesterol level check up every 4-6 years. Mental health: Mental health is important. While fewer women than men die by suicide, women attempt suicide three times as frequently as men. Mental illness affects women differently than men. For all women, stress can cause both physical health problems as well as temporary mental health challenges that must be addressed.

Smoking: Women have now achieved equality with men when it comes to health effects of smoking. Smoking affects women’s health in many ways and often more seriously than it does men. Smoking women are 25 times more likely to die of lung cancer and have a three times increased risk of heart disease.

Breast health: Risk factors for breast cancer include family history, smoking, and obesity. Both genetic and age factors, as well as lifestyle contributing issues, need to be addressed in any routine comprehensive health screening especially for women over age 45.

Healthy weight: Women who are overweight are at particularly high risk for things like heart disease and diabetes. Every health screening needs to include an evaluation of Body Mass Index (BMI), and recommendations for making positive lifestyle changes.

Diabetes: More than 200 million women have diabetes, and this number continues to rise. And because diabetes also affects unborn babies, it is a disease that is particularly hard on women. The rise of obesity also contributes to the growing diabetes problem, and diabetic women have a higher rate of heart disease than men.

Routine medical screenings for women must include a focused look at both genetic and lifestyle risk factors, as well as careful management if diabetes has been diagnosed.

Physical activity: Women who are determined to be healthy are finding ways to increase their physical activity by exercising at least 30 minutes every day. By including physical activity in a daily routine, women reduce blood pressure, lower cholesterol and blood sugar, better manage stress and even have healthier babies. Every routine health screening needs to include analysis of current physical activity levels and recommendations for increased exercise.