How to maintain good health as a woman
By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant
Tips from Molly Ranney, registered dietitian, certified specialist in obesity and weight management at Highland Hospital.
1. “Eat food as found in nature as minimally processed as possible.
2. “Sleep and stress management will impact our food behavior. If we’re tired and not sleeping well, we will gravitate toward things that we think will give us energy like sweet, carbohydrate-based things.
3. “Get in more water. Water is ideal. Try water flavored with wedges of lemon or lime. Metal bottles like Stanley if that gets people to drink more, great. Everyone needs to find their cue to drink more. We use a fair amount of water through living and breathing and exercise. Women need 88 ounces, more than the 64 fluid ounces you hear about. Our thirst mechanism isn’t as good as we get older. Older people get dehydrated for this reason. If you’re thirsty, you’re about 16 ounces behind. We’re coming into a time where we’re finally acknowledging that women are very different from men and we need to customize health based on the individual, including the gender. Women’s health with perimenopause and menopause, we’re finally acknowledging that. We need to do a lot more support.”
Tips from physician Jordana Gilman, board-certified in women’s health and assistant professor of clinical OB-GYN at Highland Hospital.
4. “Get PAP smears regularly to identify precancer which can be intervened upon. Start at age 21 and depending on your results, every one to three or five years. We start screening for breast cancer at 40 with mammograms.
5. “Colon cancer is an increasing number of diagnoses for young people. Typically, we start at 45, but depending on medical or family history, we could start earlier. Along with screening, also just including fiber in the diet to help with colon health.
6. “Something people may not think about when going to an OB-GYN is at 65 screening for osteoporosis or earlier. A DEXA scan can show osteoporosis or osteopenia, which can be treated and prevented. A whole host of subsequent health problems can be prevented if we treat bone density. Minimize risk of falls and weight bearing exercise to strengthen the skeleton.
7. “With younger women, we like to screen for STDs when they start having sexual activity. A lot of STDs are asymptomatic in women. We recommend screening for those diseases regularly, even in people who are doing safer sex such as using condoms and monogamous. If someone doesn’t know they have chlamydia, that can impact their fertility long-term by causing scarring and chronic pelvic pain and increase risk of ectopic pregnancies. For people who have multiple sexual partners or who don’t routinely use condoms, they should talk about PrEP. Many people don’t realize that it’s not just for men who have sex with men, but in women trying to prevent HPV. The pills are very well tolerated and provide great protection.”
Tips from Corey Meyn, nurse practitioner at URMC Urgent Care in Seneca Falls and Geneva.
8. “Get that once a year physical to screen for thyroid, diabetes and check cholesterol. Pretty much everyone is low in vitamin D in Upstate New York.
9. “Getting dental check-ups is an important part of women’s health. I’ve seen people with bad dental infections and they end up going to the OR with severe dental infections. If you have any heart problems or implants or joint replacement, it can be more dangerous. The infection could compromise these.
10. “Don’t smoke, vape or use nicotine products or tobacco. There’s a link between using those and cancer. Many people relate vaping to less side effects, but popcorn lung is being linked to vaping. A good number of people in the PCP practice use vaping to get off cigarettes but using it as a crutch doesn’t work that way. I’m against just switching to a vape. Get off all of it.”
Tip from Christina Thompson, executive director of the Breast Cancer Coalition in Rochester.
11. “Be familiar with any family history of any cancers and have a good provider system to know your own risk for things. Go ahead with testing as needed and recommended. If you’re going to have a mammogram, they’ll determine what type based on the density of the breast tissue. They may be using ultrasound but that won’t benefit those who don’t have that dense breast tissue.”
Tip from physician Kaci Schiavone, bariatric surgeon at Highland Hospital.
12. “Make themselves a priority in their lives. I think that stereotypically, women in their households are caregivers to partners, children and parents and neglect to take care of themselves. Make sure they stay up to date with their annual health exams, preventive medical care, making sure they’re taking steps to protect their mental health and making sure from an obesity standpoint taking care of their bodies daily with movement and nourishment.”