The nutritional needs of men and women are as different as it is possible to be. No, this doesn’t mean men need to eat more than women or vice versa. Being less muscular than men, women would need plenty of iron and adequate proteins but lesser calories to start off with. Know what you eat! Sounds cliché, but there you are!
Food for a balanced diet
Though most women like to blame their problems on calories, an average women need is 1800 calories every day. Again, if you are into strenuous physical activities like sports or working outdoors, it escalates even more. No, don’t even think to cut back on fats; it won’t get rid of flabs. Good fats from vegetable oils, fish etc are not to be pushed out but devoured. How else would you absorb the fat soluble vitamins like vitamin A, D, E and K? Given the ambiguity of dietary needs from person to person, health experts try to monitor these needs at levels like adolescent girl, working woman, lactating or single mothers; as individually as possible.
World often expects you to be a super woman. Running a house, managing kids and a furious desire to ace in office work often chase each other while being crunched unmercifully by time. But hey, its possible. Just increase your iron intake. Iron is an unavoidable and irreplaceable aspect of women’s diet. Iron deficiency reduces work capacity. Now that got your attention, didn’t it? Iron consumption means goodbye to anemia and fatigue. It thwarts everything that stands between you and you becoming a super-woman.
For iron to make any impression on your body, it needs a push from Vitamin C, D and Calcium. Women need iron way more than men. So go for a diet that includes meat, fish, and poultry, spinach, in vegetarian foods beans, lentils, peas and legumes; all rich in Iron. However some experts say that vegetarian source of iron is harder to absorb.
Calcium is a plus, not just when your bones are growing (till your mid 20s) but also to maintain the bone strength well past menopause. And you certainly cannot overlook Vitamin B and folic acids as they have a major say in your reproductive health; this is for both men and women!
Keep it simple – Focus on whole, plant-based foods. Include fish in your diet, if you can. Whether you like milk or not, body needs Calcium. Other foods such as spinach, broccoli, that you can tolerate. Protein is good but not above the brim. It can push out Calcium and all your hard work for bone weight and strong teeth will go down the drain. Boost your intake by including supplements and fortified cereals. Let’s wind up with the usual advice, try to cut back booze and caffeines (tea, coffee, energy drinks).
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