Posts Tagged ‘young women health’

Condom is sadly attached with traits like promiscuity, morality etc. In a country like India, where innocence is stupendously overrated and ignorance about sex (safe or otherwise) is glorified, lessons in condom usage are hard to place. So experience of first condom purchase becomes a nightmare. You have a right to safe sex and even peace of mind that comes with protecting yourself and your partner from STDs that includes the dreaded HIV.

Play it Safe...! Have you met him?

Awareness doesn’t cost much, but stigma does – your health and sanity. Condoms come in varieties –scented, lubricated, glow in the dark, even edible. There is one to suit every fancy, fantasy, need and pocket. Sexual health revolves around prevention and using condoms (male or female) is definitely responsible, mature and safe. Both the Government and private companies are ensuring that condoms are easily available through innovative channels like vending machines, postal orders and online purchases. Good way of skirting social stigma but overall awareness levels needs an overhaul.

Female condoms were launched in 2006. A female condom is a thin but strong latex/plastic sheath to trap the sperms during sexual intercourse; an effective method to prevent pregnancy & STDs.  It was conceptualized as an empowering tool for women by making fertility decisions her to make. The female condom is a pouch with a soft ring on each end. One end fits inside the vagina to keep the condom in place & the other end stays outside. They are now cheaper and more reliable but attitudes have changed very slowly. And usage and availability remains an issue.

Condoms the only effective dual protection method recommended by WHO. If used properly they offer more than 90% protection from unwanted pregnancy and almost 100% protection from sexually transmitted disease.

Sadly many young in our country do not know how to use condoms correctly nor are they educated about it. They are too shy to ask and too coy to read. Condoms come with a clear instruction label. Please give it a read. And ladies do make an effort; it gives huge returns when used scrupulously.

Contemplate a bit. When has shyness ever helped you? It has always been a barrier. So jump the hurdles to be responsible, safe, healthy and happy

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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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