Buzz - Student Health Services Newsletter
(Vol. 2) |
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Women's Health
Contents
- Physical Health
- Emotional Health
- Sexual Health
- Links
Physical Health
Exercise:
To improve overall health, you need to do some type of physical
activity for 30 minutes most days of the week. This does not have
to be an activity for 30 minutes in a row. You can be active for
10 minutes at a time, three times a day. If your goal is to lose
weight, you might have to increase your activity more. There are
many benefits of regular physical activity on a woman's health.
These include a lower risk of heart disease and obesity, healthy
bones, muscles and joints, more lean muscle, and lower body fat.
Physical activity reduces the risk of diabetes and colon cancer,
and helps some women to lower their high blood pressure. Physical
activity can help to improve your mood and confidence. It can also
reduce the symptoms of anxiety and depression. Activities such as
walking, weight lifting, playing volleyball, climbing stairs, bicycling,
swimming, and jogging can improve a woman's overall health. For
beginners, 15 to 30 minutes of activity a few times a week is a
good starting point. You can then work up to the recommended physical
activity level for your age and fitness level.
A complete exercise regime includes:
Resistance training to improve bone density, increase muscular
strength and definition, and decrease body fat. Be sure your strength
training includes exercises for each muscle group; the chest, back,
arms, shoulders, legs, hips, and stomach. Start by doing two sets
of 10-15 repetitions of each exercise with only 30-60 seconds rest
in between sets. Choose a weight that is challenging yet you can
complete the set with good form, once you can lift that weight 15
times, increase the load.
Aerobic exercise to burn calories, improve the heart and lung function,
and increase energy levels. Running, biking, swimming, and group
exercise classes are great ways to exercise. Take your heart rate
during your exercise session to determine if you are working out
effectively; you want to maintain a heart rate at 65-80% of your
max heart rate (220-your age). Find your pulse and count for six
seconds, starting your count with zero, then multiply the number
you get by 10 to find your heart rate.
Flexibility to reduce the risk of injury, prevent low back pain,
and aid with muscle soreness. After a proper warm up stretch each
muscle group slowly and hold each stretch for 30 seconds.
Diet:
Eating healthy does much more than give your body fuel to keep
going. It can help prevent disease and improve your quality of life.
The better your diet, the better your health. A healthy diet has
the correct amount of vitamins, minerals, and calories. Choose a
diet with a wide variety of foods such as plenty of vegetables,
fruits, and grains. Cut back on the use of sugar and salt. As a
woman, the nutrients and calories your body needs will change during
the different stages, such as pregnancy and menopause, in your life.
Women need more calcium, iron and folic acid, than men. The risks
of osteoporosis and iron deficiency are greater for women than men.
By simply changing your diet, you can reduce your risk for these
conditions.
Health Eating Tips: http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/heal_eat.htm
Women, especially those of childbearing age, need to be particularly
careful to get adequate amounts of certain nutrients, including
the following:
Calcium. Many women and teenage girls don’t
get enough calcium. Calcium-rich foods are critical to healthy bones
and can help you avoid osteoporosis, a bone-weakening disease. The
Institute of Medicine recommends these calcium guidelines based
on age:
- 1,300 mg/daily (the equivalent of four, eight-ounce glasses
of milk for girls age nine to 18)
- 1,000 mg/daily for the average woman age 19 to 50
- 1,200 mg/daily for the woman age 50 and above
You can get calcium from dairy products like milk yogurt and cheese,
dark-green leafy vegetables and even tofu. Some foods are calcium-fortified
such as some cereals and orange juice.
Fiber. Fiber is associated with lower cholesterol,
reduced risk for cancer and heart disease and improved bowel function.
The recommended intake is 20 to 35 grams a day. Fiber is found only
in plant foods like whole-grain breads and cereals, beans and peas,
and other vegetables and fruits.
Folic acid. The U.S. Public Health Service recommends
that all women of childbearing age consume 400 mcg of folic acid
daily to reduce the risk of having a baby affected with spina bifida,
anencephaly or other birth defects. Foods that contain natural folic
acid include orange juice, green leafy vegetables, peas, peanuts
and beans. Fortified foods, such as breakfast cereals, also contain
a synthetic form of folic acid, which is more easily absorbed by
your body than the natural form. Folic acid is now added to all
enriched grain products.
Iron. The recommended daily amount of iron for
a 2,000 calorie diet is 18 mg. Iron sources include red meat, poultry,
eggs, peas, legumes, dried fruits and dark, green leafy vegetables.
Carbohydrates. According to the American Heart
Association, it's better to eat more complex carbohydrates: vegetables,
fruits and whole grains than simple carbohydrates found in sugars.
Complex carbohydrates add more fiber, vitamins and minerals to the
diet than foods high in refined sugars. Foods high in complex carbohydrates
are usually low in calories, saturated fat and cholesterol.
Protein. The average woman over 25 years should
get 50 grams of protein daily. Protein helps prevent muscle tissue
from breaking down and repairs body tissues. Sources of animal proteins
include meat, fish, poultry, eggs, milk and cheese. Vegetable proteins
include dried beans and peas, peanut butter, nuts, bread and cereal.
A three-ounce serving of cooked chicken contains 21 grams of protein.
Vitamin D. Vitamin D is critical to calcium absorption
and bone formation. You can get your allowance of vitamin D through
egg yolks, herring, tuna, salmon and fortified milk, and through
exposure to sunlight.
You can estimate the number of calories your body needs each day
by finding your activity level on the chart below and multiply the
number of calories by your body weight in pounds to find the total
number of calories needed to maintain your body weight. If you are
trying to lose weight try to consume less than that amount.
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Calories per Pound
of Body Weight
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Emotional Health
Body Image:
As women, we all want to look and feel our best. This is not always
easy, considering the busy life today's woman leads and the many
responsibilities she may have. It can be tough to find time for
exercising and eating right, not to mention controlling stress!
We live in a culture that places emphasis on physical appearance.
Developing and nurturing a positive body image and a healthy mental
attitude is crucial to our happiness and wellness, as we move through
the different stages of our lives. Our health, which we sometimes
can and cannot control, affects not just how we feel but how we
look. Learning about how our health affects our body image is an
important first step in developing a positive body image.
In today's fast-paced world, women are experiencing more stress
at every stage of their lives than ever before. Juggling professional
life, education, social schedules, money issues, and relationships
are only a few of the common stressors confronting women. To cope
with stress make sure to take time for yourself everyday, take a
brisk walk, relax, or spend time with friends. Start using a daily
planner, this will help you to prioritize tasks and manage your
time better. You may want to try a Yoga class this is a great way
to de-stress and get some exercise at the same time. Eastman fitness
center on campus and several local athletic clubs offer yoga classes.
Feelings of sadness can be normal, appropriate and even necessary
during life's setbacks or losses. Or you may feel blue or unhappy
for short periods of time without reason or warning, which also
is normal and ordinary. But if such feelings persist or impair your
daily life, you may have a depressive disorder. Severity, duration
and the presence of other symptoms are the factors that distinguish
ordinary sadness from a depressive disorder. Depression can happen
to anyone of any age, race, class or gender. It afflicts almost
19 million Americans each year, and up to one in five American women
will suffer from clinical depression at some point in her life.
Women are two to three times more likely than men to suffer from
depression. Many women first experience symptoms of depression during
their 20s and 30s. A complex combination of physiological, social,
environmental, cultural, hormonal, biological and psychological
factors may contribute to the reasons why women experience depression
at a higher rate than men. Depression affects both mind and body.
If you are depressed, you feel a sense of helplessness, hopelessness
or despair. You lose interest in your favorite activities, may experience
changes in appetite, weight and sleep patterns, and have difficulty
concentrating.
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Sexual Health
Reproductive health:
Choosing a birth control method is one of the most personal health
care decisions a woman makes. In the nearly four decades you spend
in your childbearing years, your needs for birth control will most
likely change many times. But, at each life stage, you can make
informed decisions by learning about all your contraceptive options
and selecting one or more that best fits your reproductive health
needs.
There are many forms of contraceptive care to protect you from
an unwanted pregnancy and from sexually transmitted infections.
For information about contraceptives and choices available to you,
contact the SCSU Student Health Services at 320-255-3193 or at St.
Cloud State Universities Student Health Services. Another good
website is: www.safersex.org
Services available in St. Cloud:
Birthline offers free pregnancy and STD testing
and counseling
(320) 253-4848 or 1-800-786-0200 www.birthline.org
St. Cloud Crisis Pregnancy Center free pregnancy
tests and confidential counseling (320) 255-1962 or 1-800-450-1962
www.preghelp.com
Statewide Referral: 1-800-78-FACTS
Sexual Assault
Domestic violence or intimate partner violence occurs in the context
of many different types of relationships and takes many forms. It
can happen within marriages, between parents and children, siblings,
roommates, and dating couples. Men are the primary abusers in the
majority of intimate partner violence incidents. According to findings
from the National Violence Against Women Survey (July 2000), 30.4
percent of the women who had married or lived with a man as part
of a couple reported being raped, physically assaulted and/or stalked
by a husband or male cohabitant. In an abusive relationship, the
abuser may use a number of tactics other than physical violence
in order to maintain power and control over his or her victim. There
are three categories of abuse:
- Physical abuse: Physical abuse may begin with grabbing, pinching
or shoving and often escalates into more serious and more frequent
attacks including kicking, punching, biting, throwing and sexual
assault. Physical attacks and aggressive behavior, although they
may not be life threatening at first, are not trivial and should
not be excused. Battering becomes life threatening when the attacks
include choking, breaking bones or the use of weapons.
- Sexual Abuse: Physical abuse is often accompanied by, or culminates
in, sexual violence. Anytime a woman is forced to take part in
unwanted sexual activity, it is sexual abuse.
- Psychological Abuse: Sometimes called mental violence, this
type of abuse may include constant verbal abuse, harassment, stalking,
excessive possessiveness, isolating the woman from friends and
family, deprivation of physical and economic resources and destruction
of personal property.
If you or someone you know is a victim of sexual assault please
get help.
Contact the SCSU Women’s Center
(320) 255-4958 at http://www.stcloudstate.edu/womenscenter/gvro/
National Domestic Violence Hotline 1-800-799-SAFE
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Additional Websites
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