Here’s how women can support their health

Women can take actions to stay on top of their health. Below are seven actions they can take to support their distinct needs:

1. Get enough iron. Women lose iron during their menstrual periods, especially those with heavy flows. So getting iron into her diet can be helpful and easily found in a variety of foods, including spinach, kale, beans, red meat and chicken.
   
   
2. Consume folate. When trying to get pregnant or if already pregnant, getting folate or folic acid into her diet may decrease the risk of birth defects. Eat asparagus, beets, legumes and eggs.
   
   
3. Drink water. When a woman is sexually active, she is more susceptible to bladder infections. Drink lots of water to flush the bacteria from her urinary tract.
   
   
4. Watch the spice. When going through menopause, some women have reported that cutting back on spicy foods can reduce hot flashes.
   
   
5. Schedule health screenings. Pap smears are used to screen for cervical cancer. Often when a woman gets a pap smear, the doctor will also check for HPV, human papillomavirus, the most common sexually transmitted infection. It’s recommended that healthy young women get their first pap smear at 21. At 40, women should get a mammogram to provide a baseline. At 50, women should get screened for colon cancer by having a colonoscopy.
   
   
6. Spend time with female friends. Throughout a woman’s life, not just at those important life stages, face-to-face time with girlfriends provides more than fun and comfort. There is ample research that suggests that when women socialize with each other, each gets an increase in serotonin (the neurotransmitter that makes people feel happy) and oxytocin (the bonding hormone).
   
   
7. Use vitamins and herbs. Vitamin D-3 supports mental and physical health. Cramp Bark supports a woman’s menstrual health and is found in Cramp ReLeaf®. Women will find other supportive herbs in Menopautonic™ and CranBladder ReLeaf®.