Women’s Health Week – Day 2
Each day this week we will be covering a different aspect of Women’s Health. Women’s Health Week is a great reminder to take time out to check on your own health and continue to make positive lifelong changes. Today looks at how healthy living can have a lifelong impact.
Day 2 – Healthy Living
Living a healthy life through good nutrition, exercise, and avoiding things such as alcohol can help lower the risk of diseases such as Cardiovascular (Heart) Disease and Diabetes. Healthy living can also impact your quality of sleep and mental health.
What can you do to lead a healthy life?
Eating a healthy, well-balanced diet
Cardiovascular Disease kills twice as many women as breast cancer, and 40% of heart attacks are fatal in women. Eating a healthy diet is one way to lower the risk of this and other conditions. A poor diet can contribute to weight gain, high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure. A healthy diet can lower your risk of, and help manage health conditions such as Cardiovascular Disease, Diabetes and Bowel Cancer. A healthy diet can also help you feel good and improve your mental health.
Healthy eating doesn’t mean no treats – even small changes can bring positive benefits, and keep you feeling healthier.
Keeping Active
It’s never too late to become more active, exercise at any age has positive health benefits. Regular exercise of 30 minutes per day can help ease back and muscle pain, lead to better sleep, increase energy levels, and reduce the risk of chronic diseases. Research has also shown that light or moderate exercise can reduce the symptoms of depression by up to 50%, particularly in women.
Reduce alcohol and smoking
The way in which women process alcohol leads to women becoming far more affected by alcohol than men. Excess alcohol can also leads to many health problems such as depression, increased risk of some cancers such as breast cancer, and liver damage.
There is no safe level of smoking. The health benefits of quitting smoking can be seen within 24 hours. Smoking can double the risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke, cause earlier menopause, increase the risk of osteoporosis, and speed up skin ageing.
If you have any questions about how you can lead a healthier life, O’Connell St Clinic has doctors who are specifically interested in Women’s Health. To book an appointment, call our reception team on (02) 9241 1577, or click here.
Check back tomorrow for our next topic – Cardiovascular Disease.
Resources
https://www.heartresearch.com.au/heart-disease/women-and-heart-disease/
