Teenagers
Girls grow at the fastest rate of their lives during their teens, and therefore their are greater. When you're a teenager maintaining good nutrition often takes a back seat to school and social events. It is essential for girls to get enough of a few essential vitamins. Because the bones are still forming, calcium is essential, along with vitamin D, which helps in its absorption. Teen girls should also get adequate B vitamins, including folate, since they have begun menstruating and run the risk of anemia. Zinc is important in maintaining healthy skin and supporting the immune system (Reference 1).
Childbearing
Women of childbearing age also have very specific requirements, especially for folate. Deficiencies of this B vitamin during pregnancy are linked to spina bifida and other neural tube disorders. Many foods contain added folic acid to help women meet their nutritional needs and avoid these very preventable birth defects. Women who are breastfeeding should get plenty of calcium to meet the needs of lactation. To ensure that they meet all of the vitamin requirements of pregnancy, women should begin taking a prenatal multivitamin as soon as they learn they are pregnant.
Perimenopause
The time period when women are in their 40s can be thought of as preparation for menopause, commonly referred to as "perimenopause." At this time, a woman's body begins to decrease its supply of estrogen and her bones begin to lose calcium. It is very important during these years to begin taking a good calcium supplement that contains vitamin D in order to prevent osteoporosis later in life. Phytoestrogens (plant sources of estrogen, such as soy) can help to lower cholesterol and help with the symptoms of estrogen depletion. Magnesium can help with the mood swings and sleeping problems common to women in their 40s.
Menopause
The same advice given for perimenopausal women is even more crucial once menopause begins, as the symptoms that women may experience through their 40s can become more intense. Calcium, vitamin D, phytoestrogens and magnesium should be continued and even increased during this time, at the advice of your physician. Integrative medicine specialist Dr. Andrew Weil also suggests that menopausal women increase their intake of omega-3 fats, as they help to lessen the hot flashes and depression that may occur with menopause. There are many supplements available containing omega-3s and they are also plentiful in walnuts and cold-water fish such as salmon (References 2, 3).
Seniors
People in their senior years are especially prone to deficiencies of vitamin D; this is especially true for women, who are more susceptible to osteoporosis. It is critical that women continue to get enough calcium with vitamin D as they move into their senior years. At this stage of life, it is also important to continue to take antioxidant vitamins to fight damage to the tissues (including the brain) that is caused by free radicals. Antioxidant vitamins include A, C and E. Vitamin K helps with proper clotting of the blood and its deficiency is thought to be related to the development of Alzheimer's, so seniors should make sure that they are getting enough of this fat-soluble vitamin (Resource 1).
Tags: begin taking, help with, nutritional needs, senior years, , that women