West Palm Beach VA Medical Center

A Guide to Women's Health

Make your health a priority so you have the energy to accomplish all the things you want and need to do now and as you age. Choose activities and nutrients that empower good health from head-to-toe.

Heart and Circulation Health
Brisk walking and other aerobic activities help keep your heart muscle strong. Physical activity also helps control other risk factors for heart disease and stroke – high blood pressure, diabetes, unhealthy blood cholesterol levels, and being overweight. Get regular screenings for these conditions as advised by your VA health care team. If you smoke, consider being tobacco free. The VA can help. http://www.publichealth.va.gov/smoking/index.asp 
Helpful Nutrients:
   • Omega-3-fatty acids* – Unsaturated oils like olive, canola, sunflower oils;
      also found in fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, herring, lake trout, sardines
      and albacore tuna
   • Plant sterols and stanols in coconut oil, olive oil, almonds, oranges and
      apples along with other foods fortified with these
   • Soluble fiber in oat bran, oatmeal, kidney and other beans
   • Antioxidants in red grapes and grape juice
   • Antioxidants in red grapes and grape juice

Bone Health
One out of every two women will have an osteoporosis-related fracture in her lifetime. Weight-bearing exercises, such as walking, strengthen your bones while the use of weights and resistance bands strengthen muscles around bones. Increase flexibility with stretching exercises, yoga, or Tai chi. Discuss, with your VA health care team, when to get bone mineral density tests and ways to lower your risk for falls.
Helpful Nutrients:
   • Calcium* in nonfat and low-fat milks and yogurt, dark leafy greens, and
      calcium-fortified cereals, juices, tofu and soy foods
   • Vitamin-D* in fortified milks and cereals, as well as from sunshine on
      your skin

Joint Health
Women have osteoarthritis more than men. Weight loss can help prevent and treat this condition. Every extra pound of weight adds three times more pressure on knees, and six times more pressure to hips. Strive for a healthy weight, protect your joints from overuse and injury, and do exercises as advisedby your VA health care team.
Helpful Nutrients:
   • Omega-3-fatty acids* – Unsaturated oils like olive, canola, sunflower oils.
      Also found in fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, herring, lake trout, sardines
      and albacore tuna

Brain Health
Aerobic exercise increases blood circulation to the brain and promotes the growth of new brain cells. Continue to learn new things to enhance connections between brain nerve cells. Learn a new language or hobby. Take a dance class. Do crossword or Sudoku puzzles. And stay socially connected with others.
Helpful Nutrients:
   • Omega-3-fatty acids* – Unsaturated oils like olive, canola, sunflower oils.
      Also found in fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, herring, lake trout, sardines
      and albacore tuna
    • Ask your VA health care team about foods containing antioxidants. Among
      those studied, the USDA ranked the following as having high antioxidant
      concentrations:  beans (red, pinto, kidney), blueberries, cranberries
   • Visit this Website to see 20 common foods with antioxidants:
      www.webmd.com/food-recipes/20-common-foods-most-antioxidants

Breast Health
Get regular screenings (see page 2). Consider the following steps to lower your risk for breast cancer. Strive for a healthy weight and avoid or limit the consumption of alcohol to one drink a day. A recent study by the American Cancer Society found that walking an hour a day lowered the risk of breast cancer in post-menopausal women by 14 percent. The more active you are, the lower the risk.
Helpful Nutrients:
Follow a calorie-controlled diet that includes a variety of fruits and vegetables and whole-grain breads and cereals.

Digestive Health
Gastrointestinal distress, twice as common in women as in men, may be due to natural hormonal changes. Adequate water intake, physical activity, maintaining a healthy weight and eating 20 to 35 grams of dietary fiber per day may help reduce your risks.
Helpful Nutrients:
   • Probiotics* in foods such as kefir and yogurt with live or active cultures of
      healthy bacteria, such as lactobacillus acidophilus
   • Prebiotics* promote the growth of probiotics in the gut and are found in
      high-fiber foods such as whole grains, fruits, vegetables and soybeans
   • Ask your VA health care team about foods high in fiber. This Website has a
      list of healthy, high fiber foods:
      www.mayoclinic.com/health/high-fiber-foods/NU00582

Urinary Tract Health
For women, the lifetime risk of developing a urinary tract infection (UTI) is very high. Prevention methods include drinking at least eight glasses of water a day, emptying your bladder as soon as you feel the urge and avoiding alcohol and caffeine. Antibiotics are the best way to treat a UTI so contact your VA health care team if you suspect you have one.
Helpful Nutrients:
Substances in cranberries may help prevent UTIs by keeping bacteria from sticking to the urinary tract walls.

*Ask Your VA health care team about dietary supplements that may provide these nutrients.

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