NUTRITION FOR “HER’’

NUTRITION FOR “HER’’

In today’s world, hectic lifestyle is a part and parcel   of everyone’s life. For a lady, so many roles are to be dealt with like mother, housewife, working as a professional and student and so on.

To meet these growing demands, she has to keep herself healthy, physically as well as mentally. For coping with the targets to be achieved, she should maintain her health in all possible ways.

Various dietary options are there for ‘her’to provide nutrition for the total health.

  Dietary Components for Health-

·       Milk and milk products

As all are aware, milk is a rich source of proteins, calcium, Vit.D.

Fresh yoghurt and buttermilk are the healthy options to be included in the meals daily. These provide Vit.B, calcium, phosphorus, riboflavin, vit.B12, which are responsible for the bone strength and for empowering the digestion and to enhance the immunity.

The other milk products are paneer, cheese etc...

·       Green vegetables

Green leafy vegetables are rich in folic acid, vit.K, betacarotene, magnesium and low in calories. Healthy option for the heart.

Folic acid helps to lower homocysteine levels to keep the heart healthy and also for reproduction. Magnesium is helpful in pre-menstrual syndrome.

Vegetables like spinach, lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, raddish, beet root leaves, fenugreek leaves are the healthy choices for salad as well.

·       Dry fruits

Dry fruits like almond, apricot, walnut, pistachios, and raisins are rich source of alpha lenoleic acid, proteins, vit.B and E, anti-oxidants like zinc and selenium. These help to decrease the complications of pre-menstrual syndrome, lower cholesterol levels, components like arginine and amino acids help to keep the energy levels high. These nutritious elements are also good for skin and hair .Don’t eat salted dry fruits.

·       Fruits

Fruits contain natural anti-oxidants which elevate the energy levels. Eating fruits daily is a highly recommendable food option, in between the meal timings, i.e. in snacks at teatime. Try to eat fresh fruits and not juices.

·       Soyabean and Flax seeds

Soyabean and flax seeds are a good source of proteins and omega 3 fatty acids. Soya nuggets,s oya milk, tofu are the soya derivatives. They are also helpful in hot flushes during menopause as well as for healthy status of brain. Flax seed chutney is a popular food item.

·       Corns

Rich in fibre content, so helpful in constipation.

·       Sprouts

Sprouts are the tiny, but nutritious dietary supplement, which are also popular for weight control.

Sprouts like bengal gram (chhola), green gram (mung), bean sprouts, lentil contain vit.C which help to protect cells from free radicals. These are also rich in vit.K, B, antioxidants, Manganese and phosphorus. These constituents help to reduce skin aging, enhance immunity and good for heart.

Salad and sprout soups are highly recommendable.

·       Ragi and oats

Ragi is rich in calcium and iron, whereas Oats are rich in fibre content. These elements provide nutrition to bones and also keep the system healthy.

·       Shatavari kalpa

Apart from all these above mentioned food elements, Shatavari kalpa (compound) is a rich source of energy and nutrition, a gift of Ayurveda, to keep the lady fit. It can be consumed 1tbsp. daily with a glass of milk twice a day. It is good for all ages and also in lactating females.

Balanced and nutritious elements improve the total mental, physical and spiritual health.

As woman is the backbone of the family, her health is the primemost important thing.

These healthy elements described earlier not only detoxify the body, but also rejuvenate the body and mind and enhance the immunity.

Dr. Prajkta Kulkarni ,

Asst. Professor,  Sharir Rachana

Tilak Ayurved Mahavidyalaya,  Pune