Cutting back on our usual food intake, especially on sweets and food with high sodium, as well as alcohol, would usually do the trick. Women in their 40s need to eat less to maintain the same weight. Patricia Joseph of the Montefiore Nyack Hospital Medicine puts it simply. Our bodies have evolved the past four decades or so and at this point, the reality is our bodies need less than it did before. First off, we begin to gain weight due to a slowdown in our metabolism even though our eating and exercise habits do not change. The hard fact is there are changes in the woman’s body that cannot be refuted by adages. Hence, more and more women are getting anxious to find out the old adage that life begins at 40. More and more women, like me, are likewise hitting the age of 40 and then quietly rolling into mid 40s to be exact. Latest statistics show that “the percentage of female population is 49.8 percent compared to 50.2 percent male population” or that’s 55.74 million males and 55.31 million females in the Philippines. If you're over 50, ask your doctor about getting a vaccine to prevent shingles.Gone are the days when there were more women than men in the country. It's also recommended that you get a pneumonia vaccine if you're at medium risk for the disease because you smoke, have long-term heart or lung disease, diabetes, are a heavy drinker, or have long-term liver disease. Make sure you get a flu vaccine every year. That other test is useful because most cervical cancers are caused by an infection with HPV (human papillomavirus). Or, if you prefer, every 5 years you can get a Pap test along with an HPV test. When you're 30 to 65, you should get a Pap test every 1-3 years. Thyroid disease is common in older women, so ask your doctor whether you should consider a screening test for it.Īlso make sure to get tests to check for cervical cancer. Also ask about when to get diabetes tests and screening for colorectal cancer. Talk to your doctor about when you should start and how often to get them, because recommendations vary among experts. Make sure you get regular mammograms to check for breast cancer. If you're under 65, but past menopause, you may need one if you're at risk for the condition because you've had a fracture, take steroid medicines, smoke, have a low weight, drink a lot of alcohol, have rheumatoid arthritis, or have a parent who's had hip fractures. Vitamin D is the key that unlocks the calcium in your body so it can use it.Īsk your doctor whether you should have a bone density scan to check for early osteoporosis. If you don't get enough dairy in your diet, talk to your doctor about taking a supplement with calcium and vitamin D. Measures you can take to reduce bone loss include: adequate calcium and vitamin D in your diet, exercise, smoking cessation, and avoidance of heavy alcohol use. As you move into menopause, it's an important time for you to prevent osteoporosis, a condition that weakens bones. If you haven't already started to watch your bone health, do it now. Short-term hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may be a choice for you if you have moderate to severe effects from menopause and you're at low risk for breast cancer, heart disease, strokes, and blood clots. Discuss what you might want to do to ease any discomfort. Talk to your doctor before symptoms of menopause kick in. Symptoms of menopause include vasomotor symptoms (commonly called hot flashes), mood changes, and vaginal dryness. That's because some birth control pills may raise some women's risk of heart disease and blood clots. Oral contraception should be avoided altogether in obese perimenopausal women, as the risk of venous thromboembolism increases with both age and BMI. For example, if you take the pill, as you get older you may want to think about a switch to a low dose oral contraceptive, an IUD, estrogen patch, or other methods. Talk to your doctor about possible changes. Check out these tips for managing your health. When you're in your 40s and 50s, it's time to start giving some thought to the kinds of screening tests you need, what menopause will mean for you, and what nutrition is best.
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