Nutrition and Women's Health: Functional Foods, Nutraceuticals, and Integrative Strategies - Chapter 4 - Nutrition: women’s health and ageing

The strategies for research and development in nutrition and optimal health needs are now considering gender differences into account due to significant, distinctive nutritional requirements of males and females. Prominent differences in physiology, neurology, and hormones throughout the lifecycle affect nutritional requirements for women’s health. These dietary demands are different from those of men, and they should be incorporated into a proper nutrition policy that attempts to prevent overt nutritional deficiencies while simultaneously promoting health and lowering the risk of chronic illness. Women are more susceptible to anemia, weak bones, and osteoporosis due to hormonal changes brought on by menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause. As a result, they need to consume more iron, calcium, magnesium, vitamin D, and vitamin B9, or folate. Novel nutritional therapies that may benefit women have been identified as a result of growing knowledge about the particular dietary needs, opportunities, and challenges that women encounter at different stages of their lives. We covered the requirement for focused nutrition to be locally effective at all phases of growth and development in women in this book chapter. Further, the knowledge to comprehend and apply tried-and-true nutritional opportunities, and the need for appropriate access to nutrient-dense foods in women are also included in this chapter.