By Sofia Logarta Cebu Daily News

I realized that nutrition is a gender issue a while back when we invited Dr. Tomas Fernandez to speak to our students on nutrition. His son was our student and he was heading a nutrition research study. I remember his discussing their research findings and saying that women usually eat last. Often females serve the head of the family first then the children. Females get to eat the last and often consume what the children reject. He commented that this might mean a smaller amount of poor quality food. This would be a sadder situation if she were pregnant. I wonder how far we have moved away from that situation.

Womens Nutrition Issues, in fact declares: Women have special nutritional needs due to hormonal changes that occur with menstruation, pregnancy, lactation and menopause, all of which alter the recommended daily intake of nutrients. Of the many diseases that affect women, five have scientific-based connection to nutrition: iron deficiency anemia, osteoporosis, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and some types of cancer.

The article recommends red meat, dark green leafy vegetables, legumes, and fortified breads and cereals to prevent iron deficiency during pregnancy and breastfeeding. It also recommends green leafy vegetables, oranges and orange juices, dried beans and peas and fortified breads and cereals to have folic acid to prevent birth defects. It stresses the big dose of calcium needed both for pregnancy and breastfeeding.

For pre-menstrual syndrome, it suggests a combination of good nutrition, exercise, and stress management for relief.

For women undergoing menopause, wherein a womans metabolism slows down and weight gain can occur exercise and careful food choices could reduce these.

Then, there is osteoporosis women are at a higher risk of developing osteoporosis. Women will be prone to this if their diets are low in calcium, vitamin D, or magnesium or higher intakes of caffeine, alcohol, sodium, phosphorus, or protein. Instead walking, hiking, climbing is suggested, together with cheese, yogurt, milk, canned fish with bones, dark green leafy vegetables.

The article reminds us of studies which suggest excessive fat intake may increase breast-cancer risk. Diets that include adequate amounts of fruits, vegetables, and other fiber-rich food may protect women against breast cancer.

In the case of heart disease which begins to rise once a woman reaches menopause, and it increases rapidly after age sixty-five, anti-oxidants are suggested again found in fruits and vegetables.

We can do a great deal to take control of our bodies and promote our well-being through the proper management of our diets. But nutrition consciousness is not only a matter for individual women. Its a family concern as well as a social concern. It is linked to development because we are dealing with our human capital. Many studies have shown that good nutrition is a factor in the good performance of our students.

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Women’s health

BALTIMORE Before Aiesha Eddins got pregnant, she didn't give much thought to her diet.

"I ate whatever," said the 27-year-old Owings Mills, Md., woman. "We ordered take-out."

But when she weighed in at 220 pounds during her initial prenatal visit, she quickly earned a spot at the Johns Hopkins Hospital's Nutrition in Pregnancy Clinic, launched in December to counsel and treat obese women. The clinic has around a dozen patients but already is expanding.

An estimated one in five pregnant women are obese, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an epidemic according to some doctors who have begun to buck conventional ideas about "eating for two." They now recommend healthy diets, little or no weight gain and even bariatric surgery for obese women before they get pregnant.

Obese pregnant women are at increased risk of miscarriage, high blood pressure, diabetes, pre-term delivery, stillbirth, cesarean section and other problems. Their babies, which are harder to see on ultrasounds, are more likely to be obese and diabetic and have other maladies.

Conventional advice for these women since 2009 has been to gain 11 to 20 pounds, reflecting guidance from the Institute of Medicine, the influential federal advisory panel. Normal weight women are told to gain 25 to 35 pounds.

Most doctors generally stick to the guidance and treat obesity complications, said Dr. Janice Henderson, an obstetrician for high-risk pregnancies at

Eddins was counseled to eat more fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Now seven months pregnant, she's lost 20 pounds.

"Over the course of a pregnancy they learn a lot that we hope will have a carry-over effect postpartum both for themselves, their child, and perhaps even spill over to other family members," Henderson said about the women in the Hopkins clinic. "Imagine if we don't begin to address this problem what the next generation or the generation after that will look like with respect to obesity rates."

Henderson said some women gain too much weight in pregnancy, but most already are overweight. Federal statistics show that nearly a third of women of reproductive age are obese, and the numbers are higher among minorities.

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Dieting suggested for more pregnant women

DALLAS, June 30 (UPI) -- Healthy nutrition and exercise have just as much, if not more, impact on lowering cancer risks and mortality rates as screening, a U.S. nutritionist says.

Dr. Jo Ann Carson, a clinical nutritionist at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, said whether a person wants to avoid cancer or prevent its return, it is wise to move toward a healthy weight.

"Do so by combining a plant-based diet rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains with regular physical activity," Carson said in a statement. "Maintaining an energy-balanced diet is not only a good preventive measure, but also benefits patients after cancer treatment, especially in breast and colon cancer cases."

At Southwestern, groundbreaking work is being spearheaded by the Task Force for Obesity Research, a collaborative effort of various medical disciplines including genetics, endocrinology, nutrition and metabolism, Carson said.

The National Institutes of Health awarded researchers at the medical center a $22 million grant in 2007 to enhance efforts to attack obesity from every angle, from studying fat cells to developing medicines.

"Previous studies have linked obesity to higher rates of breast, colon, lung and prostate cancers. Obesity also is associated with increased risks of kidney, gallbladder, thyroid and pancreatic cancers, among others," Carson said. "The National Institute of Health recently predicted that trends in obesity, if left unchecked, will lead to about 500,000 additional cancer cases in the United States by 2030."

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Diet, exercise key to cancer prevention

Experts warn that the popular Atkins Diet poses significantly higher cardiovascular risks for women. Dr. Robert Atkins opened his first weight loss clinic on Manhattans Upper East Side over 30 years ago and, until his death in 2003, his high protein, low carbohydrate diet has been the source of heated debates.

A team headed by Pagona Lagiou of the University of Athens, Greece found that an additional four-to-five cases of cardiovascular disease occur each year for every 10,000 women following Atkins diet, said News-Medical. This means that women following the Atkins Diet are at a 28% increased risk for ischemic heart disease, stroke, and peripheral arterial disease. The study involved 43,396 Swedish women aged 30-49 who completed a thorough dietary questionnaire and were followed for 15.7 years.

The researchers measured diet on the low carbohydrate-high protein (LCHP) score in which a score of 2 corresponded to very high carbohydrate and low protein consumption and 20 related to very low carbohydrate and high protein consumption, explained News-Medical. The team found that every 1/10th carbohydrate intake decrease or protein intake increase was linked with a significantly increased risk for cardiovascular disease, overall, at an incidence risk estimate of 1.04. The equivalent 2-unit increase in LCHP score was linked to a 1.05-fold increased incidence of cardiovascular disease.

The British Medical Journal (BMJ) reported that the unadjusted analysis revealed that when compared to an LCHP score of 6 or less, the risk for cardiovascular disease increased by 13% for women with a score of 10-12; 54% for a score of 13-15; and 60% for a score of 16 or higher. After adjusting for other cardiovascular risk factors, a 5% increased risk for a cardiovascular event or death was linked with every 2-point increase in LCHP scores. The authors wrote that this 5% increase was caused by a daily 20-g carbohydrate reductionthe equivalent of a small bread rolland a daily 5-g protein increasethe equivalent of one boiled egg, said News-Medicine.

The team pointed out that LCHP diets followed regularly and without consideration of the nature of carbohydrates or the source of proteins are linked to cardiovascular risk, said News-Medicine. The team noted that the possible short-term benefits of LCHP diets to control weight or insulin resistance should be investigated further and suggested that short-term benefits seem irrelevant in the face of increasing evidence of higher morbidity and mortality from CVD in the long term.

A related commentary written by Anna Floegel and Tobias Pischon, both from the Max Delbrck Center for Molecular Medicine in Germany, stated that discrepancies from prior studies need to be resolved before low carbohydrate-high protein diets can be safely recommended to patients, according to News-Medicine.

As weve written, when introduced, Atkins claimed his diet was a revolutionary step forward in the concept of dieting, while his many critics argued that his diet was a potentially dangerous way of eating that can produce serious long-term health problems. Although some unpleasant side effects like constipation, diarrhea, headaches, and bad breath are common, it is the long-term, and more serious consequences that worry experts. For instance, the diet produces a condition known as ketosis, which causes increased levels of ketones (acids) in the blood. When ketone levels in the blood become dangerously high, a condition known as ketoacidosis can develop. Ketoacidosis is a potentially life-threatening illness, which can lead to coma and death if left untreated.

In some cases, people eliminate virtually all carbohydrates from their diet while eating excessive amounts of proteins like meat and cheese. In addition to the possibility of developing ketoacidosis, experts have long been concerned with the strain that high protein diets put on the kidneys and the risk of renal failure.

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Atkins Diet Poses Heart Risks For Women

Five million women in the UK lose weight for the big day More than one in 10 brides are losing four stone or more 57% of women are piling the pounds back on their honeymoon

By Bianca London

PUBLISHED: 18:44 EST, 28 June 2012 | UPDATED: 04:41 EST, 29 June 2012

With every new wedding season comes a revolutionary diet and brides will do anything to squeeze into their dream dress.

Losing weight before the big day has become an obsession amongst many brides-to-be

But now, leading experts are calling for women to consider their dieting habits to avoid long term health problems related to drastic weight loss and yo-yo dieting before their big day.

According to new research by XLS-Medical , over five million women in the UK lose weight before they walk down the aisle, with more than one in 10 losing a massive four stone or more.

Yet despite all the effort that goes into slimming down in time for the wedding bells, 57% of women undo all their hard work by gaining weight on their honeymoon and beyond, with over a quarter gaining at least half a stone.

Dr Matt Capehorn, Clinical Director at the National Obesity Forum, said: 'Drastic and rapid weight loss for a particular event or occasion, such as a wedding, is not advisable for a number of reasons.

'You should be aiming for steady weight loss, as a result of sensible dietary and lifestyle change, that promotes sustainable weight loss and health benefits. Any variation from this should only be on the advice of a clinician.

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Wedding diets: More than 1 in 10 brides lose 4 stone or more for the big day