Key Times in a Woman's Life Where Nutrition Matters
I’m super passionate about reproductive health and the various nutritional needs for men and women throughout life. There are so many processes involved for healthy reproduction, for mom, dad, and baby! In this post I wanted to outline some of the key time periods where nutrition impacts women's health.
Nutrition through the Life Cycle
As we develop and age our bodies require nutrients — they may be to fuel our needs, or those of our babies, but nonetheless the need is there. Here are some broad stages of the female life cycle and the importance of nutrients during each.
Adolescence
As we grow and develop from infancy through adolescence we continue to have increased nutrient needs to aid these processes. During this second period of rapid growth (puberty, the first is infancy), teens need nutrients! Teens need more calcium, vitamin D, and folate to meet their developmental needs. The onset of puberty is a major developmental milestone for adolescents.
The signaling moment for puberty in girls is the beginning of their period. Something most women don't realize is that we need body fat in order to support this process! While many teen girls are riddled with self-sabotaging thoughts about their bodies, there are processes in place to ensure our we are physically capable of supporting reproduction. One of those processes is the need for energy stores. For girls who are underweight (like some young athletes) they may find that the onset of their menstrual cycle is “late”, or in some cases it comes then disappears entirely. This could be because we need our body composition to be around 25% fat to support regular ovulatory cycles. Similarly, once we start our period our body is regularly losing blood, in turn girls have higher iron needs than boys of the same age. Besides basic growth and development, the female body is preparing for adulthood.
Pre-conception
The beginning of the menstrual cycle in adolescence begins an epic cycle as our body prepares for its evolutionary job — reproduction. Growing a human is a BIG deal! It doesn't always seem that way because our bodies are designed to do this, but from a scientific standpoint it's nothing short of a miracle. There are a lot of things that need to go right in order to make a healthy baby. In the US, infertility affects 10-12% of couples (1). Each situation is different, and there are a myriad of reasons why a couple may struggle to become pregnant.
In some cases, nutrition and dietary changes have been shown to decrease disorders that impact ovulation and improve fertility (1). Additionally, pre-conception is an important period because many women have sub-optimal stores of various nutrients (1). What mom has stored, the baby needs too! The caveat here is that mom still needs those nutrients for her own body processes, so if there isn't enough for both the body (aka mom) prioritizes it's needs first.
Similarly, for the majority of the child-bearing years women are trying not to get pregnant. Thank you contraception! Yes, abstinence is one very effective way to avoid becoming pregnant, but that isn't the chosen route for most. There are many types of birth control: from condoms to birth control pills, intrauterine devices (IUDs) and implants, and more! Some are hormonal, some are not. Whatever form works best for you is the one to choose — guided by medical advice!
Nutritionally, there are ways to support your body if using hormonal birth control, but these recommendations should be personalized. Research tells us that birth control pills can deplete nutrient stores or impact nutrient absorption/use, particularly, folate, vitamin B12, B6, B2, E, and C as well as minerals magnesium, selenium, and zinc (2). This isn’t great for mom or baby down the road. Working with a healthcare professional to ensure that your diet is adequately providing the necessary nutrients to support our needs is important whether you’re trying to get pregnant, or not!
Pregnancy
Pregnancy is one of the most vital times for optimal nutrition status. You not only need nutrients to meet your needs, but also to support the needs of baby as well. Something special about nutrition in pregnancy is that the nutrient requirements for baby change as he/she moves through developmental cycles, and in pregnancy this occurs very fast. There are periods of hours to days to weeks where certain growth processes are taking place and baby needs certain nutrients — right then, at that time. Once this window passes there's no going back. If mom is deficient during that developmental window and starts supplementing thereafter, it's already too late. This is why being aware of nutritional status is very important while pregnant! All vitamins are needed for an optimal pregnancy outcome, but some important ones to note are vitamins B6, B12, C, A, D, E, K, folate. Many minerals are also needed for a healthy pregnancy, specifically iron, iodine, calcium and zinc.
There are six key nutrients that play a key role in baby’s development: folate, iron, calcium, vitamin D, iodine, and DHA (an omega-3 fatty acid) (4). Folate is a required cofactor that every cell in the body needs for proper functioning — in pregnancy, it’s important to prevent neural tube defects early in baby’s development. Iron is a key component of hemoglobin, which carries oxygen throughout the body — in pregnancy your blood volume increases and baby is developing his blood supply, therefore more iron is needed to facilitate this process. You may be familiar with calcium, key for adequate tissue formation (teeth, bones, muscles, nerves). Vitamin D, calcium’s best friend (helps absorption) and helps support systems for bone, muscle and nerve formation. Iodine’s big job is involved in the production of thyroid hormones — key in baby’s nervous system formation (brain, spinal cord, nerves). Finally, DHA is actually a fatty acid which support brain and eye development.
In most cases, even eating a nutritious diet isn’t adequate enough to meet your daily nutrition needs. This is why it’s important to get personalized medical advice, and seek nutritional advice from a dietitian to optimize your diet during this critical time period.
Breastfeeding
As many of you know we also have this amazing ability to make milk for our babies that provides numerous beneficial substances besides just nourishment. Breastfeeding provides baby with energy, protein, electrolytes, antioxidants, enzymes, antibodies and beneficial bacteria, but also with warmth and comfort!
Feeding a newborn is a big job, it may not seem this way but breastfeeding is hard work! Exclusive breastfeeding can mean at least 8-12 (or more) daily feedings for baby during the first few months. The body makes this milk based on demand, so what is removed is matched. This process can cost around 500 calories per day in energy needs! Additionally, nutrient requirements are increased for a breastfeeding woman (compared to non-pregnant adult and a pregnant adult) for choline, biotin, pantothenic acid, riboflavin, vitamins B12, B6, E, C, A, minerals zinc, selenium, manganese, iodine, copper, and chromium. Breastfeeding moms also need more fiber, total carbohydrate, and water than non-breastfeeding counterparts.
Adulthood
Throughout adulthood women have a wide variety of nutrient needs. After 18 years old, and throughout the older adult years women go through many phases. They are becoming pregnant (or trying to), they’re raising families, developing careers, battling disease, mediating stress, dealing with hormonal changes or menopause, plus so much more. The impact of our everyday lives on our physical body can be severe. Nutritional adequacy is often something that gets pushed to the wayside. This is why it's important for adult women to check in with their bodies. Do you have particular health challenges or goals in your life right now? Are you taking care of yourself or striving to meet the needs of others?
Taking time to ensure your nutritional and lifestyle needs are being met can improve your health status as well as your energy, livelihood, and overall wellness!
Importance of personalization
It's always the right time to think about nutrition. As we just discussed (briefly), nutrition is impactful all across all our life stages! The specifics may change over time, but the basic need is always there. Optimal or supportive nutrition behaviors can easily become pushed aside when life gets in the way. That's not a shock! Just know that if you're feeling a void in your health, consider your nutritional status. Perhaps there's something you can do to improve your diet or maximize your lifestyle that can have a benefit.
One final thing to note — every woman is different! When you're starting to think about taking care of yourself and optimizing your diet, get specific. Articles (like this one) anywhere online can be a starting point, but please seek out personalized recommendations! There is no one-size-fits-all recommendation. Especially when you take into consideration all the aspects of life that make us different. Our home environment, work life, stress levels, health history, physical activity, cultural or religious beliefs, and more. These must be taken into account, as well as your goals, when considering nutrition and lifestyle recommendations.
References:
Krause’s Food and the Nutrition Care Process. Elsevier/Saunders 2017; Print
Oral contraceptives and changes in nutritional requirements. Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci 2013; https://www.europeanreview.org/article/4579
Nutrients and vitamins for pregnancy. American Pregnancy Association; https://americanpregnancy.org/pregnancy-health/nutrients-vitamins-pregnancy/
Vitamins and other nutrients during pregnancy. March of Dimes; https://www.marchofdimes.org/pregnancy/vitamins-and-other-nutrients-during-pregnancy.aspx