Nutritional deficiencies are especially common among younger women. That’s why the diets have become so popular recently. Good nutrition means eating a wide variety of foods every day, which is not possible on a restrictive diet.
 Food and premenstrual syndrome
The interaction of hormones throughout a woman's menstrual cycle influences deeply on her body and state of mind. The energy expenditure is higher before the menstruation than after it. Some women experience food cravings before their period. In such cases they should eat high protein foods every few hours. This will regulate the cravings or stop them.
Foods that will help you to relieve the symptoms of premenstrual syndrome:
- Cereal foods
- Fruit and vegetables
- Fish
- Legumes
You should also limit salt, refined sugar, red meat, animal fat, caffeine, alcohol and tobacco. This may also help to ease these symptoms. Taking B group vitamins during menstruation can help, particularly vitamin B6. Perform light and moderate exercise, for example you can walk for about 30 minutes each day.
Iron and anemia
Iron is a mineral that works with other substances to produce hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is the compound that brings oxygen to the blood. Women and men metabolize iron from food at the same way. Nevertheless, while men need nearly 7mg of iron in their daily diet, women need up to 16mg. Women need more iron because they lose it in their menstrual period.
Iron deficiency can lead to anemia, with such common symptoms as tiredness and breathlessness. Insufficient iron in pregnant women increases the risk of prematurity, or delivering a low birth weight baby, which can have a negative effect on the baby. Sources of iron are liver, red meat, legumes, egg yolks, nuts and leafy green vegetables.
Vitamins, minerals and pregnancy
Pregnant women need more kilocalories than non-pregnant women; this is in 300 kilocalories more. The most common deficiencies in pregnant women:
- Calcium (eat more cheese, milk and cheese)
- The recommended daily amount of folic acid doubles during pregnancy. It is needed for the growth of new cells. Eat more leafy green vegetables, eggs, poultry and cereals.
- Iron is needed for the process of oxygen transport. Eat more red meat, liver, leafy green vegetables and egg yolks.
- Zinc is needed for maintaining the health of cells. Zinc sources are liver, meat, seafood and eggs.
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