10 Things Every Woman Should Know About Her Body
No bossy list of health to-dos here! Just insider info from Mehmet Oz, M.D., that’ll make you want to treat yourself right.
I give health advice to everyone: patients, friends and, of course, my 23-year-old daughter. But it doesn’t really stick unless they know the why. I’ve found that if you understand how your body works—say, the effect that getting four hours of sleep instead of eight has on your brain—you’re more apt to make a healthier choice. So I’m going to share some of the info that doctors usually don’t have time to get into: Use it to help yourself feel, look and live better.
What happens when … you try a fad diet
The Master Cleanse and other restrictive weight-loss plans seem to have become more popular than ever. But let me fill you in on something: After a few days of massively scaling back food intake, your metabolism starts to plummet. That’s because your brain senses that there isn’t enough food coming in. It tells your body to cling desperately to the fat stores it already has, and starts burning lean muscle tissue for fuel—two things that ultimately increase your percentage of body fat.
After several days on a very low-calorie diet, levels of omega-3 fats in your brain can fall as well. Around 30 percent of the brain is made up of these fats, and without enough of them, you may be more prone to depression.
How to help your body: The healthiest, most effective way to lose weight is to eat small, balanced meals and snacks every few hours so your brain never goes into that starvation panic mode, and to never, ever drop below 1,200 calories a day.
What happens when … you skimp on sleep
After even one night of four hours’ sleep instead of eight, you’ll feel crankier and generally “down.” You’ll have more difficulty processing complex information, and you’ll want to eat more—specifically simple carbs like sweets. Why? Your body wants a quick energy fix any way it can get it. When you don’t get enough rest, your body also produces less growth hormone, a substance that helps tissues regenerate and repair themselves, keeping you younger longer.
How to help your body: The exact amount of rest your body needs is very personal, but, on average, I recommend women get no fewer than seven hours. Men are a bit needier (as you probably already knew). They have to get closer to eight.
What happens when … you eat a fatty meal
Once a bacon cheeseburger gets into your system, the saturated and trans fats cause blood vessels to constrict. They stay that way for about four hours—boosting blood pressure and reducing blood flow and oxygen supply. And here’s the kicker: As soon as those tough four hours are up, it’s time for your next meal; choose another fatty one, and the cycle happens again. Someone who eats this way most days is almost always walking around with tightened arteries—a prescription for heart disease.
How to help your body: To feel your best and live longer, make high-fat splurges like this the exception, not the rule.
What happens when … you have a glass of wine
Piles of studies have linked light drinking—whether it’s wine, beer or the hard stuff—to a healthier heart. One study illuminated the possible reason: After one drink (4 ounces of wine or 1.5 of liquor, not a glass the size of a soup bowl), your blood vessels relax. That’s a good thing, but having a second drink stresses your circulatory system. And it’s worth noting that men have more of an alcohol-digesting enzyme in their stomach than women do. More of the alcohol you drink gets into your bloodstream than it does for men, making you drunker quicker. Once boozed-up blood hits your brain, your reaction time and your ability to process information slow. And your liver gets pulled away from its work of clearing out toxins to focus on neutralizing the alcohol. Research suggests that alcohol may be two to three times riskier for a woman’s liver than a man’s, even when they drink the same amount.
How to help your body: You’re far better off having a glass of wine a day than having none all week and then seven on Saturday night.
What happens when … you kiss someone
Touching a person you love sets off powerful reactions in the body. One study by Swiss researchers found that young women who got brief shoulder rubs from their partners before a stressful event had lower heart rates and levels of stress hormones than women who didn’t get massages. Touching also triggers the release of oxytocin, a hormone that boosts feelings of closeness and can reduce the perception of pain. All of this happens whether you kiss, cuddle, hold hands or have sex. I say do them all more often. How’s that for a doctor’s order?
wow, Nolsoonjo MUST have just gotten dumped for him to talk like that. And AngelFire02 is correct, not only are the chances of someone getting their arm blown off in war slim(Something women now face because they are allowed in the army), but for most people who experience extreme levels of pain or any high emotion, the brain releases a chemical to the rest of the body to try and get rid of the pain/control the bodies natural physiological responses to the emotions. This is what happens when you go into shock. You may not feel it right away, but eventually once the shock leaves, the pain/emotions come back, but by the time they do, the person experiencing the shock is better equipped to handle the pain or emotions.
Obviously, Nolsoonjo needs to STFU and learn some manners before he speaks about things he apparently knows nothing of.
ok Nolsoonojo, u think men are so tough? try this, take ur penis and wrap it around ur head twice....that is the equivalent of the pain of childbirth, if u can get through that without crying....well u probably have no pain receptors, but also, once a month EVERY MONTH women get cramps, headaches, migranes, and some women even get back aches and general body aches, men could not handle it if that happened to them.....so go suck it
Whatever, men cry a lot! I'm not saying it's a bad thing it's a fact, and women are more emotional due to chemicals, and men whine!! And not all girls cry about broken nails, not all women are the same! preps, oober snobs, and stuck up girls are! We even mature faster! so NO Women are NOT wimps! In history men got EVERY RIGHT HANDED TO THEM! Do you know what women did?? THEY FOUGHT FOR IT! THEY DIDN'T CRY! MEN DID WHEN WOMEN GOT THE RIGHTS! A reminder: WOMEN ARE NOT BIGGER WIMPS~! Birth is ALSO the most pain a human can have! dumb ****!!
Some people are stronger than others, that's the truth, you can't associate how a whole gender acts just by how some act. Some will complain about pain and others will ignore it. It's all about getting attention.
In my opinion, I think each gender complains equally.
Most Popular on MSN Health & Fitness
MSN Shopping
advertisement
Ask the Women's Health Expert: Dr. Sandhya Pruthi
MSN Health & Fitness does not provide medical or any other health care advice, diagnosis or treatment.











