Topics covered in this blog:
- Important vitamins for women
- What are the most essential daily vitamins for women?
- What vitamins are important when you’re on your period?
- Vitamins for anemia
- Can your period cause anemia?
- How to treat anemia caused by uterine fibroids
- Visit USA Fibroid Centers
Important vitamins for women
While many dietary recommendations are beneficial to both men and women, women’s bodies have different needs when it comes to vitamins. Even women have different requirements based on their stage in life, whether they are pregnant or breastfeeding, between puberty and menopause, or post-menopausal.
For some women who maintain a healthy, balanced diet, they may be getting all of the vitamins they need; for others, they may need to supplement their diet with vitamins. Since we can’t produce all the nutrients we need, we must get many of them from our food intake. No matter if you get vitamins and nutrients through meals or from supplements, it’s important to know what vitamins are recommended and important for women’s health.
What are the most essential daily vitamins for women?
Vitamins and nutrients are essential for cell function, growth, and development. The following list of vitamins are imperative for the body to function properly daily:
list of vitamins women should take or eat more of
Daily vitamins for women are necessary because the body utilizes these vitamins for your growth, metabolism, brain function, immune system, fat storage, calcium development, etc. To make sure that your levels are not depleted and that you are eating the right foods it’s important to get regular check-ups. Every person is different; therefore, it is crucial to understand what vitamins you are currently consuming too often and which ones you may need to take more.
Vitamin A
While Vitamin A is known for its benefits to clear vision, it’s also important for fetal development. This vitamin can help with cellular growth and a healthy immune system.
B Vitamins
There are several B Vitamins, but some are more important to women than others. For example, Vitamin B9, also known as folic acid, is essential for helping your body make blood cells. It also prevents certain birth defects and reduces the risk of premature births.
Vitamin B12 also helps the body make red blood cells. It is responsible for helping the neurons in the brain to work as they should. This is another vitamin that is important for pregnant women to take to avoid a low birth weight.
Vitamins B1 and B2 are important for energy. Vitamin B7, also known as biotin, helps with energy and regulates oxidative stress. Pregnant women are more likely to suffer a deficiency.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is most popular for strengthening your immune system, but it does much more. This vitamin helps with wound healing and making more red blood cells. Vitamin C also makes you feel more alert and able to concentrate better by boosting the chemical in the brain called norepinephrine.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is necessary to help you get the most benefit from calcium. It moves the mineral into your bloodstream. If you don’t get enough Vitamin D, your body will take the calcium from your bones, which can cause them to become weak and brittle.
Vitamin E
Vitamin E helps slow the signs of aging by keeping your cells healthy. It’s also necessary for immune health. It’s rare to experience a deficiency, but women who have trouble absorbing fat may become deficient.
Vitamin K
Vitamin K is important in helping blood to clot. It also assists other nutrients in keeping your bones strong, which is important as you get older, especially for women.
Choline
Choline is a necessary nutrient for pregnant women for their health and the baby’s. It is recommended that women get 450 mg daily, but many prenatal vitamins don’t include choline.
Vitamins for Fibroids
Women with fibroids or those who are at risk may want to think about their nutrition and how it can help with this condition. Iron and B vitamins are important for a woman with uterine fibroids, especially if they cause severe bleeding. If you suffer from extended periods or heavy bleeding during your period, you may need extra iron or vitamin B.
Vitamin D deficiency may increase a woman’s risk for the growth of fibroids. You can get this vitamin from plants and through foods sourced from animals, such as eggs, milk, cheese, honey, and meat. While you may not be able to prevent fibroids through what you eat, it’s important to be as healthy as possible by getting the right nutrition to counteract some of the symptoms.
What vitamins are important when you’re on your period?
It’s important to consult your doctor before taking any additional supplements. However, taking these can help if you are deficient in any of the below nutrients.
- Calcium: Your calcium levels may change during your menstrual cycle. Adding foods that are rich in calcium like cheese, yogurt, beans, and figs to your diet can help boost those. Calcium can help relieve bloating or sleepiness you may experience on your period.
- Fish Oil: If you experience headaches, nausea, or fatigue during your period, fish oil may help improve those symptoms. Fish oil also has a positive impact on the circulation system, as well as the heart. You can either take this as a supplement or eat fish like salmon that are rich in Omega-3s.
- Folic Acid: Folic acid is needed in order to maintain a healthy balance of red and white blood cells. During adolescence and pregnancy folic acid is often taken as a supplement because it benefits growth. There are some studies that also suggest that folic acid may help in period regulation as well.
- Magnesium: Remember to snack on foods like dark chocolate, avocados, nuts and seeds, or whole grains if your magnesium levels are low. Magnesium levels should balance to help relieve symptoms. These symptoms include insomnia, breast tenderness, and anxiety that’s sometimes experienced during your period.
- Iron: One of the most important nutrients you need when you’re on your period. Women who experience heavy periods or bleeding between cycles may benefit from eating foods such as spinach, lentils, eggs, broccoli, chicken, and pumpkin seeds. If you have an underlying condition contributing to an iron deficiency like uterine fibroids, eating foods that have large amounts of iron can help fight against the symptoms.
Vitamins for anemia
You may be wondering, what does vitamins have to do with anemia? When your body doesn’t have enough red blood cells to carry oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body, it’s called anemia. Anemia also describes a shortage of iron-rich protein called Hemoglobin (Hb). You may experience iron deficiency anemia as your body attempts to use your iron stores to make more hemoglobin that can carry oxygen to supply to various body cells.
In this process, your iron store levels may deplete to the point that you may suffer from iron deficient anemia. Vitamins for anemia such as Fe, also known as iron, can combat this storage depletion. Choosing foods that are rich in iron is one of the best ways to improve your overall levels.
Can your period cause anemia?
A period that lasts between two to eight days most likely will not cause anemia. However, if your period is lasting more than 10 days per month or you’re experiencing bleeding between menstrual cycles, you could potentially develop anemia. A common condition called uterine fibroids often causes heavy or lengthy periods. In many cases, uterine fibroids can cause heavy, prolonged periods or bleeding between menstrual cycles which can contribute to iron-deficiency anemia. If this is occurring, talk to your doctor about taking vitamins for anemia.
Some people may not even realize they have it and may think their fatigue or sleepiness is just a normal part of their cycle. If this feeling of tiredness is impacting your daily routine, you need to let your doctor know immediately.
Mild anemia is usually asymptomatic and most patients don’t even know they have it. Symptoms will start to set in when red blood cells reduce in number as a result of the anemia progresses. Since red blood cells are responsible for delivering oxygen to the body, when there aren’t enough red blood cells there isn’t enough oxygen for all the cells in our body. There are many symptoms of anemia which can include dizziness, shortness of breath, fatigue, pale skin, and certain food cravings. Taking vitamins for anemia like iron can help with these symptoms over time, which is why daily vitamins for women are necessary.
How to treat anemia caused by uterine fibroids
Uterine fibroid embolization (UFE) is a minimally invasive same-day procedure that treats fibroids so they no longer cause heavy bleeding. The remainder of the uterus and the ovaries are unaffected, but the fibroids are treated from the inside, cutting off their blood supply to completely solve the problem. Within a few weeks of the procedure the period will normalize and will be much lighter blood flow. Without heavy bleeding, the body’s natural processes for manufacturing red blood cells are able to reverse the anemia and the red blood cell levels will return to normal within a month or two. At this time, any anemic symptoms will fade away and no further iron supplementation will be needed.
Visit USA Fibroid Centers
If you’re experiencing symptoms associated with uterine fibroids and/or anemia, contact us today at 855.615.2555. Our fibroid specialists are passionate about helping their patients live healthy, happy, symptom-free lives.
Sources:
- OASH. (February 2021). Vitamins and minerals for women.
- Healthline (February 2021) Should women take supplements? Sources and dietary needs.
