Boosting Women’s Health Over 50

Ladies, as we get older, it’s more important than ever to stay active and healthy to maintain our independence. There are many opportunities in retirement to live life to the fullest, but you’ll need to keep your health in check to truly experience everything you want. Here are some health and wellness pointers for women over 50.

Women’s Health and Recommended Screenings Over 50

Once women enter their fifties, there’s a variety of health changes and possibilities that may happen at different points over the years. It’s good to remember there are health screenings to keep up with regularly:

• Alzheimer’s and Dementia Screening: As you get older, you may need to distinguish forgetfulness from memory problems and schedule an appointment with your doctor to check for Alzheimer’s and dementia.
• Blood Pressure Screening: This is even more important if you have diabetes, heart disease, kidney problems, or other underlying conditions, including family history of high blood pressure.
• Breast Cancer Screening: Women up to the age of 75 need a regular mammogram every 1-2 years, after which is up to your doctor.
• Cervical Cancer Screening: This exam is essential up to the age of 65 unless you have had cervical cancer or consistent negative tests.
• Cholesterol Screening: This screening can happen every 5 years or sooner if you have diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol, or kidney problems.
• Colon Screening: Regular colonoscopies should take place once every 8-10 years if you’re not at high risk for colon cancer.
• Dental Exam: Have a regular cleaning and checkup with your dentist every 6 months.
• Diabetes Screening: Even if you don’t have any family history of diabetes or are not at high risk, you’ll want to screen for it once every 3 years.
• Eye Exam: Have your regular eye exam once every 1-2 years or sooner if you have vision problems or risk of glaucoma.
• Hearing Test: Though this doesn’t have a regular screening recommended, if you are experiencing any level of hearing concerns, you should schedule to see a specialist immediately.
• Immunizations: It’s important to get regular flu, shingles, pneumococcal, and other vaccines.
• Lung Cancer Screening: While there’s no recommended regular screening, if you have had any history of first- or second-hand smoking, it can sneak up on you, and you’ll want to get ahead of lung cancer with a screening.
• Osteoporosis Screening: If you are 65 or older or have a risk of bone fractures, you’ll want to screen for osteoporosis based on your doctor’s recommendation.
• Skin Exam: Check in with your dermatologist at least once every three years for any cancers or abnormal moles you may not notice.

Diet Recommendations

Aside from particular recommendations your doctor may provide you, there are some common diet tips women over 50 should consider:

• Consuming more calcium to strengthen your bones. Found in dairy, fortified foods, salmon, sardines, and tofu.
• Consuming more vitamin B12 to prevent anemia and develop brain and nerve cells. Found in fish, fortified foods, meat, and poultry.
• Consuming more vitamin D to increase calcium uptake. Found in eggs, fish, fortified foods, and mushrooms.
• Consuming more protein to increase hormone production, preserve muscle mass, and support wound healing. Found in beans, beef, dairy products, eggs, fish, legumes, nuts, pork, poultry, seafood, and seeds.
• The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) Diet for heart health. Foods include fruits, lean proteins, low-fat dairy products, nuts, seeds, vegetables, and whole grains.
• The Mediterranean Diet for bone and joint health. Foods include fish, eggs, low-fat dairy products, nuts, olive oil, poultry, seafood, seeds, and whole grains.
• The Menopause Diet for managing the effects of changing hormones. Foods include beans, dairy products, fish, fruits, nuts, protein, vegetables, and whole grains.

Exercise Tips

As we get older, it’s important to continually move as much of our body as possible to signal to it that we need its functions to live well. Here are some common exercises recommended for women over 50:

• Balance and fall prevention exercises
• Biking or fast-paced walking to get your whole body moving
• Pool workouts for joint aches and pains
• Resistance exercises to maintain muscles
• Weight-bearing exercises to strengthen bones
• Yoga to improve balance and flexibility

Looking for some helpful tips on your fitness journey? Check out our ebook, Improve Your Fitness Over 60!

At Life Enriching Communities (LEC), we’re committed to ensuring patrons feel well-equipped to plan their future and age how they wish. Explore more resources on senior living or contact us today to learn more about our legacy of services and programs that bring meaning and purpose to every stage of life.