25 habits That Keep women healthy
Health is wealth and even more. Our health is affected and often dependent on the things that we do every day.
Healthy men and women are known to have healthy habits, routines, and lifestyle that enables them to live well. However, there are some healthy habits that are specific to each gender and are not part of general health practices.
Healthy habits specific to women help us reduce our hospital visits, risk of diseases, and improve our quality of life.
I am happy to say that I have been able to practice and maintain many of these habits though, some I am still trying to make into habits such as checking for breast cancer, reducing sugar consumption, etc.
These have proven to be more difficult for me to maintain more than most on this list.
Improving our habits may be inconvenient but it is necessary if we want to keep enjoying living free and strong. They are:
1. No Douching, feminine hygiene products, soaps etc. – use natural soap best
Many of us are used to using harmful chemicals in products that are sold basically everywhere to maintain our feminine hygiene down there.
But did you know that these products do more harm than good? They are known to cause reproductive health complications, cancer, allergic reactions, increased occurrence of infections, etc.
Health experts advise women to stay away from such products because Vag. is self-cleaning. It cleans itself naturally and maintains the yeast and PH that it needs. It doesn’t need additional “help” from us.
Therefore, just ordinary plain water will do and if you must, buy a natural organic soap/wash to clean your bikini area.
Related:
How to balance your hormones every time it goes off track
How to increase your fertility with foods, herbs, and supplements
25 daily habits for a healthier life
How to develop habits that stick
2. Stop holding back your pee
Keeping urine in the body when it should be passed out of the body encourages the growth of “bad” bacteria in the urinary tract which often leads to health problems of the urinary tract, bladder, etc.
Stop holding back your pee. Go as soon as you feel the urge
3. Take off your underwear especially pants and bra when you are at home
We tend to wear well-fitting and often, tight underwear. This is not good for the health of our chest and under areas.
Wearing such underwear often traps moisture in our bikini area making it a breeding ground for bacteria and it constricts blood flow, oxygen, etc in our chest which can cause an increased risk of developing lung diseases and breast cancer.
Taking off our underwear when we don’t need them or are relaxing allows our body to be more relaxed and ‘natural’ thereby we are healthier.
4. Avoiding tight clothes, especially around the chest and groin region
Tight clothes not just underwear are not healthy even if they are more fashionable especially if we wear them often.
Our clothes should fit well on our body frames but should not constrict blood flow, oxygen, tissues, cause irritation, indigestion, etc.
The most vulnerable areas to such restriction are the bikini area, under arms, breasts, and abdominal area.
5. Avoiding tight and wire bras including push-up bras
This is a big one. Numerous studies and research have proven the danger of using tight bras, bras with underwires, push-up bras, etc.
These bras are known to cause breast cancer, tissue damage, lung and back problems, irritations, etc.
But, we often ignore such warnings making them all so common in our wardrobes. In fact, many of us probably have a bra that we should not be wearing but we still do.
It is time we stop
6. Not wearing a bra to bed
This is a habit that I hope most don’t do. Although some believe that it is harmless, the truth is, it is not.
There is a reason why most sleep wears are loose and comfortable. Wearing a bra to bed can cause irritation, hyper-pigmentation, yeast, fungal infections, etc.
Contrary to popular belief and scientifically, wearing a bra to bed doesn’t stop sagging nor does it have any advantages.
7. Maintaining a healthy diet
A very important habit that needs to be adopted is eating healthy foods and not artificial foods that have no benefit to the body.
This is a key habit for women if we want healthy bodies and minds.
8. Exercising
Most of us know that exercising is important to maintain good health.
We each have our individual reasons/excuses stopping us from being more active and incorporating exercise into our daily routine. We need to tackle those excuses or reasons for the sake of our health and be active.
9. Sleeping well
There is no health without adequate sleep and rest. Being sleep deprived in its extreme state can make your body shut down and even lead to death.
For the average adult, we need to have 7-9 hours of sleep and relaxation, especially on weekdays when we are most busy.
It is important that you try and have a daily routine that allows you the minimum sleeping hours of 6 and an ideal of 8 hours of sleeping or resting time.
Being well-rested boosts your immunity, prevents diseases, improves mental health and mood, improves heart health, prevents weight gain, etc.
10. Self-care/Meditation/De-stressing
This is especially important for mothers and women that work in high-stress jobs. Stress by itself can cause numerous diseases such as infection, low immunity, obesity, headaches, heart problems, depression, and anxiety, etc.
It is important that you find some time (about an hour or so) preferably daily that you can meditate/de-stress/practice self-care to wind down.
11. Avoid sitting on very hard surfaces
Hard surfaces such as concrete floors & seats, tiled floors, granite surfaces, etc. are known to put more pressure on the veins of the rectum thus, leading to health problems like hemorrhoids
It just happens, that such surfaces tend to be cold or cooler than other surfaces thus, the low temperature makes them more dangerous.
Specifically for women, such hard, cold surfaces affect the health of our ovaries thus, reducing our fertility. You can learn more from a study that was made by Biomed central.
12. Washing with warm water and not cold water
Washing your bikini area with warm water is preferred because it helps reduce infections and cleans the area better than cold water.
It is recommended – even if you will not be installing a bidet in your bathroom – at least, wash your bikini area once in a day with warm water. Using a soap is not necessary.
If you must, you should not use common soap. Buy a natural soap with no artificial scents, colors, and other harmful additives.
13. Using a bidet to clean
Wiping on the toilet seat is not enough to stay clean down there. I will strongly advise that you fix a bidet in your bathroom.
Alternatively, you can simply use a pail and a bucket to make sure you are clean down there with every toilet visit
14. Keeping bikini areas dry and clean
Keeping your under areas washed and clean at all times is not enough. When you don’t dry your bikini area after washing and simply put your pants on, it can become a breeding ground for bacteria and infection because of the moisture.
Drying your under areas with a clean towel or tissue is recommended after using the bathroom
15. Wiping front to back and not vice versa
When you wipe from back to front, you are introducing bacteria into your urinary tract which is a major cause of recurring UTIs.
Doctors recommend that you clean from the front to the back to prevent bacteria and toxins from your waste from reaching your opening.
16. Alcohol consumption
Alcohol actually harms women more than men. This is because women have less body water compared to men and so, the concentration of alcohol in the blood is higher in women than men when equal amounts are ingested by the two genders.
It increases the risk of cancers, heart diseases, reduced fertility, pregnancy complications, increases weight gain, increases the rate of ageing, etc.
Stay away from it.
17. Smoking
Smoking is known to be associated with lung problems such as lung cancer and women die from lung cancer more than any other cancer including breast cancer. Other health complications include, skin diseases, respiratory infections, arthritis, cataracts, etc.
Try and stop the habit if you have it and remember you will suffer similar consequences if you stay/live around smokers. Such is called second hand smoking.
Try to live in an unpolluted environment for the sake of your health
18. Body implants
Implants here include contraceptives, breast implants, and other cosmetic implants should be avoided unless they are very necessary.
This is because foreign things in the body increase the chance of developing many life-threatening diseases.
19. Checking for breast cancer
There is much awareness created on the need for women to regularly examine themselves for any sign of breast abnormalities and lumps which are often an indication of breast cancer
You can actually eliminate the cancer if it is detected early enough which is why it is important to check for it regularly. May God keep all of us safe and healthy.
You can follow the guide here to check for lumps in your breasts
20. Avoiding sugar
The danger of regular white granulated sugar is often underestimated by most of us. Sugar is known to feed cancer cells, accelerate aging, cause weight gain and diabetes, and have many more dangerous and undesirable consequences.
It is advised that we try and wean ourselves off the white granulated sugar and instead, substitute with other natural sweeteners such as honey, agave sugar, molasses, etc.
You don’t have to give up your sweet tooth. You simply substitute it with a better, healthier one
21. Avoiding multiple partners
Being religious, traditional, adventurous or not, having multiple partners within a short period of time is bad for your health.
No judgment but that is a fact.
This is not to shame anyone. I am simply trying to remind us that having multiple partners exposes us to STD e.g herpes, HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea, etc. and many of them are not curable, infections e.g recurring yeast infections, reduced fertility, etc.
For the sake of our health, we need to be very selective and health-conscious when considering a potential partner and we should not select too many. Less is more to protect our health.
22. Keeping a body diary
This is a habit that I am still trying to develop. As complicated as our body system is as women, it is important that we take note of any changes that we notice, when we notice it and how it felt.
This will help us to keep track of any changes that we see or feel in our body and the information can be very useful when you feel the need to take your concern to a doctor.
23. Using pads not tampons or menstrual cups
You are free to disagree with me on this one but from what I have read in medical journals and the like, of all the three products, pads are the safest and best for our health
Tampons and menstrual cups come with the need to be inserted which for long term use, can cause recurring irritations, increased infections in the body, allergies, etc.
Sure tampons or menstrual cups might be more convenient some times but for the sake of our health, pads are what you should use as often as possible.
24. Avoid inserting anything inside
As mentioned above, the main problem with tampons or menstrual cups is that it has to be inserted and that can cause numerous health problems that can be avoided.
Inserting other things beyond period products is generally potentially dangerous irrespective of what foreign body you are inserting.
If you are unlucky foreign things in your bikini areas can cause internal bleeding, cancer, infertility, etc. Stay away from them.
25. Maintaining good hygiene
Last but not least, good personal hygiene is at the forefront of important habits if a woman wants to be healthy.
Good hygiene includes optimal feminine hygiene, body care e.g shaving regularly, flossing regularly, etc. keeping your environment clean, clothes clean, eating clean food, drinking clean water, etc.
It is just about staying clean in all aspects of your life and body.
Final thoughts
I tried to do as much authentic research as possible to compile this list for us women. With these habits, you will find yourself getting sick less often.
I hope you learned something that will help you be healthier and stay healthy. If I omitted a habit that you believe is important in your experience, kindly let me know in the comments below.
I hope to see you in another article. Thank you for reading
Bye for now.