Women may be more prone to suffer dips in energy than men due to their greater needs for dietary iron and protein at various life stages. If you feel fatigued or weak, don't up your carbohydrate intake; try eating more healthy foods that emphasize good nutrition from iron and protein instead.
These foods often contain the B vitamins that your system needs, along with these nutrients, to form healthy red blood cells. Facilitating your body's transport of oxygen for burning calories will result, boosting your energy but not your weight.
Enriched Whole-Grain Cereal
Women ages 18 to 50, and pregnant or breastfeeding women, need more iron than men do. Pursue 18g of iron daily or up to 27g if you are pregnant, as per the National Academy of Sciences. Whole grains can provide the most iron content, with some enriched cereals delivering a full 18g per suggested serving.
Check the package nutrition facts for 20 percent or more daily value, or DV, of iron and B vitamins. Protein appears in grams. Choose the cereal with the most content in these three categories, and you'll get good nutrition from dietary fiber and additional minerals and vitamins. Add reduced-fat milk or soymilk for healthy food sources of protein, iron and B vitamins.
Meats and Fish
Don't avoid protein foods, or you'll miss out on their iron content too. Animal-based foods give you "complete" protein, with all the essential amino acids. Try lean meats and fish to build your DVs toward 46g of protein, or 71 during and after pregnancy, as per the National Academy of Sciences.
Three-oz. servings of haddock, rockfish and roasted turkey and chicken have as much as 27g of protein, according to the USDA Nutrient Database. The National Institutes of Health, or NIH, report that eggs and lowfat milk, yogurt and cheese also provide protein. All of these healthy foods have significant vitamin B and iron as well.
Soy Products
Soybeans are among the few plant-based food sources of complete protein with B vitamins and high iron content, notes the NIH. One cup of cooked soybeans has 29g of protein and 9mg of iron. These legumes lend their good nutrition to soymilk and tofu,
Spinach
Energy-boosting cooked spinach stands out among healthy foods for women, as the USDA nutritional data shows. In only 41 calories, 1 cup of spinach has 5g of protein and 6 mg of iron, as well as vitamin B9, or folate, and calcium, another mineral that women need in greater volume than men. Overall good nutrition, including significant partial protein, magnesium, potassium, fiber, and vitamins A, C and E, may be found in other leafy green vegetables, such as kale and broccoli.
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