Staying healthy is not something that just happens. Effort must be put forth to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Everything from diet and exercise to keeping up with health screenings factor into staying healthy. The earlier a woman begins to take care of herself, the better.

There a many things to think about when a woman is in her 20s. Exercise is so important for maintaining physical and mental well being. 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise 4 or more days a week is ideal. Exercise not only works to keep your body healthy, but the time spent on the treadmill or riding a bike is totally time for yourrself. It is a great way to relieve stress. A healthy diet is also important. Eating a diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and lean protein is a good basic plan. Caloric needs to maintain a healthy weight will vary according to activity level. If you smoke, quit. If you don’t smoke, don’t ever start. Smoking can not only lead to lung cancer and other diseases of the lung, but also heart and vascular disease. There are many aids available from gum to hypnosis for smoking cessation. Ask your doctor for help if you can’t seem to stop on your own. Always wear sunscreen with at least SPF 15. This has been shown to reduce skin cancer rates. Don’t tan. It just isn’t smart. Not only are you at greater risk for skin cancer, but you also will have spots and wrinkles later in life. No one wants that. Young women should begin to visit a doctor annually for a PAP smear at age 21 or 3 years after onset of sexual intercourse, whichever comes first. The PAP smear is a screening test for cervical cancer. The American Cancer Society and the American College of Gynecologists recommend annual PAP smears for women under age 30. Also, a vaccine for HPV (human papillomavirus) has been approved for women under age 26. Talk to your doctor to see if the vaccine is right for you. Cholesterol screening should be performed every 5 years starting at age 20. That is assuming your test results are normal. If you have high cholesterol, you may require more frequent testing.

Once you are in your 30s and still fabulous, keep up all the good habits you formed in your 20s. If you have hung onto some bad ones, quit them now. Good news! Most sources agree that if a woman has had 3 consecutive normal PAP smears, she can decrease the frequency to every 2-3 years starting at age 30. If you have been seeing only your OB/GYN annually, this is a good time to find an internal medicine (adult medicine) physician to care for you. You can always keep you OB/GYN for your gynecologic needs, but having a doctor to keep up with all other health issues is a plus. And though no one likes to think about it, it is nice to have a doctor you know that can take care of you should you ever have to be hospitalized. Keep up that healthy diet, and remember that all premenopausal women need to get at least 1000mg of calcium daily. This can be through diet or a supplement. Vitamin D is also a necessary nutrient to help your body utilize the calcium. Amounts recommended vary, but get at least 400 IU daily.

By the time you hit 40, it is time to start those mammograms. A mammogram is a screening test for breast cancer. Your doctor may have recommended that you begin earlier if you have a family or personal history of breast cancer or are known to carry certain genes. Screening mammogram should be done every 1-2 years starting at age 40. This is according to the American Cancer Society and the American College of Gynecologists. You may have heard talk of breast MRI recently. This may be something that is used more in the future, but right now it is reserved for certain high risk patients.

See? Staying healthy is not something that just happens. You must be proactive and do your part to stay healthy. Having a doctor you trust to keep up with all the necessary health screenings takes a lot of the pressure off you. You have enough to do just trying to live that healthy life you work so hard to create.