Nutrition and Women’s Bodies

Over the past few years, I’ve spent a lot of time learning more about how nutrition impacts women’s bodies. My interest in the topic was piqued when I read The Adrenal Thyroid Revolution by Aviva Romm, which includes information about diet and thyroid conditions. Not long after, my 28 year old daughter was having multiple symptoms that lead me to believe she might have a thyroid condition. After years of unexplained fluctuating weight; deep exhaustion; debilitating brain fog; and chronic pain and several years of self-advocating, her doctors finally ran appropriate tests and diagnosed her with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. During those years, however, she did find some relief by following diet recommendations in Aviva Romm’s book. By the time my daughter was finally diagnosed and received proper treatment, many of her symptoms had already significantly improved with dietary changes. 

As a registered dietitian, my nutrition education included how nutrition impacts pregnancy and lactation, but, beyond that, very little about how nutrition impacts women’s bodies. Through my daughter’s experience I saw how food and nutrition literally changed her life. I want to share some nutrition suggestions that have helped my daughter and I experience more energy and less pain. I have also included further readings at the end of this post for those who want to learn more.

Several of these suggestions are being studied as ways to prevent or manage symptoms of autoimmune disease. Hashimoto’s is, of course, an autoimmune disease (a disease where the body’s immune system attacks healthy tissues and organs). Autoimmune diseases are 4 times more prevalent in women than men. Dietary practices such as plant-based diets, eating 4-6 cups of fruits and vegetables daily, intermittent fasting, avoiding highly processed foods, and avoiding food triggers are among the practices that have shown some promise in preventing or reducing flare ups of autoimmune diseases. 

Below, I take these suggestions and offer some lifestyle modifications that are good for every woman, but might also provide relief for women suffering from autoimmune diseases:

Maintain a consistent eating schedule

• Allow for 3-4 hours between meals/snacks

• 12 hour fast overnight (Times of ‘fasting’ in between meals, may be beneficial to our digestive system and metabolism.)

• Do not stress out if you fall off your schedule, just get back to your regular routine as soon as possible.

Stay hydrated throughout the day

• Mild dehydration can negatively affect mood and mental acuity including concentration and alertness, vision and psychomotor skills. It can also cause headaches, and increase inflammation. 

• Drinking fluids throughout the day will help your body stay in balance and maintain physical and mental performance.

• Hydration needs vary between women, but about 2 liters or 8 cups of fluid a day is adequate for most adults.

Eat a plant-based diet including 4-6 cups of fruits and veggies daily

• A 'plant-based diet' means that most or all of the food is from plants. Many plant-based diets include some animal-based foods, but may also be vegan (plants only).

• Plant-based diets may improve the composition of gut microbiome and lead to decreased risk of nutrition-related chronic diseases. Plant-based dietary patterns such as the Mediterranean diet are associated with decreased risk of cardiovascular disease, longer lifespan, and higher quality of life.

• Fruit and vegetable intakes are associated with longer life span, decreased risks of chronic diseases like diabetes, some cancers, and heart disease; and improved gut health. One review of 30 studies showed improved mental health for women with high consumption of fruits and vegetables.

Limit highly processed foods

• Highly processed or ‘ultra processed’ foods have had multiple changes from the food’s natural state including adding artificial ingredients. Examples may include processed deli meats, boxed macaroni and cheese, frozen breaded chicken nuggets, and flavored yogurt.

• Studies show that people who eat more highly processed foods may be at higher risk for heart disease, diabetes, kidney or liver disease and, in one study, are more likely to report more mentally unhealthy and anxious days.

Avoidance of food triggers

• Listen to your body. If a food makes you feel bad, avoid it for a while and notice how you feel. If you feel you have to avoid many foods or entire categories of foods (like all grains or all dairy), make sure you work with your healthcare professional to ensure you’re getting the nutrition you need in other ways.

• Some common foods that may trigger symptoms or cause discomfort for women I have worked with include gluten, dairy, and nightshades (tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, eggplant). 

• Sometimes, after a period of eliminating a food, it can be reintroduced to the diet. However, some women find that they have to avoid a specific food indefinitely to avoid the negative effects of eating the food.

Get support 

• Work with a registered dietitian nutritionist to help ensure you are getting the nutrition you need. 

• Ask for encouragement from a family member or friend who is supportive of your health and wellbeing.

I don’t think that every woman needs to follow all these suggestions to be healthy, but I have found them to be helpful for myself and my daughter. And many experts report improvements in women’s health by following similar recommendations. 

Whatever you do to support your nutritional health and wellness, even if you don’t do things perfectly all the time, remember none of us is perfect–and what does ‘perfect’ mean anyway? Enjoying food is an important aspect of nutritional wellness, so be kind to yourself if you don’t always meet your wellness goals. 

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Further Reading

The Adrenal Thyroid Revolution by Aviva Romm, MD

Hormone Intelligence by Aviva Romm, MD

The Menopause Brain by Lisa Mosconi, PhD

References

Chrononutrition

Grosjean E, Simonneaux V, Challet E. Reciprocal Interactions between Circadian Clocks, Food Intake, and Energy Metabolism. Biology (Basel). 2023 Mar 31;12(4):539. doi: 10.3390/biology12040539. PMID: 37106739; PMCID: PMC10136292.

Hydration

Allen MD, Springer DA, Burg MB, Boehm M, Dmitrieva NI. Suboptimal hydration remodels metabolism, promotes degenerative diseases, and shortens life. JCI Insight. 2019 Sep 5;4(17):e130949. doi: 10.1172/jci.insight.130949. PMID: 31484829; PMCID: PMC6777918.

Popkin BM, D'Anci KE, Rosenberg IH. Water, hydration, and health. Nutr Rev. 2010 Aug;68(8):439-58. doi: 10.1111/j.1753-4887.2010.00304.x. PMID: 20646222; PMCID: PMC2908954.

Wittbrodt MT, Millard-Stafford M. Dehydration Impairs Cognitive Performance: A Meta-analysis. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2018 Nov;50(11):2360-2368. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000001682. PMID: 29933347.

Plant-based diets/Fruit & vegetable intakes

Beam A, Clinger E, Hao L. Effect of Diet and Dietary Components on the Composition of the Gut Microbiota. Nutrients. 2021 Aug 15;13(8):2795. doi: 10.3390/nu13082795. PMID: 34444955; PMCID: PMC8398149.

Cena H, Calder PC. Defining a Healthy Diet: Evidence for The Role of Contemporary Dietary Patterns in Health and Disease. Nutrients. 2020 Jan 27;12(2):334. doi: 10.3390/nu12020334. PMID: 32012681; PMCID: PMC7071223.

Dominika Guzek, Dominika Gła¸bska, Barbara Groele, Krystyna Gutkowska, Fruit and Vegetable Dietary Patterns and Mental Health in Women: A Systematic Review, Nutrition Reviews, Volume 80, Issue 6, June 2022, Pages 1357–1370, https://doi.org/10.1093/nutrit/nuab007.

Mujcic R, J Oswald A. Evolution of Well-Being and Happiness After Increases in Consumption of Fruit and Vegetables. Am J Public Health. 2016 Aug;106(8):1504-10. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2016.303260. PMID: 27400354; PMCID: PMC4940663.

Tucker, L.A. Fruit and Vegetable Intake and Telomere Length in a Random Sample of 5448 U.S. Adults. Nutrients 2021, 13, 1415. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13051415

Wang, D. D., Li, Y., Bhupathiraju, S. N., Sun, Q., et al. (2021). Fruit and Vegetable Intake and Mortality: Results From 2 Prospective Cohort Studies of US Men and Women and a Meta-Analysis of 26 Cohort Studies. Circulation, 143(17), 1642-1654

Wang T, Masedunskas A, Willett WC, Fontana L. Vegetarian and vegan diets: benefits and drawbacks. Eur Heart J. 2023 Sep 21;44(36):3423-3439. doi: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehad436. PMID: 37450568; PMCID: PMC10516628.

Processed foods

Hecht EM, Rabil A, Martinez Steele E, Abrams GA, Ware D, Landy DC, Hennekens CH. Cross-sectional examination of ultra-processed food consumption and adverse mental health symptoms. Public Health Nutr. 2022 Nov;25(11):3225-3234. doi: 10.1017/S1368980022001586. Epub 2022 Jul 28. PMID: 35899785; PMCID: PMC9991859.

Lane MM, Gamage E, Du S, Ashtree DN, McGuinness AJ, Gauci S, Baker P, Lawrence M, Rebholz CM, Srour B, Touvier M, Jacka FN, O'Neil A, Segasby T, Marx W. Ultra-processed food exposure and adverse health outcomes: umbrella review of epidemiological meta-analyses. BMJ. 2024 Feb 28;384:e077310. doi: 10.1136/bmj-2023-077310. PMID: 38418082; PMCID: PMC10899807.

The Nutrition Source, Harvard T. Chan School of Public Health, Processed Foods and Health https://nutritionsource.hsph.harvard.edu/processed-foods/ Accessed on August 14, 2025.

Autoimmune diseases and diet

Gershteyn IM and Ferreira LMR, Immunodietica: A data-driven approach to investigate interactions between diet and autoimmune disorders, Journal of Translational Autoimmunity, Volume 1, 2019, 100003, ISSN 2589-9090, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtauto.2019.100003.

Barati M, Ghahremani A, Ahmadabad HN, Intermittent fasting: A promising dietary intervention for autoimmune diseases, Autoimmunity Reviews, Volume 22, Issue 10, 2023, 103408, ISSN 1568-9972, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.autrev.2023.103408.

Choi IY, Lee C, Longo VD, Nutrition and fasting mimicking diets in the prevention and treatment of autoimmune diseases and immunosenescence, Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology, Volume 455, 2017, Pages 4-12, ISSN 0303-7207, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mce.2017.01.042.

Lerner A, de Carvalho JF, Kotrova A, Shoenfeld Y, Gluten-free diet can ameliorate the symptoms of non-celiac autoimmune diseases, Nutrition Reviews, Volume 80, Issue 3, March 2022, Pages 525–543, https://doi.org/10.1093/nutrit/nuab039