National Women’s Health and Fitness Day

Details: By Jessica A. Rickert

National Women’s Health and Fitness Day is celebrated every year on the last Wednesday of September, falling on September 25 this year, 2024. It’s a special day to promote the importance of excellent health and fitness for all women. Here are significant topics to focus on going into 2025:

The awareness that it is important for each woman to strive for excellent health. A woman gets only one body, the one she is born with. Of course, she must take care of it the very best she can! Start with the gateway to the body, the mouth.

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Prevention is better than reacting to disease. Choosing a healthy lifestyle can prevent disease. Many dental diseases can be prevented with excellent daily oral hygiene habits. A healthy diet and drinking habits will contribute to excellent dental health and will benefit a woman’s entire body.

Routine dental checkups help in the early detection of dental problems. Schedule a dentist’s appointment at least once a year.

Make a commitment. Celebrating health and fitness on September 25 is great but what would be even better is making a lifelong commitment to live a healthier life — every day.

Encourage all women to achieve this important goal of health and fitness. Women can support each other when choosing healthy habits.

On September 25, awareness programs will occur in a variety of locations, so join thousands of other women and attend these fun events.

Knowledge is power. Recognizing and learning new things today and every day about women’s health is an ongoing goal.

Here’s an example: World Heart Day occurs on September 29. It is a mistake to believe that women don’t suffer from heart disease. Severe dental disease is often a contributing factor in heart disease. Every woman must become health-conscious and live heart-healthy.

Dental cavities could significantly increase the risk of a life-threatening stroke from bleeding in the brain, according to new research.

In fact, severe dental disease can worsen many physical ailments. Why not control what you can? Why not strive for excellent dental health and a healthy body?

Plan ahead by asking: “Where do I want to be in five years?”

Here’s a reminder: Heathy teeth, healthy woman, healthy tribe, healthy Anishinaabe.

Dr. Jessica A. Rickert is a tribal citizen of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation. A graduate of the University of Michigan School of Dentistry, in 1975, she became for the first female Native American dentist.