Women's Health Innovations: Integrating Traditional Wisdom, Technology, Nutrition, and Sustainability Across the Life Cycle

About this Research Topic

Background

Throughout a woman's life, she undergoes significant physiological and hormonal changes influenced by social, anatomical, environmental, and genetic factors. Historically, women's health has been underrepresented in medical research, though awareness and effort to overcome this bias have been increasing since the 1990s. Despite these advancements, a 2022 Harvard Medical School study confirms the ongoing underrepresentation of women in research. As primary caregivers, women's health issues often go unaddressed, including nutritional deficiencies, hormonal disorders, osteoporosis, mental health issues, and non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular illnesses and cancers. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2 and 3 emphasize the necessity of providing safe, nutritious food to women and reducing mortality while promoting well-being, highlighting the urgent need to focus on women's health through sustainable food systems.

Traditional interventions such as dietary diversification, fortification, and supplementation have been employed to tackle women's health issues. However, advancements in innovative technologies are imperative for developing and compiling effective, targeted, and sustainable approaches tailored to women at various life stages. While products catering to diverse needs are emerging, there is a pressing need for research in technological development aligned with sustainable practices to achieve SDG 12, which advocates efficient use of natural resources. Bridging the gap between food science, technology, nutrition, and indigenous traditional knowledge systems (ITKs) is crucial for advancing women's health, calling for a comprehensive exploration of emerging strategies and solutions.

This Research Topic aims to investigate advancements in nutritional and technological solutions for women's health, emphasizing sustainability and indigenous knowledge systems while developing strategies for fortification, supplementation, and nutraceuticals. To gather further insights within this complex and multidisciplinary field, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:

● Sustainable nutraceutical development for coping with deficiencies of iron, B12, calcium, Vitamin D and other nutrients

● Nutraceuticals for hormonal balance in females

● Valorization of agricultural products and waste to create biofortified supplements

● Ethnic foods specifically for women health benefits

● Extraction of phytoestrogens from traditional millets, herbs, and legumes

● Innovations in bone health and arthritis management

● Innovations to support maternal health

● Understanding the role of nutrition in biological, psychological, and metabolic changes during menopause.

● Green extraction techniques and encapsulation for stable nutrient delivery

● Fortified foods for nutrition programs focusing on anemia, vitamin deficiencies, micronutrient deficiency in girls and women

● Role of nutraceuticals in prevention of cancer especially breast, cervical and skin cancer as well as its role in chemotherapy patients

● ITKs, functional foods, nutraceuticals for managing pre-menstrual discomfort, menstrual pains, PCOD, menopause and post-menopause health

● Innovations to improve gut microbiome to result in improved health outcomes

● Original research using Real-time nutrient tracking via wearables and apps to improve metabolic health, pre-eclampsia and gestational diabetes

● AI-driven supplement plans based on DNA, microbiome, and lifestyle data

● Mental health products tailored for post-partum depression and menopausal stages

● Functional foods and supplements designed to support cognitive health, mood stability and fatigue reduction

● Nutraceuticals to target ageing and skin care solutions

● AI and data-driven platforms for personalized women’s health

● Interactions between nutrition-immune axis especially in conditions like lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and thyroid disorders that disproportionately affect women.

● Research focusing on early detection, sex-based immune responses, and tailored treatments for auto-immune diseases

● Sex-specific studies investigating the relationship between nutritional deficiencies and depression, anxiety, ADHD, and neurodegenerative diseases.

We invite submissions in various formats, including original research, review, and perspective articles, as well as case studies, surveys and methodological papers.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Community Case Study
• Conceptual Analysis
• Data Report
• Editorial
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Community Case Study
• Conceptual Analysis
• Data Report
• Editorial
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Women, Age, Health, Wellness, Bone, Food, osteoporosis, functional food, fortification, lactation, maternal nutrition, nutraceuticals, Women’s health, Female wellness, Preventive care, Holistic health, Lifestyle medicine, Quality of life, Gender-specific nutrition/ medicines, Precision nutrition, Menopause, Postpartum health, Polycystic Gender, anemia, nutrition

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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