Right Nutrition
Women’s nutritional needs change with age. Many of these needs are the direct result of hormonal changes and some are part of general ageing. In the 30s, levels of oestrogen and progesterone begin falling. Nutrition needs now include Calcium to help maintain bone density, Folic Acid to help prevent heart disease, and iron for improving energy by increasing the oxygen-carrying capacity of blood.

BODYTALK
Someone once said, `Thirty-five is when you finally get your head together, and your body starts falling apart,’ That need not be the case, says Dr Rustom Soonawala, leading gynaecologist in Mumbai.

“A woman is still in good physical condition when she is in her 30s,” he says. “She might go through the stress of child-bearing and rearing in this period. Even then, this is a healthy span of her life. She can easily get back to her ante natal weight and body shape if she exercises regularly and has a nutritious diet with adequate vitamins, iron and calcium.”

Must-dos
Regular health check-ups
Your risk for breast cancer continues to increase as you grow older. This disease is uncommon in women under the age of 35.

What Should You Do?
Your 30s is the best time to evaluate your individual lifestyle and determine what changes need to be made, such as:

* Confirm your family history of breast cancer l Visit your doctor annually for a clinical breast examination
* Continue or begin monthly breast self-examinations (BSE)
* Get a regular Pap Test (a test for cervical cancer)
* Also, a bone density test to check for osteoporosis
* Eat balanced meals as part of a healthy diet
* Exercise and maintain an active lifestyle
* Drink alcohol only in moderation
* Quit smoking


LOOK GOOD
Now is the time when skin demands attention in the aftermath of all that abuse in the 20s — late nights, no exercising, and frying in the sun! But relax. All is not lost — yet. Grab these must-haves - a bottle of day cream with sunblock to protect your skin from UV rays, a moisturising night cream to keep fine lines and wrinkles at bay and yes, a face cleanser to help you sweep the grime off your face. Wear a tinted moisturiser with SPF and lip and cheek tints to keep your skin protected at all times while still showing off some of the youthful rosiness.

Sexuality
By the time a woman reaches her 30s, she has had sexual exposure. She loses her physical inhibitions. She is comfortable with her body. She is not only aware of her needs and desires but more importantly knows what the man wants. This gives her a sexual energy which is quite attractive,” says Dr Rao.


Can a man handle the I’m-30-and-I’m-gonna-flaunt-my-G-string bella, asks Dilip Cherian

All men must constantly date all women. This male form of instant carbon dating is a primordial reflex. Slap any man who says he doesn’t. He’s lying. The five-step male S-process goes like this — scan, spot, stare, (e)stimate, salivate. Age has nothing to do with it. Neither his nor hers. And the really serious problem about women in their 30s, is that it’s an age the men cannot estimate accurately any more.

Today’s 30s girl successfully and completely confuses today’s Indian men. For a start, she still retains the thrall of nubile youthfulness and to the gullible male, still seems to mysteriously have growing body parts. Somewhere along the way, she’s cultivated a confident swing and crushed that self-consciousness that comes from obsessing about things like derriere-nibble showing.

It’s all gone. Her new slogans are ‘I-am-gonna-show-my-thong’ or ‘I’m-waiting-to-flaunt-my-Brazilian-bikini-wax’. There’s a naked sensuality in this evolution that comes as a shock to most men, because, that sheer confidence is bewitchingly beautiful. This kind of woman, for the average Indian male, is fundamentally terrifying.

Men are like that only. Easily frightened, scared by reality and most comfortable with fantasy. Given a choice, most Indian males would therefore rather fast forward, right past the new 30s woman.

Older And Sexually Wiser