It’s not always easy being a woman (or man, for that matter), but it does have some benefits, such as, according to research, women may outline men by five more years or more. Researchers have also revealed that women also have a lower risk of developing health issues. Want to learn what some other reasons why being a woman improve’s one health? Combine a healthy lifestyle with a fantastic diet such as the keto diet (read more about how it benefits both men and women in the Body Reboot book), and women can rule the world! 😉 Here’s a look at several reasons why women have the potential of living longer and being healthier (especially if they take care of their health by going on the right diet)! 

According to Health, women are more likely to have stronger heart health. The reason why this is the case is that women who have not yet gone through menopause have less plaque buildup in their arteries. Read how else a woman’s hormones work in her favor when it comes to heart health: 

HDL cholesterol, the good kind, is associated with strong heart health. It's credited with preventing plaque buildup in the arteries of premenopausal women and protecting them from the early heart disease that may already be developing in men in the same age group. “Estrogen raises good cholesterol throughout a woman's childbearing years, when estrogen production peaks,” says Goldberg. Estrogen output drops off following menopause, and HDL cholesterol goes with it. But if you continue to eat nutritiously, stay at a healthy weight, and have your cholesterol tested regularly, your HDL cholesterol numbers can continue to stay in a healthy range so you can maintain that estrogen-fueled head start against heart disease.

According to the Seattle Times, women tend to cope with stress better. Being friends with other women also helps them cope better with life’s challenges, which significantly reduces stress. 

Across species and throughout human cultures, females have banded together for protection and mutual support. They have groomed each other, tended each other’s young, nursed each other in illness and engaged in the aimless sociability that generally has mystified male anthropologists.

But the power of girlfriends is beginning to yield its secrets to science. For women, friendship not only rules, it protects. It buffers the hardships of life’s transitions, lowers blood pressure, boosts immunity and promotes healing. It might help explain why women, on average, have lower rates of heart disease and longer life expectancies than men.

Women should be excited to learn that they may live longer than men! According to Only My Health, women can live up to five years longer than men (as we mentioned at the beginning of this article). Check out the stats on this below:

Chicks rule longevity. The National Center for Health Statistics say that a girl born in 2012 can expect to live until age 81.2 whereas a boy will live for an average of 76.4 years. What accounts for those four years, you ask? Well, researchers aren’t sure. It might have to do with lower rates of heart diseases in women as compared with men. It could also be because women maintain stronger social ties with friends and family and social ties are associated with longevity.

Health also elaborates more on how women have the potential to live longer than men: 

When it comes to longevity, chicks rule. A girl born in 2012 (the most recent year statistics are available) can  81.2; a boy is likely to hit 76.4, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. Researchers aren't entirely sure what accounts for those extra four years. “It might have to do with the fact that women have lower rates of heart disease compared to men, though women are catching up,” explains Nieca Goldberg, MD, medical director of the women's heart program at the Joan H. Tisch Center for Women's Health at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City. “But it may be a result of women maintaining stronger social ties to friends and family, because social ties are “

In addition to having a healthy heart and living longer, women are also less likely to get Parkinson’s Disease! Live Science explains that estrogen may prevent women from getting the disease. 

Based on an analysis of seven studies, University of Virginia School of Medicine researchers reported that men are 1.5 times more likely than women to develop Parkinson's disease.

One reason for the difference, the researchers said in their 2004 study in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, may be that estrogen protects women against the neurodegenerative disorder. The effect, however, was not well understood.

Among those who have Parkinson's, some symptoms may be more pronounced in women. For example, female patients suffered more chronic fatigue than male patients did in a study conducted by researchers at Akershus University Hospital in Norway and published last year in the journal Movement Disorders.

If you’ve ever gone into labor, you know how painful it can be, but at least you can take comfort knowing that overall, women can deal with more pain than men. Only My Health explains why this is the case: 

Research doesn’t reflect the notion “Mard ko dard nahi hota (Men don’t feel pain)”. In fact, it is the other way round. Women appear to have a higher pain threshold than men. Pain threshold is the point beyond which a stimulus causes pain. Of course the amount of pain that women experience during childbirth (labor and delivery) should help validate this point.

Women can also experience better memory recall, and according to Health, men are a lot more forgetful than women.  

Several scientific studies suggest what a lot of women already know anecdotally: women are simply better at remembering things. A 2014 Norwegian study of about 37,000 people from the journal BMC Psychology bears this out: though older people in general had more memory issues, men of all ages, young and old, were more forgetful than their female counterparts. Why that is isn't exactly clear, but previous research has suggested that it may be due to brain degeneration caused by cardiovascular disease or high blood pressure, both of which strike more men than women.

Live Science also reveals that women are less likely to get Melanoma and the reason why is women tend to hang out in the shade more than men! This news may surprise you, especially if you like to spend the summer on the beach or sun tanning. 

Of the estimated 68,000 people in the United States who were diagnosed with melanoma in 2010, nearly 39,000 or 57 percent were men, according to the National Cancer Institute.

One reason for the lower incidence rate among women could be that they take more preventive steps in protecting their skin. In a survey of 31,428 Americans by Centracare Clinic researchers in Minnesota last year, 11.2 percent of women said they stay in the shade, compared with 6.2 percent of men. The study appeared in the American Journal of Surgery.

(Beyond gender, University of Texas Medical Branch researchers found an association between melanoma rates and people's income. Melanoma was more common among Americans with higher incomes, who perhaps more commonly exposed themselves to the sun. However, those who were less well off were more likely to be diagnosed at later stages of the disease and had worse survival rates, according to a 2005 review published in Medical Science Monitor.)

What about other cancers? Health says that head and neck cancer affects men more than women, and they elaborate on why that is the case. 

The statistics tell the story: the National Cancer Society estimates that this year, about 30,000 men will be diagnosed with oral cavity or pharynx cancer, while just 12,000 women will. And when it comes to esophageal cancer, 14,000 men can expect to develop it this year, compared to only 3,000 women. Why do head and neck cancers discriminate so openly based on sex? Cancers that occur in these body areas are strongly linked to tobacco and . “Though women are catching up, men still indulge is  and drinking in higher numbers, so they develop these cancers in higher numbers too,” says Dr. Lichtenfeld.

Women may also experience less belly fat! Or at least, that's what Health says, and they quote Dr. Phillips as a reference. The keto diet can also help women get rid of and keep off belly fat, which we mentioned briefly in our introduction. This high fat, low carb diet can help you, as a woman, crave less sugar and keep excess weight off. 

Instead of bemoaning the fact that you tend to pack extra pounds on your butt, hips, and thighs, be happy about it—it means your risk of heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and other chronic diseases is lower than if fat tended to develop across your midsection, as it generally does in men. “Apple-shaped bodies, which more men have, hold more fat around the heart and upper abdomen, increasing heart disease risk,” says Dr. Phillips. “Pear shaped bodies keep fat away from the heart, which is a good thing.” Fat around the middle can also increase the risk of certain cancers, says Dr. Lichtenfeld. Researchers are learning that belly fat is metabolically active, producing hormones that cause a chain reaction in the body, resulting in higher levels of inflammation and insulin resistance, which leads to disease.

Women can rest easy, knowing they are more likely to live longer and experience fewer health issues. Even though being a woman is in their favor doesn’t mean they shouldn’t take extra steps to take care of themselves, however. To continue staying healthy and increasing your odds of living a longer, healthier life, try the keto diet! We explain the many benefits of this diet in the Body Reboot book and for a free copy of the book, all you have to do is help us cover shipping! Visit this page to snag your free copy today!

Sources: Only My Health, Live Science, Health, Seattle Times