By Peggy O'Farrell
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Beverly Lathan of Forest Park tees up at Meadow Links & Golf Academy in Winton Woods. She advises women to keep moving to stay healthy and fit. The Cincinnati Enquirer/BRANDI STAFFORD

What makes a woman healthy?

Barbara McFarland, a Kenwood therapist, has 10 criteria. Healthy women, she says, are:

• Balanced
• Confident
• Fit
• Humorous
• Loving
• Passionate
• Optimistic
• Self-accepting
• Self-nurturing
• Spiritual

She outlines them all in her newly released Take Back Your Life Now! Master the Ten Traits of Today's Healthy Woman (1stBooks Library; $13.95). She wrote the book with executive coach Steve Wuest.

"The message that resonates with women, which really influenced me to research the 10 traits, is that women put everyone else before themselves. With all of their roles and responsibilities, with elderly parents and young children and their jobs and their husbands, they end up frazzled to the bone," McFarland says.

We asked 10 area women with experience in health-related fields to give us their best tips for maintaining good physical, mental or spiritual health. Here's what they say:

• Bev Lathan, 49, Forest Park, registered nurse at University Hospital and parish nurse for Abundant Life Faith Fellowship in Colerain Township:

"Keep moving. I've done relays in the Flying Pig Marathon, and I'm going to walk it this year. I just did the Heart Mini Marathon. I love my golf. I play in a couple of leagues. It's not just the physical outlet, but the emotional connection. I want to learn how to ski. My co-workers and I walk the nine flights of steps at the hospital. Going down is not bad. We do it in about six minutes. Going up, by the eighth floor, you feel like you're on the moon with lead legs, but you feel so good that you did it. We all inspire each other. But you can't wait on other people. You have to do it for yourself. Keep moving, and do it because you know you have to do it for yourself. Only you will take care of you."

• Shakila Ahmad, fortysomething, Evendale, director of talks and tours for the Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati in West Chester Township:

AUTHOR'S ADVICE

Barbara McFarland's Take Back Your Life Now! Master the Ten Traits of Today's Healthy Woman (1stBooks Library; $13.95) features short chapters offering blueprints and strategies to help women achieve each of the 10 traits she has researched. McFarland, of Kenwood, suggests spending 10 minutes a day on the strategies. Taking only 10 minutes strikes a chord with busy women, she says. "In our culture, we think big: Big Mac, big fries, big everything," she says. "I tell my patients, let's think small. If they're looking for ways to self-nurture, the majority say, 'I would just like 10 minutes to sit down and read a magazine.' I tell them that it can happen, but I emphasize that they have to make it happen." To make it happen, women have to put themselves first and make their needs known. That's harder than it sounds, McFarland says, but there's a payoff. "Most women think that if they take care of everyone else, these people will, in turn, automatically think of them back, and it doesn't happen that way," she says. "That's where women get frustrated. They get angry. They get depressed." Women should make themselves happy first, McFarland says. "It starts from the inside out. If you can make yourself happy by doing some small things, you can make other people happy as well."

"I feel it's very important for us to focus on having our whole being, which includes, very importantly, our minds, healthy. It's good to focus on good things. With so much negativity surrounding us, it's so important to take time and learn about and feed our minds with things that are good and honest. Forgetting the good and focusing on the bad will definitely drag your health down."

• Cathy Ramundo, 53, Pleasant Ridge, two-time heart attack survivor and owner of Salt and Pepper Cafe at Ridge Market in Pleasant Ridge:

"You have to have a sense of humor. I think laughter is the biggest thing. You have to be able to laugh even at the bad things. When bad things happen, I never say, 'Why me?' I say, 'OK, God, what am I supposed to learn from this?' You have to be able to laugh at life or you'll drive yourself into the grave."

• Dianne Dunkelman, 56, Amberley Village, founder and president of the National Speaking of Women's Health Foundation:

"Develop a relationship with your doctor, pharmacists and other members of your health care team that allows you to be a partner in the decision-making. It will serve as a strong foundation for preventing, and if needed, treating disease and staying healthy. I make it a priority to get screenings, including heart, colonoscopy, gynecological, skin checks and a general physical each year or as directed by my doctors."

• Lauren Niemes, 46, Walnut Hills, executive director of the Greater Cincinnati Nutrition Council:

"Healthy women eat a plant-based diet. Being active is the first thing they need to do, but eating lots of fruits and vegetables and whole grains is the key to staying healthy."

• Diane Utaski, 51, Symmes Township, owner of Cincinnati Yoga School and Bookstore in Blue Ash:

"Develop the habit of exercise and mindful movement every day to stay in touch with your physical and spiritual health. If you have a hectic day, you know you have not totally neglected yourself, and that knowing and habitual nurturing will lower your stress level and keep you in shape. I start every day with yoga and exercise and end every day knowing how much sleep I need to get to do it again."

• Cathy Creger Rosenbaum, 51, Loveland, pharmacologist and clinical safety and effectiveness officer, TriHealth:

"A healthy life is one that thrives on music, passion, agape love, laughter and forgiveness. I regularly pray to God and have taken spiritual retreats to set priorities and purpose and learn how Christ has forgiven me more times than my wildest dreams could ever imagine."

• Laurie Flanagan, 39, Loveland,owner/instructor for StrollerFit:

"Keep your childlike sense of adventure. Enjoy the outdoors year round and explore. Staying active and interested in life and all it has to offer is part of that. Being at peace with yourself is another. Stop obsessing over some image of the 'perfect' body. Realize you are uniquely special."

• Tyrha Lindsey, thirtysomething, College Hill, director of development, LifeCenter Organ Donor Network:

"Go on the Love Yourself Diet. That's what I did. I loved Tyrha first and took care of myself, mind, body and soul. Be willing to say no and have a balance between your personal and professional life. Laugh a lot. Good nutrition is important, and really understanding how to feed your body for you. For me that meant becoming a semi-vegetarian and eating meat every three to four days. And I have a spa day once a month. I call it 'Tyrha Time.' I have a little massage and a little facial, and I have my little spa bank account."

• Jill Guilfoile, 49, Anderson Township, registered nurse and program coordinator for workplace wellness at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center:

"For me, it's a mixture of physical activity and spirituality. I believe in prayer, and a lot of times, it's walking and praying mixed together. It keeps me centered."

E-mail pofarrell@enquirer.com