The Child Nutrition Foundation
February honors several heart health observances—Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week on February 7-14, Cardiac Rehabilitation Week on February 11-18, National Women’s Heart Day on February 17, and National Wear Red Day on February 3. All of these observances, as well as Valentine’s Day on February 14, provide a perfect opportunity to remind you to take care of your heart.
Many simple improvements can benefit your heart tremendously. Aim to weave at least two of the following suggestions into your day, making them a new habit.
•Do cardio. Walking, running, swimming, skiing, biking, dancing, skating are all excellent forms of cardiovascular exercise that increase the rate at which your heart pumps blood, helping it stay strong and perform better. This form of exercise also helps lower cholesterol and assists in weight management. Find more information and motivational tools atwww.heart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=1200013.
•Fill up on whole grains. In addition to helping you maintain a feeling of satiety for a longer time and taking the place of fatty foods in your diet, whole grains help reduce cholesterol levels and sweep toxins from your digestive tract. For example, consider choosing instant oatmeal for a quick breakfast or replacing your white toast with whole-wheat toast.
•Eat flax seeds. These small seeds are packed with one of the most beneficial heart helpers—omega-3 fatty acids. This “good fat” provides the materials necessary to improve arterial health while protecting you against heart and vessel diseases, reducing blood clots, and decreasing cholesterol levels and blood pressure.
•Replace meat with fish once or twice a week. Fish offers a low-fat, lower-cholesterol alternative to meat and provides the same omega-3 fats as flax seeds. Some kinds of fish, however, may contain high levels of mercury and should only be eaten in moderation. For more information on safe fish, visit www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/admehg3.html.
•Avoid hydrogenated oils (trans fats). These fats contribute to clogged arteries and heart disease. Manufacturers of all foods containing trans fats will be required to state trans fats content on their label beginning in 2006. Many manufacturers are working to reduce or eliminate them from their ingredient lists.
•Choose oils high in unsaturated fats. Coconut, palm kernel, cottonseed and corn oils are higher in saturated fat and can nearly always be replaced with oils containing less saturated fat and higher levels of unsaturated fats such as olive, safflower and canola oils. Butter, margarine, and other shortenings can often be replaced with these as well. While most fats and oils contain the same amount of fat per tablespoon, unsaturated fat is much healthier for the body and especially for the heart. Replacing saturated with unsaturated fats will reduce your “bad cholesterol” and improve your “good cholesterol” levels for improved heart health.
•Make a heart-healthy Valentine’s Day meal. Plan an evening starting with a romantic healthy meal followed by a long walk under the moonlight or an evening of dancing—at a party, dance studio, dancehall, or right in your own living room. You can find several ideas on healthy Valentine’s menus and activities at: www.foodfit.com/ orhttp://recipestoday.com/resources/articles/10ideas4vday.htm. If you prefer to go out, select a restaurant with heart-healthy options and make good selections! And remember… nothing is more romantic than controlling portion sizes by splitting a meal!
•Fill up on whole grains. In addition to helping you maintain a feeling of satiety for a longer time and taking the place of fatty foods in your diet, whole grains help reduce cholesterol levels and sweep toxins from your digestive tract. For example, consider choosing instant oatmeal for a quick breakfast or replacing your white toast with whole-wheat toast.
•Eat flax seeds. These small seeds are packed with one of the most beneficial heart helpers—omega-3 fatty acids. This “good fat” provides the materials necessary to improve arterial health while protecting you against heart and vessel diseases, reducing blood clots, and decreasing cholesterol levels and blood pressure.
•Replace meat with fish once or twice a week. Fish offers a low-fat, lower-cholesterol alternative to meat and provides the same omega-3 fats as flax seeds. Some kinds of fish, however, may contain high levels of mercury and should only be eaten in moderation. For more information on safe fish, visit www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/admehg3.html.
•Avoid hydrogenated oils (trans fats). These fats contribute to clogged arteries and heart disease. Manufacturers of all foods containing trans fats will be required to state trans fats content on their label beginning in 2006. Many manufacturers are working to reduce or eliminate them from their ingredient lists.
•Choose oils high in unsaturated fats. Coconut, palm kernel, cottonseed and corn oils are higher in saturated fat and can nearly always be replaced with oils containing less saturated fat and higher levels of unsaturated fats such as olive, safflower and canola oils. Butter, margarine, and other shortenings can often be replaced with these as well. While most fats and oils contain the same amount of fat per tablespoon, unsaturated fat is much healthier for the body and especially for the heart. Replacing saturated with unsaturated fats will reduce your “bad cholesterol” and improve your “good cholesterol” levels for improved heart health.
•Make a heart-healthy Valentine’s Day meal. Plan an evening starting with a romantic healthy meal followed by a long walk under the moonlight or an evening of dancing—at a party, dance studio, dancehall, or right in your own living room. You can find several ideas on healthy Valentine’s menus and activities at: www.foodfit.com/ orhttp://recipestoday.com/resources/articles/10ideas4vday.htm. If you prefer to go out, select a restaurant with heart-healthy options and make good selections! And remember… nothing is more romantic than controlling portion sizes by splitting a meal!
To learn about the warning signs of heart attack, stroke, and cardiac arrest, visit www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3053#Heart_Attack.
SOURCE: http://www.acatoday.org/content_css.cfm?CID=1092
SOURCE: http://www.acatoday.org/content_css.cfm?CID=1092
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