Tips to Protect Your Heart
We all want to live a long, active life and there’s good reason to believe your chances of staying healthy start with your heart. So what are you doing to keep your heart healthy? You'll find a ton of great information at the American Heart Association's (AHA) website. Like this tip: Did you know that adding color to your plate can help you eat a variety of fruits and vegetables and ensure you get all of your needed vitamins?
Here's more heart-helpful news from the AHA:
When Losing Weight Can Harm Your Heart
We all have the cousin or the co-worker who lost 20 pounds in a single month using the fad diet of the season. Just eat only cabbage after 10am or drink a gallon of grapefruit juice a day or take a handful of mail-order pills and the weight comes falling off. Only you know what happens when something falls off? It bounces back.
Yo-yo diets are the exact opposite of the lifestyle change Professional Weight Management promotes, and the fluctuations they cause in weight, blood pressure, and blood sugar can create an elevated risk of heart attack, stroke or even an early death according to the American Heart Association.
The reason for the elevated risks is the stress fad diets place on your body. If you overly restrict your diet without carefully considering your metabolism and the particular needs of your body, then your body has to work harder to make up for the lack of resources and it will turn to burning fat and muscle mass to produce energy. This stress causes your body to release cortisol, the hormone involved in the body's flight-or-flight response, and your body responds to the hormone with increased anxiety, elevated cholesterol, blood pressure and triglycerides--and a gain in fat storage.
Add Heart-Check Certified to Your Grocery List
Did you know the American Heart Association maintains a list of Heart-Check certified foods? It's updated monthly and is designed to help consumers make informed choices about the foods they purchase. Not all healthy foods are on the list because not all have gone through the certification process. And there is no guarantee a Heart-Certified food will be on your customized Professional Weight Management weight loss plan. But the list is a great resource to keep on hand so that you can make healthier choices for your family. Download the list here.
And while you're in the grocery store, use these tips to make more healthy choices:
Read the Nutrition Labels. Just because it says healthy on the label or claims to be low-carb or low-fat, that doesn't mean it actually IS healthy. You'll want to look for lower amounts of sodium, saturated fat, trans fat and added sugar.
Don't be Fooled by Sneaky Names. Ingredients like sodium and sugar can have so many different names, and the AHA tells us that reducing sodium intake below the recommended 1500 mg daily could save as many as 1.2 million lives over the next decade. Look for sodium to be labeled as monosodium glutamate (MSG, common in Chinese food), sodium citrate, sodium alginate, and sodium phosphate, and sugar to be labeled as dextrose, fructose, galactose, glucose, lactose, maltose, or sucrose.
Keep Choosing Fruits and Vegetables Even Off Season. You may not find your favorites in the fresh produce aisle but today's flash freezing and canning practices mean frozen or canned produce can be just as nutritious as fresh, plus it will keep in your freezer or cabinet for months or years. So you'll always have great tasting fruits and vegetables on hand. Just watch out for added sugar and sodium.
Look for Whole Grain. And don't be fooled by false whole grain claims. The AHA wants you to choose products which list either "whole grain" or "whole" followed by the specific name of the grain as the first item in the ingredients list. You'll find whole grain choices in crackers, cereals, tortillas, pasta and many more food items. You'll also find healthy grain options on the shelf at Professional Weight Management, with the added benefit of packing protein into your daily menu.
Do you know your Heart Health IQ? Test it now.
Bonus Tip: Stay Active--Even In Cold Weather!
It can be so tempting to cuddle up on the couch with your favorite blanket and just wait for spring before you get active, but we don't have to tell you how bad that is for your heart. Or for your waistline.
Grabbing your walking shoes and heading outside might be easier if you remember these tips from the AHA:
There's none of summer's humidity and heat! The chilled air might even make you feel more energetic.
And because there's no heat and humidity to wear you down, you might find you can walk faster and longer and burn more calories.
The sun is outside, not shining on your couch. And absorbing sunlight means more flu-fighting Vitamin D and, for most of, a happier mood.
It's not just the Vitamin D. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tell us that even only a few minutes of exercise daily can improve immunity and boost your defense against the cold and flu season. Add our vitamins C and D (on special this month) for an extra boost.
So how do you stay warm while walking in winter? Layer up. But leave the cotton at home, since it absorbs moisture from perspiration or snow and rain and will only make you feel colder. Instead choose moisture-wicking materials against your skin, which can usually be found in high-performance sportswear and will often be on sale in February's end-of-season sales. Fleece makes a great second layer, as it adds tons of warmth, and your outer layer should be a thin waterproof layer such as a parka, which will do double-duty to stop wintry winds as well. And don't forget the warm socks, cap and gloves to keep your body heat from escaping through your extremities.