Health and WELLNESS Month

February 2017

Health and WELLNESS Month 

American Heart Month

  and

Women’s Heart Month

Tell your parents/ guardians to stay heathy by getting their heart rate and cholesterol checked!

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women in the United States.

The good news? Heart disease can often be prevented when people make healthy choices and manage their health conditions. Communities, health professionals, and families can work together to create opportunities for people to make healthier choices.

 How can American Heart Month make a difference?

How people can prevent it — both at home and in the community.

Here are just a few ideas:

Encourage families to make small changes, like using spices to season their food instead of salt.

Ask doctors and nurses to be leaders in their communities by speaking out about ways to prevent heart disease.

Start by knowing how many calories you should be eating and drinking to maintain your weight. Nutrition and calorie information on food labels is typically based on a 2,000 calorie diet. You may need fewer or more calories depending on several factors including age, gender, and level of physical activity.

If you are trying not to gain weight, don’t eat more calories than you know you can burn up every day.

Increase the amount and intensity of your physical activity to match the number of calories you take in.

Aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity or 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity – or an equal combination of both – each week.

Regular physical activity can help you maintain your weight, keep off weight that you lose and help you reach physical and cardiovascular fitness. If it’s hard to schedule regular exercise sessions, try aiming for sessions of at last 10 minutes spread throughout the week.

If you would benefit from lowering your blood pressure or cholesterol, the American Heart Association recommends 40 minutes of aerobic exercise of moderate to vigorous intensity three to four times a week.

Eat a variety of nutritious foods from all the food groups.

Eat an overall healthy dietary pattern that emphasizes:

a variety of fruits and vegetables,

whole grains,

low-fat dairy products,

skinless poultry and fish

nuts and legumes

non-tropical vegetable oils

Limit saturated fat, trans fat, sodium, red meat, sweets and sugar-sweetened beverages. If you choose to eat red meat, compare labels and select the leanest cuts available.

Courtesy:

American Heart Association  

www.heart.org

healthfinder.gov