Thursday, February 10, 2022
In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson proclaimed February to be American Heart Month. Johnson himself suffered several heart attacks and knew first-hand the importance of heart health. In honor of Heart Month, the American Heart Association recommends three main strategies to keep your heart ticking and healthy for years to come: healthy eating, a healthy life style and fitness.
Healthy Eating:
Healthy eating starts with healthy food choices. You don’t need to be a chef to create nutritious, heart-healthy meals that you will love. New dietary guidance emphasizes balance and variety in menu choices instead of focusing on single foods.
Here’s how to get just the right balance in your nutritional habits:
- Research how many calories you should be eating to maintain a healthy weight. As we age our calorie needs change. The ShopWell app (free to download) can help you match foods to all your health needs. Once you create a profile, the app can help you make a nutritious shopping list you can take to the store.
- Eat a wide variety of fruits and vegetables
- Choose whole grains
- Select healthy proteins – mostly plants such as legumes and nuts; fish and seafood; low-fat or nonfat dairy; and lean and unprocessed meats in limited quantities
- Cook with liquid non-tropical vegetable oils
- Avoid processed foods
- Avoid added sugars
- Avoid salt
- Limit alcohol
Ready to get started? Here are some recipes to get you cooking yummy and healthy meals. Do you need assistance with meal preparation or grocery shopping? Contact AgeGuide at (800) 528-2000 to learn more about the services available to you and how we can help you access healthy meals.
Fitness:
Physical activity is one of the best ways to keep your body, heart, and mind healthy. The American Heart Association recommends at least 150 minutes of activity a week. A big part of finding a regular exercise routine and sticking to it has to do with finding an activity that you enjoy. Regular exercise relieves stress, improves mood, increases energy, helps with sleep, and lowers your risk of chronic disease, including dementia and depression.
Learn more here about how to stay active at Fitness | American Heart Association
Healthy Lifestyle:
A healthy lifestyle involves managing stress, supporting your mental health, getting good sleep and fostering good habits. These things will help support not only your heart, but your overall well-being. Along with eating right and being active, mental health is a critical component of heart health and well-being. Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. It’s important to manage stress by practicing mindfulness, connecting socially, and making sure you get enough rest.
Especially during these cold winter months, with COVID mitigation once again limiting social gatherings, it’s normal to feel a bit down. In fact, half of all adults in the US report a decrease in their mental health since the pandemic started. Some of this can be attributed to more unhealthy lifestyle behaviors, such as smoking and drinking alcohol. These things can contribute to heart disease. If you are feeling down or lonely, talk to a friend, family member or a counselor about how you feel and ask for help to reduce your stress and lift your mood.
All the information you need to improve your mental health can be found here: Healthy Lifestyle | American Heart Association
COVID-19:
During the ongoing pandemic, many Americans are avoiding the hospital even in an emergency. Don’t let fear of exposure to COVID-19 keep you from seeking help when you feel sick or have symptoms of a stroke or heart attack. Delaying treatment can have long term or life-threatening consequences. The American Heart Association’s “Don’t Die of Doubt,” national awareness campaign reminds us that hospitals are the safest place to go when you have symptoms.
Overall, if you eat healthy, stay active, support your mental health, and go to the doctor, you can reduce your risk of the number one cause of death in the US and keep your heart healthy for years to come.
Visit American Heart Association | To be a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives for all the information needed on heart health.
