Heart Health for Women

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in American women. What a woman eats and her lifestyle choices play a big part in her heart health.
Other Risk Factors

While you can change what you eat and whether you stay physically active, there are some risk factors for heart disease you cannot change. These include:

    Aging: As women get older, their risk for heart disease goes up.
    Gender: More women than men have heart attacks and strokes as they age.
    Family History: If a woman has a close blood relative with heart disease, the chances she will have heart disease are greater.
    Race: Black women have a higher risk of heart disease than white women. Their chances of dying from a stroke are also greater.
    Previous Heart Attack: If a woman has already had a heart attack, she is at risk of having another one.

Take Care of Your Heart

Choose heart-healthy foods such as whole grains, fruits, vegetables, low-fat or fat-free dairy, lean protein and heart-healthy fats. Limit your calories by filling up on high-fiber foods including whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Fiber can help you lose weight and keep the pounds off by filling you up faster and for a longer time.
Fat Matters for the Heart

The amount and kind of fat you eat makes a difference. Fat should make up 20 to 35 percent of your total calories, but only 10 percent of those fat calories should come from saturated fat. Research shows that eating too much saturated fat is not good for the heart. Foods such as bacon, sausages, fatty meats, butter, ice cream and other full-fat dairy foods contain saturated fat.

Unsaturated fat is a different story. It has been shown to be beneficial for cholesterol levels and overall cardiovascular health. Foods including olive oil, canola oil, avocados, nuts and seeds contain unsaturated fat.

Omega-3 fatty acids, a type of unsaturated fat, have been found to be helpful in preventing sudden death from heart attacks. Fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel, tuna and herring, contain two types of omega-3 fatty acids, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA).

The recommended intake for omega-3 fatty acids is 500 milligrams per day. That's basically two 6-ounce servings of fatty fish per week.

Another type of omega-3 fat, alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), is also proven to have cardiac benefits. Flaxseeds and walnuts contain ALA. Consume 2 tablespoons of ground flaxseed or 1 ounce (about a handful) of walnuts each day for heart health.
Fruits and Vegetables Matter

When it comes to loading your plate, fruit and vegetables are where it's at. Not only are they low in calories and high in fiber and antioxidants, they can also help keep blood pressure in check. High blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart attack and stroke. What makes fruits and vegetables so good? They are packed with potassium, a mineral that has been shown to lower blood pressure in clinical studies.

Aim for 4,700 milligrams of potassium every day for good blood pressure. That's at least 2 cups of fruit and 3 cups of vegetables daily.
Slow and Steady Weight Loss for Heart Health

If you are overweight or obese, gradual weight loss offers the best results for overall health. It doesn't take much to see results; your overall health will improve noticeably with a 5- to 10-percent drop in weight. Get at least 30 minutes of regular activity most days of the week; this will help with weight loss and keep your heart beating strongly.

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Risks of Inactivity: Why You Need to Exercise to Be Healthy

What do sitting, smoking and obesity have in common? All are risk factors for chronic disease.

Researchers have been investigating ways to reduce our risk of chronic disease for decades. One big question: How much exercise is needed to prevent disease? The answer is at least 150 minutes per week. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' physical activity guidelines, adults should participate in at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity per week, including at least two days of muscle-strengthening activities. While exercising up to 300 minutes per week has even greater health benefits.

This guideline was developed with the assumption that we are doing light physical activity throughout the day including walking and standing. However, many adults are mostly sedentary during the day. Many of us sit all day at our jobs and technology has replaced our need to do physical work.

Research shows that individuals who sit all day, even if they go to the gym for an hour, are at greater disease risk than those who are more active during the day. "Informal" physical activity such as walking to a coworker's desk, around the mall or through the parking lot can add up to a lot of minutes throughout the day and is beneficial to overall health.

What is physical inactivity?

Physical inactivity is anytime you are not standing or moving. Sitting at your desk, watching TV or being in your car for a long commute all fall into this category. Our health is impaired by how many hours we spend each day sitting, as well as the duration of those stints of inactivity.

Even those who exercise for 150 minutes each week aren't safe from the dangers of sitting for too long.

What are the risks?

Many parameters to assess disease risk include blood sugar, insulin, HDL (the good cholesterol), waist circumference, triglycerides, weight and blood pressure. Researchers have also studied the relationship between sitting and indicators of inflammation, which is common in people with heart disease. Studies have even investigated inactivity and risk of premature death. All of these outcomes can be negatively impacted by physical inactivity: The more you sit, the greater your risk for disease and early death.

How can we reduce physical inactivity at home and at work?

While there is no published recommendation for "safe" sitting time yet, a good rule of thumb is to move for at least 1 to 2 minutes each hour in addition to 150 minutes of moderate physical activity each week. If your job is sedentary, you can break up that time with bits of activity to improve your health. Here are a few tips to get moving throughout the day:

•     Use a pedometer to track daily steps and aim for a goal such as 10,000 steps per day.
•     Park far away from your building or use public transportation.
•     Use a standing or walking desk.
•     Have walking meetings, instead of sitting in the conference room.
•     Take a brisk walk after lunch.
•     Rather than send an email, walk to your co-worker.
•     Stand during phone calls.
•     Drink enough water that you use the restroom often.
•     Play pool, go for a walk or play lawn games instead of watching TV.


Source byeatright.org

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Nutrition Tips

You read all the books; buy all the right vitamins; you know the buzzwords to look for on food labels. By all standards, you're certain your nutrition report card should be filled with straight A's.

But before you start pasting gold stars onto your refrigerator door, take heed: Nutrition experts say most of us think we are eating a lot better than we actually are.

"It's easy to buy into some pretty popular nutrition misconceptions -- myths and half-truths that ultimately find us making far fewer healthier food choices than we realize," says New York University nutritionist Samantha Heller, MS, RD.

To set the record straight, Heller and two colleagues from the American Dietetic Association gave us the dish on seven nutrition mistakes you probably don't know you're making -- along with sure-fire ways to avoid them.

Mistake No. 1: Assuming your choices are better than they actually are.

From fruit juices to canned vegetable soup, breakfast muffins to seven-grain bread, it's easier to think your food choices are healthier than they really are, experts tell WebMD.

"If a label says 'Seven-Grain Bread,' it sounds pretty healthy, right? But unless that label also says 'whole grains' it's not necessarily going to be the healthiest bread choice you could make," Heller says.

Likewise, she says many folks think that eating a can of vegetable soup is as nutritious as downing a plateful of veggies -- not realizing how few vegetables are inside, and how much of the nutrients are lost in processing.

Another common mistake: Substituting fruit juices for whole fruits.

"Are fruit juices healthier than soda? Yes. But they are also concentrated sources of sugar that don't give you anywhere near the same level of nutrients you get from whole fruits," says Bonnie Taub-Dix, MA, RD. What's more, says Taub-Dix, if you're trying to lose weight, you won't get the same sense of fullness from a glass of juice that you will from a piece of fruit.

"Instead, you'll just take in a whole lot of calories -- and still feel hungry," Taub-Dix says.

The solution: Whenever possible, eat whole, fresh, and unprocessed foods. Even when you eat them in smaller amounts, you're likely to get a well-rounded group of nutrients. When buying packaged foods, put in at least as much time into reading labels and selecting products as you do when choosing a shower gel or shampoo.

"Don't just assume a product is healthy -- even if it's in the health food section of the supermarket," says Heller. "You've got to read the labels."

Mistake No. 2: Being confused about carbs.

A national fascination with low-carb diets has many Americans eliminating carbohydrates from their eating plans in record "grams." But before you reconstruct your personal nutrition pyramid, there's something you should know.

"There are carbs that are very, very good, and some that are less good, but your brain and body must have some carbohydrates every day," says Heller.

Moreover, because complex carbohydrates (those rich in whole grains and fiber) keep you feeling full longer, they also help you to eat less -- and lose more!

But eliminating this important food group isn't our only carb-related mistake. According to dietician Rachel Brandeis, MS, RD, just as troublesome is the belief that all no-carb or low-carb foods are healthy, or that you can eat them in any amount.

"Much like the low-fat diet craze, where everyone thought that if a meal had no fat, it had no calories, similarly people have come to believe that if it has low carbs you can eat as much as you want and not gain weight," says Brandeis. "And that is simply not true." Eat enough of anything, she says, and you'll gain weight.

The solution: Experts say you should never cut any food group out of your diet -- including carbohydrates. Equally important, says Heller, is to learn which carbohydrates give you the biggest bang for your nutritional buck.

(Source article on WebMD

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