National Heart Health Month- Keep your Heart Healthy in the Month of Love

Happy February everyone! We are now officially into the newyear and into the month that many of us consider the month filled with love. Whileyour relationship status may vary this year, it is important to keep your hearthealthy for yourself and your loved ones! To make sure this is possible we wantto pay attention to the numerous ways we can improve our lifestyle to avoidsuffering from heart disease or other heart related issues this year or in thefuture.

February also happens to be National Heart Health month!  According to the CDC (https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/facts.htm), heart disease is the number one cause of death in the United States for both Men and Women. While the numbers are staggering, the good news is heart disease can be preventable for many people if you take the necessary precautions to take care of yourself! Some tips for prevention include:

1. Developing a healthy eating lifestyle!  No more yo-yo dieting or extreme diets asresearch has begun to show this can be more detrimental for your health thanmaintaining a slightly higher weight. Set up an eating schedule allowing you totime out your meals and snacks reasonably throughout the day (about every 3-4hours) and ensure each meal or snack has a healthy balance of food groups (egcarbs/fruit, proteins, fats, and veggies) in the right portion sizes! This willhelp you maintain the proper weight for your body and activities.
2.  Includephysical activity into your routines! Physical activity plays a role inpromoting positive mood, heart health, weight management, energy levels, andmore! You should work up to a minimum of 30 minute of physical activity atleast 5 days per week. This may seem daunting, but can be as easy as going fora walk, doing exercises at your desk, taking a dance class, swimming, or goingon hike! Find some activities you enjoy and make them a part of your day youlook forward to (clear any activity decisions with your doctor prior toparticipation if you have any health concerns)!
3. Stop stressing so much!  Stress, depression, anger, and hostility havealso been seen to increase risk of heart disease. Work to develop healthystress and negative emotion management skills! It’s okay to feel these, but itis also important to find healthy ways to work through them. If Valentine’s dayis causing you to feel any of these emotions, take the time to reframe andfocusing on loving yourself!
4. Cut out smoking! Smoking can lead tosignificant increases in heart disease risk by damaging blood vessels leadingto thickening and narrowing causing increased risk of high blood pressure oreven blood clots. Smoking can also lead to deficiencies of nutrients that arecrucial in heart and body function. If you use smoking as a method for stressmanagement, take the steps to find healthier stress management activities to replacethe need for smoking.
5. Manage your other health conditions!Conditions such as diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or waistcircumference >40 inches in men and >35 inches in women.  These conditions can increase your risk ofheart disease and should not be taken lightly work with a doctor and/orregistered dietitian to ensure these conditions are managed both from healthylifestyle standpoint and medication standpoint if necessary.

These are just a few tips to keep your heart healthy and making sure you love yourself and are there for your loved ones in this month of love! It is also important to know what signs and symptoms to look for when experiencing a heart attack or stroke.

Visit: https://www.cdc.gov/dhdsp/data_statistics/fact_sheets/fs_heartattack.htm (Heart Attack);

and https://www.cdc.gov/stroke/signs_symptoms.htm (Stroke) to identify these symptoms for you or a loved one quickly and contact 9-1-1 immediately to decrease potential damage or risk of fatality.

Many of these tips provided are easier said than done. Ifyou are looking for extra help with your nutrition and health and health goalsand need help making a healthy lifestyle as easy and enjoyable as possible, CONTACTUS today and SCHEDULEyour first appointment toward taking control of your health!

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Wishing you a month filled with health and love,

-Ricci-Lee Hotz, MS, RDN

Denver’s Dancing Dietitian

A Taste of Health, LLC

“Improving Quality of life one bite at a time”