Heart Health Month

Today I picked my son up from preschool and he showed me this:

It was a packet his class worked on, in honor of February being heart health month. Inside the packet were different pages with a fact about the human heart. The last page read,
 "I can keep my heart healthy by eating ________". My son wrote "apples, bacon, & corn!" Hmm...bacon? He must have gotten that from his dad!

This got me thinking. If our kids are learning about taking care of their hearts in preschool, shouldn't we (the grown-ups) be thinking more about taking care of our own hearts? Heart disease is the #1 killer of women. So, in honor of this special month, below are some tips on how to keep the heart strong. I challenge everyone to do just one thing this week that is good for the heart.

Heart Health Tips:


-Exercise 30 minutes/ day. This can be as simple as going for a walk.
-Maintain a healthy weight.
-Quit smoking.
-Make healthy food choices.  Choose a diet low in fat, cholesterol and salt and include more fruits, vegetables and lean meats.
-Get regular check-ups. Get regular screenings of blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and possibly a diabetes screening.


Check out these sources for more healthy tips and resources:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/heart-disease-prevention/WO00041
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/

Written by Genie Bianchi, RRCA Coach