Love Your Heart

 
February is National Heart Health month, so why not celebrate talking about foods your heart will love. Heart disease is one of America’s leading causes of death and is often the result of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, poor diet, stress, physical inactivity, and overweight and obesity(1). The foods we choose to eat can have a significant impact on our heart health. So love your heart and try to choose foods that will keep it healthy.
 
Fruits and vegetables offer lots of nutrients that help fight against heart disease (1). The American Heart Association recommends making half of your plate fruits and vegetables (1). Try eating a variety of fruits and vegetables of different colors to make sure you are getting all the necessary nutrients.
 
Beans and Legumes are a great source of protein without the saturated fat. They contain fiber and many vitamins and minerals that help with lowering blood cholesterol levels (1). Substituting plant protein with animal protein can help reduce your overall fat and cholesterol intake. Try adding beans to soups, salads, and pasta dishes or make a dip and spread it on sandwiches!
 
Healthy Fats: It is best to replace bad fats (saturated and trans fats) with healthier (mono and polyunsaturated fats) for optimal heart health. Olive, peanut, safflower, soybean, and avocado oil are great alternatives for cooking instead of butter. Do not forget about the essential omega 3-fatty acids, which have shown to lower LDL (bad cholesterol) and total cholesterol levels (1). Try consuming fish two times a week or add flaxseeds to your smoothies!
 
Whole grains such as whole wheat, oatmeal, brown rice, popcorn, and barley are great because they contain so many nutrients such as the B vitamins, iron, magnesium, selenium, and FIBER (1). Fiber helps improve blood cholesterol levels and lowers risk for stroke and obesity (1).
 
Don’t forget about exercise! Staying active is one of the most important things to do to prevent heart disease. The American Heart Association recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise a week (2). An activity can be in the form of walking, running, cycling, swimming, or even shoveling snow. It is also recommended that adults do muscle strength training about two times a week (2). Physical activity has been shown to decrease the incidence of heart disease and mortality, reduce blood pressure and prevalence of hypertension, weight loss, reduced rate of type 2 diabetes, and decrease in blood lipid levels (3).

1.    Heart Check Foods. American Heart Association. https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-eating/heart-check-foods. Accessed February 17, 2020 2.
2.    Fitness Basics. American Heart Association. https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/fitness/fitness-basics. Accessed Febrary 17, 2020
3.    Piercy KL., Troiano RP, Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans from the US Department of Health and Human Services. Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes. 2018;11:3005263.

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Post written by Hanna Stringer, a graduate student of Christine Clark in the MS in Applied Nutrition program through the College of Professional Studies at Northeastern University.

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#OurHearts

Did you know that people who have close relationships at home, work, or in their community tend to be healthier and live longer? One reason, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), is that we’re more successful meeting our health goals when we join forces with others. To underscore this point, NHLBI launched the #OurHearts movement, to inspire people to protect and strengthen their hearts with the support of others. Making the following heart healthy lifestyle changes will be easier and more successful if you work with other motivated people:

GET PHYSICALLY ACTIVE
Ask a colleague to walk with you on a regular basis, put the date on both your calendars, and text or call to make sure you both show up. Join an exercise class at your local community center and bring a neighbor along. Grab your kids, put on some music, and do jumping jacks, skip rope, or just dance. Make your social time active and encourage everyone—family and friends alike— to think of fun things that get you off the couch and moving.

EAT HEART HEALTHY FOODS
We tend to eat like our friends and family, so ask others close to you to join you in your effort to eat healthier. Need healthy eating ideas? Try NHLBI’s Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) eating plan. It’s free and scientifically proven to lower blood pressure and improve blood cholesterol levels.

QUIT SMOKING
To help you quit, ask others for support or join a support group. Research has shown that people are much more likely to quit if their spouse, friend, or sibling does.

Visit #OurHearts for inspiration on what others around the country are doing together for their heart health. Then join the movement by tagging #OurHearts to share how you're being heart healthy with friends, family, or others.

Reference:
1. Join the #OurHearts Movement. National Heart, Lung and Blood Insitute. Available at: https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health-topics/education-and-awareness/heart-truth/our-hearts

Written by Jennifer M. Roberts, MS, RDN
FEBRUARY 2020
weeatlivedowell.com

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FYUL: Heart Health

FYUL is a program focused on making it easy for you to find foods that are embedded with health benefits also known as functional foods that are important to your personal lifestyle!

Heart Health: Foods that are packed with Fiber and Heart Healthy Fats

Choosing foods that will benefit your heart is always a good idea! If you choose foods that are in their whole form such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish, nuts, beans, lean meats then you are taking the right steps. If you are not there yet it is not too late to make some small changes to make a positive impact. Keep in mind that while we can make choices about the foods we eat- we cannot choose or change our family health history or age, but that does not mean that you should not implement heart-healthy food choices!

Here are some tips to get you started!

• Choose nutrient-dense foods that are also a good source of fiber and antioxidants that have a protective effect on cells in the body. Nutrient-dense foods will also provide many other vitamins and minerals. Including whole grains (cereals, rice, pasta, and oatmeal), fruits, and vegetables at meals and snacks will help accomplish this.
• Choose foods that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids because that will help with reducing inflammation in the body. Consider incorporating foods such as wild salmon, tuna, flaxseeds/flax meal, and walnuts to have this benefit.
• Choose oils that are high in mono- and poly-unsaturated fats as these are good for your heart. You can find the best sources among olive oil, nuts, avocados, sunflower and safflower oils. Limit your intake of trans fats and saturated fats that are found in many processed foods (crackers, cookies and other packaged baked goods). Also keep in mind that although coconut oil may taste good and add flavor, use this tropical oil in moderation as it is high in saturated fat. Saturated fats have been found to raise blood cholesterol levels, therefore this can be harmful over time. 

Making heart-healthy choices is important at any age. It does not mean you have to remove foods you love, it simply means adding nutrient-rich foods into your day! The good news is that it includes treats such as dark chocolate, which is rich in antioxidants!

Here is a recipe that is a great way to start your day with heart healthy option. This is also a great snack option!

Overnight Oats

• ½ cup Quaker Oats
• ½ cup lowfat milk or a milk substitute
• ½ cup Greek yogurt (plain or vanilla)
• ¼ cup blueberries, raspberries or peaches
• 1 TBSP honey

Add Quaker Oats to your container, pour in milk, and add in fruit and Greek yogurt. Top with honey before refrigerating

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BUILD A BETTER BREAKFAST

You have probably heard the saying that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. While it may not necessarily be more important than lunch or dinner, it is a meal that many of us tend to skip for a variety of reasons. A recent study suggests that skipping breakfast may do more harm than we previously thought. Skipping breakfast tends to leave us low on energy and extra hungry at lunch, but it may also increase our risk of dying from heart disease. Here are some tips to start your day off right with breakfast:

GET SOME GRAINS
Breakfast is a perfect time to get in some whole grains. There are so many delicious options – oatmeal, whole grain muffins, and even whole grain pancakes – to choose from. Be cautious with portion size though. While whole grains are good, breakfast grains in general can get a little out of hand with their portion size. If it doesn’t fit in your hand, it might be a little too big.

FRUIT AND VEGGIES
Fruit gets a lot of attention at breakfast and it is a great choice, but don’t forget the veggies. Most of us could use more vegetables each day, so starting out with some at breakfast gets you on the right track. Vegetables add color, flavor and nutrients to omelets, scrambles and frittatas. Vegetables not typically eaten at breakfast are finding their way on to menus in the form of vegetable hash, smoothies and even breakfast salads and are all worth trying.

DRINK WISELY
Coffee and tea are two of the most popular breakfast drinks, but they vary widely in how well they help us start our day. Be cautious of add ins that are high in sugar and calories that add up quickly and are easy to overdo in a drink. Breakfast is also a good time to start hydrating. With little to no water intake overnight, your body will thank you for adding a glass of water to your morning routine.

Reference:1. Shuang Rong, Linda G. Snetselaar, Guifeng Xu, Yangbo Sun, Buyun Liu, Robert B. Wallace, Wei Bao. Association of Skipping Breakfast With Cardiovascular and All-Cause Mortality. Journal of the American College of Cardiology Apr 2019, 73 (16) 2025-2032

Written by Jennifer M. Roberts, MS, RD
JULY 2019
balanceittakesyou.com

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Go RED

On February 2nd, the American Heart Association and the National Institutes of Health celebrate National Wear Red Day® to bring attention to the number one killer of women, heart disease. Despite the fact that heart disease kills more women than the next four causes of death combined, most women still think of it as a man’s disease. This misperception prevents many of us from taking the steps we need to keep ourselves healthy.

Celebrate Your Health:
When it comes to heart health, there are some changes that pack a big punch. Celebrate your
health and the health of the women in your life by making these strategies a priority.

• Move more. The more active you are, the better you will feel and the lower your risk for heart disease will be. All activity counts, so don’t skip it if you are short on time. Ten minutes, three times a day is enough to make a difference.
• Eat more of the good stuff. Fruits, vegetables and whole grains are delicious foods that can help to lower your heart disease risk.
• Eat less of the not so good stuff. Foods that are high in sodium (salt), trans or saturated fat and added sugar such as bacon or packaged snacks and desserts, increase your heart disease risk and should be limited or reduced. And of course, don’t smoke. If you do, February 2nd makes a great quit date!

Know Where You Stand:
Not all risk factors are obvious and most women developing heart disease have no symptoms at all. Check in with your doctor regularly to see what your personal heart disease risk is. Don’t assume that they will be the ones to start the discussion. Be proactive and have questions ready. Both the Go Red for Women and The Heart Truth websites have great tools to get you started.

RESOURCES:
1. www.goredforwomen.org
2. Center for Disease Control and Prevention: Women and Heart Disease facts; http://www.cdc.gov/dhdsp/data_statistics/fact_sheets/fs_women_heart.htm

Written by Jennifer M. Roberts, MS, RD.
February 2018

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Fish For Your Heart?

Cutting back on red meat is a common recommendation for both health and sustainability. What’s less clear is what we should replace the meat with. A recent study looked at this and the results may surprise you.

If not red meat, what?
Red meat appears on many lists of foods to eat less of due mostly to its saturated fat and cholesterol content, and the fact that we tend to eat too much of it. A recent study looked at what we should consider substituting for red meat when we follow the advice to cut back. Of all of the substitutions the study looked at, one stood out as the best choice – fish high in omega-3s. The fatty fish showed more benefits for heart health than poultry, unprocessed meat and even lean fish.

Is fish safe to eat?
Fish, especially the kind that gives us omega-3s, has long been considered a healthy choice. Warnings related to contamination by mercury and other toxins has left many people wondering if fish is safe to eat. For most people, the benefits of eating fish far outweigh the risks. To keep those risks even lower, it is important to choose a variety of fish. Salmon, anchovies, herring, shad, sardines, Pacific oysters, trout, and Atlantic and Pacific mackerel are examples of fish that offer omega-3s and are lower in mercury making them good options for those meat-skipping meals.

Bottom Line
If you are looking to improve your health and that of our environment, replacing red meat with fatty fish occasionally seems like a step in the right direction. Choosing the fish carefully to avoid high levels of mercury, especially for pregnant women and young children is recommended. The Seafood Watch Guide (seafoodwatch.morg) can help make sure those fish choices are ocean-friendly too.

REFERENCES:
1. Würtz AM1, Hansen MD1, Tjønneland A2, Rimm EB3, Schmidt EB4, Overvad K1, Jakobsen MU1. Substitutions of red meat, poultry and fish and risk of myocardial infarction. Br J Nutr. 2016 Mar 7:1-8. [Epub ahead of print]
2. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture. 2015 – 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. 8th Edition. December 2015. Available at http://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015/guidelines/.

Written by Jennifer M. Roberts, MS, RD
June 2016

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Three Easy Steps to Keeping Your Heart Healthy

With assistance from Northeastern graduate student Melissa Pryputniewicz

The heart's main function is to pump blood throughout your body. Blood brings oxygen and nutrients to your organs and carries waste products like carbon dioxide to be excreted from the body. When you think about it, the heart is a pretty important organ - and it is one that many young people take for granted.

It is very easy to think that you don’t have to start worrying about your heart health until your 40s, but the truth is that many behaviors you are engaging in now have an impact on your heart health later in life.

So, what puts you at risk for developing heart disease?

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