Heart Healthy Shopping Tips for Oils, Dressings and Shortenings

When shopping for:

Oils, Dressings and Shortenings

• Buy and use fats and oils in limited amounts.
   
• When you must use oils for cooking, baking or in dressings or spreads, choose the ones lowest in saturated fats, trans fats and cholesterol — including canola oil, corn oil, olive oil, safflower oil, sesame oil, soybean oil and sunflower oil.
   
• Stay away from palm oil, palm kernel oil, coconut oil and cocoa butter. Even though they are vegetable oils and have no cholesterol, they’re high in saturated fats.
   
• Buy a nonstick pan or use nonstick vegetable spray when cooking.
   
• Choose reduced-fat, low-fat, light or fat-free salad dressings (if you need to limit your calories) to use with salads, for dips or as marinades.

Source:AHA

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Heart Healthy Grocery Shopping Tips for Bread and Baked Goods

When Shopping for:

Bread and Baked Goods

• Choose whole-grain, high-fiber breads, such as those containing whole wheat, oats, oatmeal, whole rye, whole grain corn and buckwheat. Choose breads and other foods that list whole grains as the first item in the ingredient list. 

• Limit the amount of bakery products you purchase, including doughnuts, pies, cakes and cookies. Look instead for fat-free or low-fat and low-sodium varieties of crackers, snack chips, cookies and cakes. 

• Remember that most store-baked goods are made with egg yolks, saturated fats and/or trans fats. (Read the Nutrition Facts label to determine the saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol content.) Check for store-baked goods that are made with polyunsaturated or monounsaturated oils, skim or reduced-fat milk, and egg whites — or make your own. 

• Instead of buying a raisin bran muffin, buy a loaf of raisin bread and enjoy a slice for breakfast or lunch.

Source: AHA

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Heart Healthy Shopping for Meat, Poultry, Fish and Nuts

Meat, Poultry, Fish and Nuts

• Buy and prepare more fish. You should eat one serving of grilled or baked fish at least twice a week. (A serving is roughly the size of a checkbook.) Good examples of fish to buy include salmon, trout and herring.
   
• Choose lemon juice and spices to eat with fish. Don’t add cream sauces.
   
• Stay away from fried fish. It’s usually high in fat — often trans fat.
   
• Choose cuts of red meat and pork labeled “loin” and “round”; they usually have the least fat.
   
• Buy “choice” or “select” grades of beef rather than “prime,” and be sure to trim off the fat before cooking.
   
• When buying or eating poultry, choose the leaner light meat (breasts) rather than the fattier dark meat (legs and thighs). Try the skinless version or remove the skin yourself.
   
• Select more meat substitutes such as dried beans, peas, lentils or tofu (soybean curd) and use them as entrees or in salads and soups. A one-cup serving of cooked beans, peas, lentils or tofu can replace a two-ounce serving of meat, poultry or fish.
   
• Pick up nuts and seeds, which are good sources of protein and polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats – but remember, they tend to be high in calories, so eat them in moderation.

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Heart Healthy Shopping for Milk, Cheese, Butter & Eggs

Milk, Cheese, Butter and Eggs

• Select fat-free (skim) or low-fat (1%) milk. 

• Avoid milk that contains added flavorings such as vanilla, chocolate or strawberry. They usually have added sugars and calories. 

• Choose fat-free, low-fat or reduced-fat cheeses.
   
• Use egg whites or egg substitutes instead of egg yolks. (Substitute two egg whites for each egg yolk in recipes that call for eggs.)
   
• Choose soft margarines that contain “0 grams trans fat” instead of buying butter. (These margarines usually come in tubs.)
   
• Don’t buy a lot of butter, cream and ice cream. Save those for special occasions and, even then, limit how much you eat. These foods have more saturated fat than whole milk.
   
• Watch out for the saturated and/or partially hydrogenated fats hidden in casseroles, bakery goods, desserts and other foods. Read the Nutrition Facts label to determine the saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol content of foods you’re considering.

Source:AHA

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• .

Heart Healthy Grocery Shopping for Fruits and Veggies

 

 

 

Updated:Dec 19,2013

While it’s generally healthier and cheaper to buy groceries at the store and prepare your meals at home, sometimes the sheer number of food choices at the supermarket can seem overwhelming. Here are some tips to help you be heart-smart at the grocery store and choose good-for-you foods.
Now, let’s go shopping!
When Shopping for...

Vegetables and Fruits

• Be sure to buy and eat a wide variety of fruits and vegetables.
   
• When fresh foods aren't available, choose frozen or canned vegetables and fruits in water without added sugars, saturated and trans fat, or salt.
   
• Buy more fruits and vegetables that are good sources of fiber, including beans, peas, oranges, bananas, strawberries and apples.
   
•  Stock up on raw vegetables for snacks such as carrot and celery sticks, broccoli, cherry tomatoes and cauliflower.
   
•  For desserts, buy fresh or canned fruits (in water without added sugars), dried fruit (without added sugars), and gelatin that contains fruit, instead of baked goods and sweets.
   
• Don’t buy lots of fruit juice. It doesn’t provide the fiber whole fruit does and it’s not as good at satisfying hunger.
  
  Some cholesterol-lowering medications may interact with grapefruit, grapefruit juice, pomegranate and pomegranate juice. Please talk to your health care provider about any potential risks.

Source AHA

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Government to issue guidelines for lowering sodium in foods

Published: 4:11 pm CDT, June 17, 2014

Food manufacturers and restaurants — suppliers of three-fourths of the sodium in Americans’ diets — may soon be asked by the government to lower sodium in their foods.

The Food and Drug Administration is preparing to issue voluntary guidelines asking the food industry to lower sodium levels, agency commissioner Margaret Hamburg told The Associated Press. Hamburg said in a recent interview that sodium is “of huge interest and concern” and she expects guidelines to be issued “relatively soon.”

“We believe we can make a big impact working with the industry to bring sodium levels down, because the current level of consumption really is higher than it should be for health,” Hamburg said.

Sodium has been shown to contribute to heart disease and stroke, the nation’s top killers. The American Heart Association recommends no more than 1,500 milligrams of sodium per day.

Even so, the average American consumes more than 3,400 mg, said Elliott Antman, M.D., professor of medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, and president-elect of the AHA.

“It’s very important to recognize that too much sodium leads to water retention and high blood pressure,” said Antman. “High blood pressure is known as the silent killer because many people don’t have symptoms and it leads to heart attack and stroke. Reducing sodium in our food supply is a major step in helping people live a healthier lifestyle.”

The AHA sees the FDA guidelines as a positive step, Antman said. The voluntary nature of the guidelines, “is allowing the food industry to do the right thing,” he added.

“Successful sodium reduction requires action and partnership at all levels — individuals, healthcare providers, professional organizations, public health agencies, governments, and industry,” Antman said. “Any efforts to reduce sodium content is an important step in reducing it in the food supply.”

He said having common sodium targets “allows the industry to have a level playing field so no one member of the industry makes a reduction in sodium while others do not.”

Many members of the food industry have already reduced sodium in their products and expanded the number of lower-sodium products.

Antman said it will be interesting to see what will happen when the FDA calls on industry to make voluntary reductions.

Sodium targets are expected to vary by the category of food and become progressively lower over time.

“This will help,” said Antman. “It does take time for individuals to become accustomed to less sodium in their diets.”

Voluntary sodium reduction programs have been implemented in the United Kingdom, Canada, and in New York City. In the U.K., it led to a 15 percent reduction in sodium intake, lower blood pressure and fewer deaths from heart disease and stroke, according to an April study published in the BMJ Open.

For more information:

• Healthy eating nutrition center
• Infographic: The effects of too much sodium on your health and appearance
• Infographic: 7 salty myths busted

Source:AHA
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Father's Day Warning

Father’s Day Warning: New study says grilled, processed meat may increase heart failure risk for men

Published: 3:39 pm CDT, June 12, 2014

As Americans get ready to whip out the grilling tongs for Father’s Day weekend, a new study warns that moderate amounts of processed red meat may increase men’s risk of heart failure.
Heart failure – which occurs when the heart muscle can’t pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs – affects about 5.7 million Americans.  Roughly half of those patients die within five years of diagnosis.
The new study, in Circulation: Heart Failure, an American Heart Association journal, is the first to look at effects of consuming processed red meat (such as cold cuts or sausage) apart from unprocessed red meat like pork or veal. Processed meats, which also includes hot dogs, bacon and salami, are preserved by curing, smoking, salting or adding preservatives.
The researchers found that men who ate the most processed red meat (75 grams per day, or about one and a half hot dogs, had a 28 percent higher risk of heart failure compared with men who ate the least (25 grams per day, or about half a hot dog). In all, men who ate the most processed red meat had a 43 percent increased risk of death from heart failure compared with men in the lowest category.
“To reduce your risk of heart failure and other cardiovascular diseases, we suggest avoiding processed red meat in your diet, and limiting the amount of unprocessed red meat to one to two servings per week or less,” said study author Dr. Joanna Kaluza of the Department of Human Nutrition at Warsaw University of Life Sciences in Warsaw, Poland. 
Additives such as phosphates that are common in processed red meat may increase the risk of heart failure, Kaluza said. In addition, chemicals called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are formed when meat is cooked at high temperatures such as grilling and may increase heart failure risk, she said.

Kaluza said that eating processed red meat occasionally, such as at a party or celebration, should not be detrimental.
The American Heart Association guidelines suggest eating less than 6 ounces per day of lean meat, skinless chicken and fish. The guidelines encourage eating fish (3.5-ounce serving) at least twice a week, preferably fish high in omega-3 fatty acids such as salmon, trout and herring.
The study involved 37,035 men ranging in age from 45 to 79 who had no history of heart failure, ischemic heart disease or cancer.
The men completed questionnaires about their diets and meat consumption, with processed meat questions focusing on sausages, cold cuts (ham and salami), blood pudding and sausages, and liver pate. Unprocessed meat questions involved pork, beef/veal and minced meat. (In Sweden, hamburger or ground beef are generally prepared without food additives such as nitrates or phosphate.)
Starting in 1997, the researchers followed the men until the date of diagnosis of heart failure, death or the conclusion of the study in 2010.
To reduce heart failure risk, Kaluza emphasized that cutting back on processed red meat is just one component.
“Eat a diet rich in fruit, vegetables, whole grain products, nuts and increase your servings of fish,” she said.
So, for all those Americans who’ve already got the ketchup, onions and relish ready to serve, what does this news mean for Father’s Day?
Break out the salmon burgers.
Source: AHA
Happy Father's Day from Healthpro! 

Happy Father's Day from HealthPro!

If you're still in the market for a good Father's Day gift, don't worry, you have time. These healthy ideas will help you figure out the perfect present to get your active Papa. And even if your Dad isn't an exercise-goer, treat him to one of these gifts to inspire him to lead a healthier lifestyle.
Because nothing says 'I love you Dad' like the gift of health and wellness.

1. His own personal glam squad

Boston spa and salon G2O is offering deals and celebrating Dad all month long. From men's haircuts to 'sports manicures', your father can indulge during the month of June. Want to really make Pop feel pampered? Treat him to a men’s conditioning facial and sports pedicure for the ultimate gift.

2. So he looks cool at the gym

While Dad might go to the gym, he may not look as sharp as he could. Help him look and feel his coolest with a new set of headphones so he can jam out to his favorite tunes. Skullcandy has come out with a variety of shapes and sizes to keep Dad the most comfortable during his gym sessions as well as stylish.

3. To track all of his activity ... or lack there of

What better way to get your Dad to workout more efficiently (or motivate him to workout) than with a fun fitness gadget. Wellness trackers such as the FitBit, Shine and Nike+ are all great gear options this Father's Day.
From tracking his calories to measuring his daily step count, all of these tools will help Dad live a longer and strong life — one workout at a time.

4. For the cyclist

Does your Father like to bike? Grab him the Satechi RideMate Smartphone Bike Mount so he can ride in style and map his route at the same time.
Not only is this portable mount great for the leisurely weekend workout, it is perfect for setting up a GPS and taking an adventure. Because, what Dad doesn't like a tech compatible product?

5. To keep him healthy

If your Dad is like mine, he loves his snacks. This year, ditch the box of Cheez-Its and give him a healthy gift that keeps on giving. Monthly subscriptions such as Nature Box will deliver both sweet and savory snacks right to his doorstep. Not sure he'll enjoy the selection? Pick up some Krave Jerky for a healthy snack that comes in a variety of flavors.
I mean, what man doesn't like dried meat?
Source: BostInno.com
Happy Father's Day from HealthPro!

CPR Training for High School Graduates

CPR training now required to graduate high school in Louisiana

Published: 3:41 pm CDT, June 10, 2014

Louisiana has become the 17^th state to pass a law requiring all high school students to take CPR training, adding to the more than 1 million graduates who will be equipped with this lifesaving skill every year.
The legislation was passed unanimously by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Bobby Jindal on Thursday. It takes effect in the 2014-2015 school year.
“Too few people in our community are trained in CPR to respond in these emergency situations. But this law will change that,” said Kay Eddleman, volunteer chair of the American Heart Association’s Louisiana Advocacy Committee.
Louisiana had a law in place that required that CPR be taught, but not a practice requirement that went along with it, said Coletta Barrett, R.N., vice president of mission for Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
“For someone to know they’re supposed to do CPR but not know how to do it could be frustrating,” said Barrett, also past chairman of the board of the American Heart Association. “We wanted to add this to the current law to make it clear we would give students the skills to practice what they’re supposed to do.”
The AHA and other organizations are pushing state legislatures across the country to pass bills requiring CPR and automated external defibrillator training for high school students.
No one knows for sure where and when a sudden cardiac arrest may strike, so training more people increases the odds someone will be prepared to give CPR. School-based CPR training is one of the most effective ways to get large numbers trained in this simple, lifesaving skill.
Bystander CPR can double or triple survival rates from cardiac arrest. However, many people do not get help from bystanders who could provide CPR if they knew how.
Of the roughly 424,000 Americans who have a cardiac arrest outside of the hospital each year, only 40 percent get CPR from a bystander and only about 10 percent survive. Most people don’t know how to use AEDs, which deliver an electric shock to stop cardiac arrest, although they’re becoming more widely available.
Source: AHA
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Living with Heart Disease

Mary Leah Coco’s Story

Cardiomyopathy Survivor, Age 33, Baton Rouge, LA

Mary Leah's Story

While most women wouldn’t say they are thankful for having a family history of heart disease, Mary Leah Coco believes knowing her family history and taking it seriously are the only reasons she’s actually alive today.
Mary Leah’s grandfather died of cardiomyopathy in the late 1970s, before she was born. Then, in 2008, her mother went into atrial fibrillation and was diagnosed with a hole in her heart at age 53. Mary Leah knew she should see a cardiologist too, but she was about to give birth at the time. She promised herself she would do it once she got through the pregnancy. For now, she was just relieved her mother was going to be ok and able to see her granddaughter grow up.
“I cried when my mom was diagnosed because I couldn’t imagine raising my daughter without her here,” she says. “As scary as it was, that hole in my mom’s heart became my saving grace because I actually took time to think about my own health and whether this same thing could happen to me one day.”
Two years later, at age 30, Mary Leah finally made good on her promise and visited her mom’s doctor. She’d had a few symptoms like lightheadedness, heart palpitations and nausea, but she had assumed these were the result of her busy lifestyle. She was working full time, finishing her Ph.D. and taking care of a toddler, after all. Following several normal results for weight, blood pressure and cholesterol, a test revealed that her heart was enlarged and was only functioning at 10 percent.
“My doctor handed me a tissue before he told me the news,” Mary Leah says. “I knew it was very serious.”
But this was not the worst news she would receive. After seven months of treatment, she learned that her heart condition had hardly improved. Surgeons implanted a dual chamber defibrillator, or as Mary Leah calls them, “jumper cables for the heart.” The defibrillator will restart her heart if necessary, but won’t improve the underlying condition. At this point, a heart transplant is inevitable.
Despite her condition – or perhaps because of it – Mary Leah maintains a full and productive life. She completed her Ph.D. six months after her diagnosis and currently teaches at Louisiana State University and is a training director for the State of Louisiana. A long-time athlete, she can’t do the intense exercise she used to enjoy, but has found swimming to be a safer activity she can do with her entire family. Her husband, a chef, has changed the way the family eats, preparing only healthy meals that are low in fat and sodium. These changes not only help Mary Leah, but have also helped her husband keep his own cholesterol in check.
“Even though I have this specific condition, I always remind people that you must take care of yourself because most forms of heart disease are preventable,” Mary Leah says.
In addition to improving her lifestyle, Mary Leah’s time is now focused on her 4-year-old daughter, Annie. She takes life a little slower these days and makes time to talk with Annie in the car, share her favorite movies and relish every dirty fingerprint on her windows because she was around to see them.
“I am very focused on making memories right now,” she says. “Everyone has a terminal condition called life, but for me it’s a different timeframe if I don’t get a new heart. Women need to learn that if you don’t take care of yourself, you won’t have the opportunity to make memories with your family.”
The fact that each generation of Mary Leah’s family has suffered from heart disease makes her extra cautious when it comes to her daughter, and she takes her for a cardiac check-up every year.
“I want to be sure she leads as healthy a life as possible starting now,” Mary Leah says. “I’m working to create a legacy for her and others because I am alive and not a statistic.”
Read more from Mary Leah on her blog post on the Ad Council’s AdLibbing site.
Source: AHA
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SAVE A LIFE!

National CPR/AED Awareness Week

Sudden cardiac arrest is a leading cause of death in the U.S.   Everyone should know how to perform CPR in an emergency.   Immediate, effective CPR could more than double a victim's chance of survival.   Push on the chest at a rate of at least 100 beats per minute.   Push to the beat of "Stayin' Alive" and you could save a life. For more information on Hands-Only CPR.    SOURCE: AHA HealthPro offers elearning courses - sign up at hpec.org or give us a call at 951-279-6110.

Happy CPR Awareness Week

STORIES FROM THE HEART: Lifting a 3,500-pound car was only the start to saving her dad’s life; knowing CPR made a difference, too
One summer afternoon, 22-year-old Lauren Kornacki arrived home from her job as a lifeguard with hopes of borrowing the family car to go visit her best friend.
The car was in the garage being worked on by her dad, Alec Kornacki. He was trying to fix a brake problem.
When Lauren went in the garage, she discovered something horrific. The jack had slipped out of position, pinning her dad underneath the nearly 3,500-pound vehicle.
“All I could think was my dad wasn’t OK,” Lauren said. “I just knew I had to get him out of harm’s way.”

***

Lauren’s scream brought her mother, Liz, and younger sister Allison to the garage. She shouted at them to call 9-1-1 and began throwing herself at the car, eventually pulling her dad free.
Once he was out, Lauren realized her father wasn’t breathing, so she began to administer CPR.
Her fast work paid off. By the time the EMTs arrived, Alec had resumed breathing, although he wasn’t yet conscious.
She still wonders what made it possible for her to lift the car, a 1995 BMW.
“Adrenaline? Luck? I don’t know what it was,” she said. “I’m just happy I was able to save my dad.”
Alec’s arm was draped across his chest when the car fell on him, which may have spared him worse injuries. He lost feeling in the arm for three months due to nerve damage, fractured four vertebrae and had five broken ribs.
A triathlete at the time, Alec recovered relatively quickly, in part, doctors told the family, because he was so fit.

***

An incident at Lauren’s job a week earlier may have helped her readiness.
A boy hit his head on the bottom of the pool, and Lauren sprang into action, stabilizing his spine and calling for an ambulance. The boy turned out to be OK and didn’t need CPR, but pool officials considered it a good reason to hold a CPR refresher class for its employees.
“Everything was fresh in my mind,” said Lauren, who’d been trained in CPR for six years. “None of my other family members would have been able to do it. Fortunately, I had the CPR training that was so important for us.”

***

The accident galvanized the Kornacki family, who live in Richmond, Va., to become ardent advocates for CPR training.
“I hope no one has to go through the situation we did, but I hope that if they do, they’ll be trained in what to do,” Lauren said.
Now 24, Lauren continues to share her story at community events and with cardiac survivors. She also volunteers at American Heart Association events such as the Heart Walk and promoting Hands-Only CPR kits.
Lauren and Alec appeared on the television show “The Doctors” to share their story and promote Hands-Only CPR.
The American Heart Association helped pioneer CPR more than 50 years ago, and continues to refine this lifesaving technique. The organization trains over 14 million people each year in 60-plus countries. Even without formal training, anyone can be a lifesaver by remembering the steps to “Hands-Only CPR” – call 9-1-1, then push hard and fast in the center of the chest, preferably to the beat of the classic disco song, “Stayin’ Alive” until help arrives. This is a great time to learn the lifesaving skill, as the first week in June is CPR Awareness Week.
Bystanders play a critical role in emergency situations, but as many as 70 percent of Americans may feel helpless to respond because they either don’t know how to administer CPR or their training has lapsed.
“It’s really important to me,” Lauren said. “There’s no reason not to know CPR.”
Source: AHA
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A Happy Heart = A Healthy Heart

Optimism could be a tool in heart failure prevention

Published: 6:00 am CDT, May 21, 2014

A happy heart may be a healthy heart, at least for older people at the risk of developing heart failure.

Researchers followed 6,808 people enrolled in the Health and Retirement Study, a nationally representative study of older U.S adults, for four years.

According to their study released Tuesday in Circulation: Heart Failure, higher optimism was associated with a 26 percent lower risk of incident heart failure throughout the follow-up period. Optimism was assessed with a 6-item scoring system looking at how one expects positive outcomes.

In fact, as optimism increased, the risk of developing heart failure decreased. Those with the highest optimism were nearly half as likely to have heart failure as those who were most pessimistic.

A July, 2011, study in Stroke — also using data from the Health and Retirement Study — found a similar effect on reducing the risk of stroke.

“These findings, the first to assess the relationship between optimism-pessimism and heart failure, add to a remarkably consistent recent literature that has linked optimism-pessimism to other cardiovascular outcomes, including myocardial infarction, stroke, and cardiac death,”  according to an editorial by Dr. Alan Rozanski that accompanied the most-recent study.. “These observations provide conclusive evidence for the health benefits of optimism.”

Heart failure is a chronic, progressive condition when the heart muscle can’t keep up with its workload to pump enough blood through the body. More than 5.1 million Americans are living with heart failure. Healthcare costs related to the condition are more than $30.7 billion annually. Those numbers are expected to rise considerably, due in part to an aging population and because the risk of heart failure increases with age.

For more information:

• Heart failure
• Heart failure animation
• Managing stress

SOURCE: AHA

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Stayin' Alive

Save a Life Playlist

If you see a teen or adult suddenly collapse, call
9-1-1 and push hard and fast in the center of the chest to the beat of the disco song "Stayin' Alive".

 

Source: AHA

 

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