Health Tips

Heart disease is the #1 cause of death in the United States. Heart disease is growing as a cause of death in many other countries.

Reduce Your Risk

Reducing your risk of heart disease, heart attack and/ or stroke is an achievable goal. Your best plan is to combine diet, exercise and relaxation.

It can be very hard to consider giving up foods that you are used to, comfortable with, and in the habit of eating. Swapping these for feeling less tired, happier and more relaxed sure seems like a no brainier. But it is always very difficult to change – even when the change is for the better. I know. It helps to keep your eyes on the prize.

What is healthy heart food?

A simply way to answer this is…

Foods with Less:

* Fat
* Sodium
* Calories

With More Fiber.

Some broad categories can be applied to most generally healthy people. A basic guideline for your diet for a healthy heart is:

* Calories from fat should be less than 30% of your daily calories.
* Calories form saturated fatty acids should be less than 10% of your daily calories. Saturated fatty acids include foods such as……
* Limit your cholesterol to 300 milligrams or less a day.
* Limit sodium to 3000 milligrams or less a day.
* Limit caffeine, MSG and food additives.

What Should You Do?

As with any diet, your first step is to establish a base line of where you are now. My Daddy used to say, “If you don’t know where you are, it’s real hard to figure out how to get where you’re going.” So get a notebook started and write down the date, your weight, your cholesterol numbers, etc. You may need to start with a quick visit to the doctor to get some basic measurements.

Now that you know where you are, decide where you are going. Make it realistic -after all you want to succeed. All great achievements are the culmination of many, many small steps.

Use Tools to Help

Based on where you want to go, you may need some tools to help you get there. I know you can walk from New York to Los Angeles, but it is easier if you fly, or even drive. Tools can make all the difference. Taking advantage of someone else’s knowledge and expertise can help assure your success.

If your goal is a short and simple one, using some of the bonuses you get when you sign up for our newsletter may be all you need.

If your goal is a longer one, more of a change, I highly recommend the Healthy Heart Diet.