EATING WELL - Eat like your heart depends on it!

DESIGNATED AMERICAN HEART MONTH, February is the perfect time to spotlight heart disease, the number one killer of Americans. Of course, February is also the time when we’re all focused on Valentine’s Day and giving heart-shaped boxes filled with chocolates.

Given the fact that, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one person dies every 34 seconds from heart disease—making it the leading cause of death for both men and women of most racial and ethnic groups in the US—perhaps we should be thinking less about candy-filled, heartshaped boxes and more about our actual hearts and how we are treating them.

The heart is the hardest working muscle in the body, beating around the clock to keep blood circulating continuously.

With so much riding on this muscle, it’s essential that we do everything we can to keep it in good shape. The modest effort required to keep your heart healthy will pay big dividends. In fact, in most cases, heart disease is preventable when people adopt a healthy lifestyle that includes not smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, controlling blood sugar and cholesterol, treating high blood pressure, and getting 150 minutes of physical activity per week.

Here are some simple tips to help you develop a heart-healthy lifestyle: 1. Drink plenty of water—at least 64 ounces a day. Avoid sugary beverages like sodas, smoothies, and fruit juices.

2. Fill your plate with fruits and vegetables. Remember the 5 A DAY campaign? It still holds true. For instance, choose one fruit serving at each meal, breakfast, lunch, and dinner; a vegetable at lunch; and two vegetables at dinner (this can include a salad and a cooked vegetable).

3. Eat three or more wholegrain foods per day. Examples include oatmeal, bran flakes, brown rice, wild rice, wholegrain bread, cereal, pasta, barley, quinoa, and even popcorn.

4. Choose low-fat dairy—lowerfat milk, yogurt, sour cream, and creamer.

5. Include lean meats, fish, nuts, and legumes in your meal planning. Aim for two or more fish servings a week (not fried), lean cuts of meat, and chicken.

Plan to have at least one meatless meal a week.

6. Reduce your intake of saturated fat—the bad fat that can make cholesterol levels go up, found in items such as whole milk, butter, the fat around your steak, and Crisco in a can.

Also, limit trans-fat, sodium, and sugar. If you do choose red meat, make sure it is very lean and limit your intake to a total of 9 ounces per week.

This month, the American Heart Association and other organizations reinforce the importance of heart health, the need for research, and efforts to ensure that millions of people live longer and healthier. Also, keep in mind that the first Friday of the month, February 5, is National Wear Red Day, part of the American Heart Association Go Red for Women initiative to raise awareness and support the fight against heart disease. Most important, remember that heart disease is preventable in most cases when people act early to adopt a healthy lifestyle. When you make your heart health a top priority, you can get to know this vital organ and help reduce your risk of heart disease.

A key part of staying on top of your heart health is being aware of your cholesterol and blood pressure numbers. Be sure to get your levels checked regularly and talk to your primary care provider. Also, risk factors can be genetic, so knowing your family heart health can help determine how healthy your heart is now or is likely to be down the road.

So, go ahead and share a gift of boxed chocolates this Valentine’s Day—but make it dark chocolate with a handful of almonds!

✲