A Heart-Healthy Valentine
Valentine's Day is the perfect occasion to show love, not just through grand gestures, but also by caring for the heart's well-being. Embracing a heart-healthy diet is a profound way to express love, offering long-term benefits for cardiovascular health. It's easier than you might think to integrate heart-smart choices into your life.
Balancing calorie intake with physical activity is fundamental. Familiarize yourself with your daily calorie needs, which vary based on age, gender, and activity level, and aim to match this with the calories you consume. Enhance your physical activity, aiming for a mix of moderate and vigorous exercise weekly to support cardiovascular fitness and weight management.
A heart-healthy diet is rich and diverse, prioritizing:
- A rainbow of fruits and vegetables
- Whole
- grains and whole grain products
- Proteins that are good for your heart, including legumes, nuts, fish, seafood, low-fat dairy, and lean meats
- Cooking with liquid non-tropical vegetable oils
- Choosing foods that are minimally processed
- Reducing added sugars and salt
- Limiting alcohol consumption
This heart-smart approach is adaptable to any setting, whether you're dining out, cooking at home, or selecting prepared meals. By reading nutrition labels and opting for items with less sodium, added sugars, and saturated fats, you make choices that favor your heart. The American Heart Association's Heart-Check mark on food packaging can guide you towards heart-healthy options.
This Valentine's Day, let's celebrate love by nurturing our
hearts with wholesome, nutritious foods that reflect our care and affection for
ourselves and our loved ones.
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