Don a red dress on Valentine’s Day. Not only will the color make you look and feel confident, it is also appropriately festive for two reasons: in addition to being the official color of love, red symbolizes an awareness of February’s American Heart Month.
In recent years, the focus of this campaign has shifted towards spreading the word that heart disease is the #1 killer of women. Yep, you read it right—heart disease is not an “old man disease”, but one that causes more deaths than all cancers combined among women.
What exactly does a woman at risk for a heart attack look like? Different than you may think. Check out this video starring Elizabeth Banks to find out.
The good news, according to Women’s Health is that 80% of these incidents can be avoided through proper nutrition, exercise and lifestyle choices. Our moms may be more likely to fall into the highest risk category (40-60 year olds), but this fact does not give us young collegiettes a reason to ignore good advice. Heart disease can start developing as early as the teen years, so the best combat strategy is prevention. Here are some tips
on reducing your risk:
1. Know yourself. Have your physician check for high cholesterol, blood glucose and blood pressure at your next appointment. Learn the healthy ranges for each and ask about your family’s medical history.
2. Save a cow, eat a plant. A diet high in fruits and vegetables provides nutrients essential for a healthy heart. Potassium from bananas, dates, beans and potatoes helps to control blood pressure, while flavonoids in apples help to reduce arterial blockages.
3. Cut the fat. We all know that it’s important to reduce saturated and trans fats in our diets while increasing our intake of the mono- and polyunsaturated varieties. Many women fail to realize however, that certain “heart-healthy” processed foods still contain trans fat. Crackers such as Wheat Thins contain 2 grams in every serving, despite the wide-held belief that they are a healthy alternative to potato chips.
4. Quit to win. Smoking is one behavior that puts women at high risk for heart attacks. It decreases the amount of oxygen supplied to the heart and increases blood pressure, putting smokers at up to twice the risk of nonsmokers for developing heart disease.
As you gear up for February 14th this year, take some time to protect your heart. Choose an apple over a handful of chips, go for a run instead of lighting up or eat a piece (or four…) of heart-healthy dark chocolate. After all, a broken heart is not the way to celebrate Valentine’s Day!