Making healthy food choices during the holidays

Information provided by the American Heart Association

(UNDATED) - Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the U.S. and stroke continues to rank fifth. But taking care of your heart health doesn’t mean you can’t still enjoy the holidays if you learn to make healthy, festive choices.

The AHA’s Healthy for Good program is a revolutionary movement to inspire people to create lasting change in their health and their life, one small step at a time. The approach is simple: Eat smart. Add color. Move more. Be well.

The American Heart Association’s Healthy for Good program teaches that healthy eating starts with healthy food choices. You don’t need to be a chef to create nutritious, heart-healthy meals your family will love. It is free and can help you learn what to look for at the grocery store, restaurants, your workplace and any eating occasion. It provides free recipes and science-backed health tips, all at your fingertips online.

Some simple, healthy recipe hacks could be:

· Replace salt with herbs and spices. Lemon juice, citrus zest or hot chilies can add extra flavor without the added sodium.

· Swap non-fat, plain Greek yogurt for sour cream. You’ll be surprised how sneaky this switch is when it comes to texture and flavor. Be sure you choose non-fat, plain Greek yogurt.

· Instead of butter, use a healthier vegetable oil or substitute equal parts unsweetened applesauce when baking.

Visit www.heart.org and check out the Healthy Living section.

Additionally, a recent study suggests that living a healthy lifestyle during adulthood may extend longevity by 14 years for women and 12 years for men.

• By  following five healthy habits, it was found that American women and men in  this study were 82 percent less likely to die from cardiovascular disease  and 65 percent less likely to die from cancer.
• The  five habits were not smoking, eating a healthy diet, regularly exercising,  keeping a healthy body weight and moderate alcohol consumption.

Finally, join the American Heart Association Capital Area at some upcoming events:

Walk the Rowe for Heart on January 5, 2019, 11 am – 3 pm, will feature a CycleNation relay-style stationary bike race. Bikes are limited and must be reserved by teams by signing up on the event’s website, www.cyclenation.org/capitalarea

Teams of four to eight people are encouraged for the relay-style stationary bike ride from 12 – 2 pm. The event will also feature fitness instruction, warm-ups, grocery store tours at the top of every hour, CPR instruction, the AHA Designated Walking Path at Perkins Rowe, free smoking cessation enrollment, and more.

And on February 1, 2019, the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women® movement will celebrate the Annual National Wear Red Day. Women can raise awareness of their number 1 killer – heart disease - by wearing red, donating to fund cutting-edge research and life-saving education programs that increase heart disease prevention and reduce heart attacks, and making a difference in their community by taking action and volunteering.

You can join us for our Go Red Luncheon this National Wear Red Day, February 1, 2019 at the River Center. Please visit the Capital Area Go Red For Women website at batonrougegored.heart.org