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February is American Heart Month

Posted on by Karen Blakeslee
Heart
Photo: KSRE

National news of a prominent football player suffering from a heart condition has brought to light the need for heart disease education and information. What do you do to protect your heart?

February is designated as American Heart Month. As a leading cause of death in the U.S., it is important to make your heart a priority. Many steps in self-care can greatly improve your heart health. Learning CPR can save a life.

Here are seven self-care steps you can take to heart health.

  1. Start with a self-care checklist for the week. Choose from these ideas to get started.
  2. Check your blood pressure and know what the numbers mean for you.
  3. Make healthy eating goals and simple changes to your diet for big benefits. You too can eat a heart-healthy diet!
  4. What is your wellness routine? Part of that is getting quality sleep and reducing stress.
  5. Treat yourself! You deserve some fun to break up your normal responsibilities.
  6. Who inspires you? Those “feel good” people can improve your heart too!
  7. What is your favorite way to take care of your heart? Get outside and take a walk to benefit your heart and mind.

Learn more at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute website.

 

Stick to SMART Nutrition Goals

Posted on by Karen Blakeslee

resolutionJanuary prompts many to resolutions to improve their goals. The most popular resolutions are eating less sugar, losing weight, and improving diet healthfulness. Here’s some SMART tips from the International Food Information Council.

Be Specific—set a specific goal or change that you can realistically attain. Adding a fruit or vegetable to each meal is an easy choice! What does healthier eating mean to you?

Make it Measurable—So you want to add more fruits and vegetables to a meal? How many? Give the goal a number and track it to make it into a habit.

Make it Attainable—Small steps can lead to big rewards. For example, making a shopping list and buying smaller quantities can be attainable and reduce food waste.

Be Realistic—Making big changes, like never eating out for lunch and packing a lunch can be a challenge depending on your schedule. Start with one or two days a week to bring your lunch to work.

Set a Time Limit—Make a deadline to reach your goals. Another option is to divide your goals into specific time amounts to make them easier to manage.

 

2022 IFIC Food and Health Survey Highlights

Posted on by Karen Blakeslee
Grocery Shopping
The 2022 survey involved 1,005 adults from ages 18-80.
Photo: USDA Flickr

For 17 years, the International Food Information Council (IFIC) has surveyed consumers about many topics related to food and health. This year, changes were revealed that are generational shifts and pandemic related factors.

Gen Z has emerged as a strong influence in driving changes in food and health choices and decisions. Their biggest concern is the environmental impact of food choices. This includes choosing “plant-based” or “small carbon footprint/carbon neutral” products. On the other hand, Gen Z is not as concerned about food waste as older adults.

Gen Z consumers see emotional/mental health improvement by choosing healthful foods, beverages or nutrients. They are also more likely to use mindfulness and meditation to reduce stress.

How Gen Z consumers shop is creating a shift in shopping methods. Online grocery shopping is a favorite tool for 35% of Gen Z and 37% of Millennials. Overall, online grocery shopping has increased from 20% in 2021 to 25% in 2022.

The annual IFIC survey seeks to learn consumer behaviors in many food areas such as eating patterns and diets, health benefits of food purchased, beliefs on food production, food technology, food safety and much more. Download the survey results for free at https://foodinsight.org/2022-food-and-health-survey/.

 

Walk Kansas 2022

Posted on by Karen Blakeslee

Walk KansasThe annual Walk Kansas program from K-State Research and Extension starts March 27th and goes through May 21st. Local Extension offices are planning now to offer this program to you! Walk Kansas is a team-based health initiative. Teams can be family, co-workers, friends, community organization members, neighbors, or part of a faith-based community.

  • Groups of six form a team.
  • One serves as the captain.
  • Team members do not have to live in the same town, county, state or country.

Contact your local K-State Research and Extension office for details.

Save the date for 5K for the Fight! May 7, 2022 in Manhattan, KS.

 

February is American Heart Month

Posted on by Karen Blakeslee

blood pressureAmerican Heart Month is during the month of February to remind everyone to focus on their heart and cardiovascular health. For 2022, the focus is on hypertension, or high blood pressure. This is the leading cause of heart disease and stroke.

For tools to help educate about controlling hypertension, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has put together a toolkit of resources for clinical providers, public health professionals, and patients.

Educational resources can be found at www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/american_heart_month.htm.

 

Can Apples Help with Digestion?

Posted on by Karen Blakeslee

Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), can be uncomfortable and disruptive to any eating occasion. Can apples calm down stomach acid issues? Possibly.

There are general guidelines to choose the best foods to treat GERD. Eat small portions for meals or snacks. Choose low-fat foods as fatty or greasy foods produce more stomach acid.

Fruits such as apples, grapes, cranberry, bananas and pears are good choices instead of citrus fruits and tomatoes. Steam, roast, stir fry or air fry vegetables instead of frying in fat or adding a cream sauce.

Foods that reduce problems with GERD help the muscle at the bottom of the esophagus relax which reduces acid production.

 

Carrots and Your Health

Posted on by Karen Blakeslee

CarrotsWhile carrots are known to benefit eye health, a recent study from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign shows that carrots can reduce atherosclerosis, but there’s a critical component.

Carrots contain beta-carotene which converts to vitamin A in the body. Beta-carotene reduces “bad” cholesterol in the blood. A key component in the conversion of beta-carotene to vitamin A is an enzyme called beta-carotene oxygenase1 (BCO1). Each of us has this enzyme, but in varying amounts. A genetic variant which helps produce BCO1 makes it active. The more active it is, blood cholesterol is lowered. In studies using mice, those that produce more vitamin A have lower amounts of lipids into the bloodstream.

About 50% of the population has the less-active variant of BCO1 enzyme. While eating carrots helps produce vitamin A, other foods containing vitamin A are an added benefit.

 

Keep Holiday Meals Simple

Posted on by Karen Blakeslee

It’s been a complicated year, so why not make the holidays simple! A simple menu can cost less and be easier to prepare.

Stretch recipes by adding rice to soups, frozen vegetables to pasta dishes, or cooked beans to burgers. This also bumps up the nutrition!

Instead of a traditional holiday meal, have a brunch or potluck instead. Egg dishes are less expensive with lots of protein. Have the kids set up a yogurt parfait bar.

For more meal planning tips, see www.choosemyplate.gov.

10 Tips: Make Celebrations Fun, Healthy, and Active

 

Beware of Fraudulent Flu Products

Posted on by Karen Blakeslee
Wash your hands
Proper handwashing can help prevent the spread of flu and COVID-19.

As cold weather settles in, the threat of flu season is here which compounds COVID-19 concerns. The best defense against the flu is getting a flu vaccine.

There are no legal over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, to combat the flu itself. There are OTC drugs to ease the symptoms. There are also a lot of other products sold, including food products like herbal teas, that make claims to fight the flu. Some of these products are fraudulent and could mislead consumers resulting in serious harm. There are also unexpected side effects or interactions with other medications.

Some fraudulent claims to look for include:

  • Reduction of flu severity or length.
  • Boost immunity without a flu vaccine.
  • Prevent catching the flu or other viral infections
  • Support your body’s natural immune defenses.

Always seek medical attention for the best treatment advice.

 

Reference to any specific commercial products, process, service, manufacturer, or company does not constitute its endorsement or recommendation. Paid for by Kansas State University