Love Your Heart

February is American Heart Month. It’s almost Valentine’s Day and love is in the air, so I want to share ways that you can love your heart.

Trying your best to control glucose levels and reducing your cardiac risk factors can save your life. Over 65% of people with diabetes die of heart disease or stroke.

How can you love your heart? Below are some tips I encourage my diabetes patients to try. If you are doing some or all of these, then I congratulate you!

Control your diabetes with nutrition, exercise, medication (if needed), testing, relaxing, support teams and knowing your numbers.
Control your blood pressure by including foods with higher potassium (cantaloupe, honeydew, bananas, tomatoes, potatoes), magnesium (whole grains, nuts), higher calcium (dark green vegetables, seaweed, low-fat & low-sodium cheese, almonds, low-fat milk) and lower sodium (processed, packaged, sauces, gravies, soups, dressings, pickled foods).
Eat heart healthy with high fiber/wholesome foods, monounsaturated and omega 3 fats, and reduce trans and saturated fats.
Control weight by balancing food groups while consuming whole grains, vegetables, lean protein and healthy unsaturated fats.
Move! Do some activity each day.
Do not smoke – and try not to breathe in anyone else’s second-hand smoke.
Reduce stress by meditating, reading a good book, visiting with family or friends, taking a stroll, watching a funny movie, laughing and looking at the positive aspects of your life.
If you consume alcohol, do so only in moderation: one drink per day for women and 2 drinks per day for men (4 ounces wine, 12 ounces beer, 1-1 ½ ounces of liquor). Try red wine for it’s high resveratrol content. Resveratrol is a heart healthy antioxidant found in red wine and red grapes in greater concentration, blueberries, cranberries and peanuts.
Know your numbers: HbA1c, total cholesterol, HDL (healthy cholesterol), LDL (lousy cholesterol), triglycerides, blood pressure and weight.
Love your heart, love others and most of all – love yourself!