What can I do to lower my cholesterol and blood pressure?

The American Heart Association says:

• Eat a well-balanced diet, low in saturated fats, trans fats and cholesterol. This includes lots of fresh fruits and vegetables.
• Choose lean meat, seafood and poultry. Limit your serving to 6 oz. per day. Trim all visible fat.
• Substitute low-meat or meatless meals.
• Use a minimum of fats and oils
• Use less salt. Limit the salty foods you eat.
• Limit the alcohol you drink.
• 30 minutes of physical activity most days.

Optimum HDL and LDL Cholesterol Levels

What do my cholesterol levels mean?: 

HDL = High-Density Lipoproteins.  HDL is your good cholesterol: the higher the better. 

Low Risk – less than 200 mg/dL

Borderline Risk – 200 to 239 mg/dL

High Risk – 240 mg/dL  and above

Raise your HDL by losing excess weight, becoming more active and quit smoking.

 LDL = Low-Density Lipoproteins. High levels of LDL means there is a risk of heart disease and stroke.

Optimal goal = less than 70 mg/dL

Optimal goal for people with heart disease or diabetes = less than 100 mg/dL

Borderline high = 130 to 159 mg/dL

High risk = 160 to 189 mg/dL

Very High Risk = 190 mg/dL and above

Start A Walking Program – American Heart Assoc.

Start a Walking program, and walk with a friend. The American Heart Association says exercise 30 minutes a day, five days a week. If you can’t make that commitment try 2 to 3 times a day for 10 to 15 minutes. Walk, jog, swim, bike. Do strength and stretching exercises for stamina and flexibility.  The American Heart Association says walking is associated with lower stroke risk in women.

LDL and HDL Cholesterol and Triglycerides: What do they mean to me?

McKinley Health Center answers the question:

WHAT DO THESE WORDS MEAN?

• Cholesterol: A fat-like substance that is essential for life. It does not dissolve in the blood and therefore, has to be transported to and from the cells by special carriers called lipoproteins. Cholesterol is composed of several different lipoproteins.
  -  LDL: (Low Density Lipoprotein) is the “bad” cholesterol. This can slowly build up on inner walls of arteries and can help to form plaque which may increase your risk of heart disease. An LDL level above 150 is considered a high risk for heart disease. To achieve a healthful LDL level/cholesterol level; eat less saturated fat and cholesterol, eat more high-fiber foods, and lose excess weight.
  -  HDL: (High Density Lipoprotein) is the “good” cholesterol. Research indicates that this carries cholesterol away from the bloodstream and out of the body. A high level of HDL seems to protect against heart disease. A healthy level for men is greater than 40 mg/dL and for women is greater than 50 mg/dL. To achieve this, maintain a healthy weight, quit smoking, and get regular aerobic exercise such as jogging, swimming, biking, or walking.
• Triglycerides: The chemical form of fat in which most fat is found in foods as well as in our bodies. Stored fat in our body is made of triglycerides. Extra calories not used immediately for energy are converted to triglycerides and stored in fat cells. Alcohol causes the liver to release more triglycerides into the blood. A normal range of triglycerides is less than 150. To achieve this, be physically active, avoid high sugar beverages, reduce alcohol intake, eat a diet moderate in fat.

How Do I Follow A Heart-Healthy Diet?

American Heart Association’s article titled, “How Do I Follow A Healthy Diet” gives the reader a good base of knowledge about heart healthy eating.  Develop healthy eating habits to help reduce three risk factors for heart attack and stroke:  high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure and excess body weight.

The article details the  basic food groups and recommended serving size: 

 Bread, cereal, pasta & starchy vegetable (6 or more servings per day)

Vegetables and fruits (8 to 10 servings per day)

Lean meat, poultry, fish and beans (no more than 6 cooked ounces per day)

Fat-free and low-fat milk products (2 to 3 servings per day)

Fats and oils (2 to 3 servings per day)

Find more information and other .pdf heart-healthy downloads at the American Heart Association website.

Support Women’s Heart Health: Wear Red February 4

 Join The Fabric Shop Network and “Go Red For Women’s Heart Health” by wearing red on National Go Red For Women’s Heart Health day – - February 4, 2011.

The American Heart Association http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/  created “Go Red For Women” to teach women across this nation about things they can do to improve their heart health.

Heart disease kills more women than breast cancer.

FabShop wants women safe and healthy and created QuiltRed so members could talk to their customers about women’s heart health while creating beautiful red and white quilts. The Fabric Shop Network is a trade organization for independent quilt and fabric retailers with member shops all across the United States, in Canada, and abroad. QuiltRed is an educational marketing program that allows quilt and fabric shop owners to teach students how to make 24 quilts. These include pieced quilts, lap-sized and larger and redwork embroidery quilts. Shop owners market QuiltRed by teaching classes, block-of-the-month or kitting it. QuiltRed encourages quilters to make a quilt and raffle or auction it with the proceeds going to a favorite charity or women’s shelter. Promoting heart health for women and tying it to the time-honored traditions of needlework can have a direct influence on the lives of their customers and their communities. The Fabric Shop Network is supporting the QuiltRed program and its members with the recent launch of  www.quiltred.com. Take time to explore all the resources that are available on this website.

The mission of “Go Red For Women” is to build healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke.

The American Heart Association offers “The Simple 7” (http://mylifecheck.heart.org/Multitab.aspx?NavID=8&CultureCode=en-US)  … a list of seven things people can ALL do to improve their heart health.

1. Get active – - Dedicate as little as 30 minutes a day or 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week
2. Control cholesterol – - Moderate fat intake. Limit or eliminate saturated or trans fats.
3. Eat better – - Choose foods like vegetables, fruits, whole-grain products and fat-free or low-fat dairy products most often.
4. Manage blood pressure – - Lifestyle modifications may include reducing salt intake, managing stress, maintaining a healthy weight, limiting alcohol and avoiding tobacco smoke.
5. Lose weight – - 68.1 million women today are obese. Maintaining a healthy weight is simply balancing the daily intake of food calories with the daily energy calories.
6. Control blood sugar – - Adults with diabetes are two to four times more likely to have heart disease or stroke than adults without diabetes. Controlling the glucose in our bodies can slow the progression of long term complications.
7. Stop smoking – - Smokers have a higher risk of developing chronic disorders, including atherosclerosis, a build-up of fatty substances in the arteries. Controlling or reversing atherosclerosis is an important part of preventing future heart attack or stroke.

Please join the FabShop team and wear Red for Women’s Heart Health on February 4.

Go Red For Women’s Heart Health – What is heart disease?

Independent quilt shops all over the United States are Going Red For Women and promoting QuiltRed, a program that teaches quilters to make red and white quilts, while educating women about heart health. It’s all about making women aware of their heart health and making healthy life choices so they can take steps to live heart healthy lives.

Heart disease is when the arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle become hardened and narrowed due to a build up of plaque on the arteries’ inner walls, restricting blood flow to the heart.  Heart disease is one of several cardiovascular diseases of the heart and blood vessel system. Other cardiovascular diseases include stroke, high blood pressure and rheumatic heart disease.

Friday, February 4 is Go Red For Women day and women across our nation are wearing red to support women’s heart health.

The Fabric Shop Network is promoting a year-long campaign for member quilt shops who promote QuiltRed for Women’s Heart Health by supplying them timely press releases and information they can use to educate women about taking steps to live heart healthy lives.