National Eating Healthy Day is dedicated to promoting and improving the health and wellness of all Americans. It’s vital to maintain a healthy and well-balanced eating pattern as well as engage in physical activity — not just on that day, but every day. The AHA encourages you to make small changes each day to incorporate healthier food choices.
Here in Alabama, a recent report from the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation predicted that – if current trends continue – more than 60 percent of the state’s population would be obese by 2030. The economic, physical and psychological ramifications of that outcome would be an enormous burden for future generations to bear.
Events like National Eating Healthy Day – part of the American Heart Association’s My Heart My Life platform – will remind people that simple dietary changes can make a huge impact on cardiovascular health and can promote weight loss. Some examples include:
1. Eat more fruits and vegetables. Aim for 4-5 servings each of fruits and vegetables every day, if you consume a 2,000 calorie diet. Vegetable or 100% fruit juice counts toward this goal.
2. Eat more whole-grain foods. Like fruits and vegetables, whole-grain foods are low in saturated fat and cholesterol and rich in fiber. Whole-grain foods include whole-wheat bread, rye bread, brown rice and whole-grain cereal.
3. Use olive, canola, corn or safflower oil as your main kitchen fat. Limit how much fat or oil you use in cooking, and use liquid vegetable oils such as olive, canola, corn and safflower oils in place of solid fats.
4. Eat more chicken, fish and beans than other meats. In general, skinless poultry, fish and vegetable protein (such as beans) are lower in saturated fat and cholesterol than other meats (beef, pork and lamb).
5. Read food labels to help you choose healthy foods. Food labels provide information to help you make better food choices. Learn what information to look for (for example, sodium content) and how to find it quickly and easily.
The My Heart My Life campaign is sponsored locally by Baptist Health System. For more information, visit www.heart.org/myheartmylife.