One Quick Reminder during the "Heart Month"

One last reminder during the "Heart Month":

• Have an active lifestyle and exercise 30-60 minutes every day
• Lose extra weight by balancing calorie intake and physical activity
• Sleep at least 8 hours per day
• If you smoke, quit. If you don't, avoid passive smoking
• Try to decrease stress as much as you can - learn stress management, breathing and relaxation techniques
• Aim for normal glucose level, normal blood pressure, low LDL cholesterol, high HDL cholesterol and low triglycerides
• Decrease your sodium intake (table salt, canned foods, fermented foods, fast food) and increase your potassium through fruit and vegetables
• Limit fat intake to 25-30% of your diet with less than 10% from saturated fats, less than 1 % from trans fat and less than 300 mg of cholesterol
• Consume baked fish at least twice per week
• Choose lean meats
• Roast, bake, steam, grill, broil, boil instead of frying, deep frying, sauteing, glazing
• Use  mono and poly-unsaturated fats such as vegetable oils, nuts, fish, olives, avocado
• Select fat free (skim) and 1 % fat milk, yogurt, cheeses, labne, chanklish and dairy products
• Increase your fiber intake and have whole wheat non-refined carbohydrates
• Have plenty of vegetables on every meal and 2-3 servings of fruits per day
• Increase your intake of legumes and beans
• Limit your intake of sweetened beverages and increase your intake of water
• Limit your intake of carbonated and caffeinated beverages
• Limit your intake of fatty/sugar sweets and desserts
• Limit your intake of junk and fast food
• If you consume alcohol, do so in moderation: max 2 drinks for men & 1 drink for women
• Watch out for how food is prepared when you eat outside

For many more cartoons, please visit Randy's site @ www.glasbergen.com.