February is Heart Month

Ok...the entire month of February is heart month. This is the month that should get us all thinking about our own heart health. Let's face it, most of us never think about our heart. Out of sight, out of mind! I challenge everyone to do 1 good thing for your heart each day. Sometime in this month, schedule a heart health check up. Know your family history and get your cholesterol numbers. Know them and act if they are high. There are lots of little things we can do to help protect the health of our hearts. I'm going to do my best to post one each day, so for today here's a simple thing you can do each day to help protect your heart:

It might seem surprising that a little pistachio nut can be one of the secrets of a healthy heart, but it's true. The mighty little pistachio nut contains phytosterols-a substance that blocks your body from absorbing cholesterol. The result: A small handful of pistachios daily may help prevent your arteries from clogging, keep your vessels clean, your heart healthy and strong. There are also other delicious nuts and seeds that may also help protect your heart. They include sunflower seeds, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, pine nuts, flaxseeds (whole), almonds, walnuts, hazlenuts. Nuts contain unsaturated fats (good fats), Omega -3 fatty acids which help your heart by preventing dangerous heart rhythms that can lead to a fatal heart attack, L-arginine which may help the health of your artery walls by making them more flexible and less prone to blood clots that can block blood flow, fiber which helps lower cholesterol and helps you feel more full, vitamin E which may help stop the development of plaques in your arteries and plant sterols which help lower cholesterol. Even though nuts are a healthy snack, you still need to eat them in moderation because they do contain a lot of calories. Current guidelines suggest you eat 1 to 2 ounces of nuts daily, which is about a small handful! So grab a handful today and LOVE YOUR HEART!