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Take Action
Research shows that women can lower their heart disease risk enormously – by 82 percent – simply by leading a healthy lifestyle. In most cases, that means following a heart-healthy eating plan, getting regular physical activity, maintaining a healthy weight, and not smoking. Some women also may need to take medication to control heart disease risk factors such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol.
Hearty Nutrition
You can greatly improve the condition of your heart by eating healthfully. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans tells you to:
- Choose a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, and moderate in total fat
- Choose a variety of grains daily, especially whole grains
- Choose a variety of fruits and vegetables daily
- Choose beverages and foods to moderate your intake of sugars
- Choose and prepare foods with less salt
- If you drink alcoholic beverages, do so in moderation
The Dietary Guidelines also emphasize that you should aim for a healthy weight, by being physically active each day.
If you have high blood pressure or high blood cholesterol, you may need to make some additional lifestyle changes. The WakeMed Heart-Healthy Food Pyramid is an educational tool that can help you make healthy eating choices for you and your family with the hopes of lowering your risk for heart disease, obesity and diabetes.
Heart Healthy Recipes (searchable database)
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