In Time for Mother's Day: New Guidelines for Women
This weekend, families across the nation will celebrate Mother’s Day. Besides flowers and gifts, how can you show your Mom that you love and value her?
Teach her to take action to cut her risk for heart disease and stroke, so says the American Heart Association. Heart disease is the number one killer of American women. The 2007 Guidelines for Preventing Cardiovascular Disease in Women, published in February in a special issue of the journal Circulation, urge women to reduce their lifetime odds for heart disease, not just their short-term risk, as was outlined in the 2004 guidelines.
The updated guidelines focus on what to eat and include new directions for using aspirin, hormone therapy, and taking dietary supplements -- since a recent survey showed that women are confused about steps they can take to stay heart healthy.
Specifically, the Association calls on women to:
- Eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy products
- Limit intake of alcohol and sodium
- Eat oily fish (a source of omega-3 fatty acids) at least twice a week and consider taking a supplement of 850 – 1,000 milligrams of EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) for women who have heart disease, two to four grams for women with high triglycerides
- Reduce saturated fat intake to less than 7 percent of calories
- Not rely on antioxidant (vitamin E, C, and beta-carotene) or folic acid supplements, or hormone replacement therapy for prevention of disease
Other recommendations are to:
- exercise a minimum of 30 minutes a day and up to 90 minutes on most days of the week for those who need to lose weight,
- quit smoking and use counseling, nicotine replacement, or other forms of cessation therapy, and
- consider taking aspirin (for women age 65 and older).
For further details, see www.americanheart.org.
It’s never too late for women to reduce their risk factors for heart disease and stroke. This Mother’s Day, give Mom a gift that keeps on giving – tell your Mother about the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women campaign. Happy Mother’s Day!
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