Showing posts with label Heart Health Promotion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Heart Health Promotion. Show all posts

Friday, February 13, 2015

Heart Health Month......Or Is It?

Since almost dying in March of 2013 I've learned a great deal about sodium in the diet and how bad it is for you.

Salt is only one name it goes by on your food labels.  Anything listed as a chemical compound with Sodium as 1 ingredient IS salt and should be avoided in large quantities for your heart's sake.
The American Heart Association recommends no more than 1,500 milligrams of salt intake daily.
Do you know how much that comes out to?
That's 3/4 of a teaspoon per day.

You need some sodium in your diet because it's an essential electrolyte that our bodies need.
Often as salt it is paired with iodine which is another essential element needed in very salt numbers to keep our bodies in good order.

Why is sodium in large amounts so bad?
It can increase your blood pressure, cause water retention, and is a common risk factor for heart disease and stroke.

It is also put into most of the commercially made foods you eat with liberal abandon!


 The Salty Six Info HERE.

When it comes to the Salty Six it's best to choose lower sodium breads, deli meats, cheeses and soups(or make your own so you know exactly how much salt goes into it), and if you buy chicken, avoid most processed/breaded kinds and raw chicken that has been injected with a solution(as that solution is heavily salted).
If your child is eating a diet of pizza and chicken nuggets they are getting way more sodium in their diets than is healthy for them.

Ok, I didn't start this post to be a lecture on salt. ;-)
I wanted to show you how grocery stores say one thing but do another.

February is National Heart Month or something like that.
The grocery chains are playing this up as a big ad campaign to boost sales......yes, everything they do in the way of advertising is to move product and drive sales higher.

Here is a portion of a page of my local grocery store.
Can you guess why I am LMBFAO over it?



Heading says, "February is Heart Health Month.  Look for products with this logo."

Notice what they are advertising on special this week right under that heading..........
Chinese Food sauces-soy, teriyaki and sweet & sour
Chow Mein and noodles
Ramen noodles

All processed foods, most extremely high in salt.
Put the items with probably the highest sodium content right under the heart month heading.
WTF?!?

Just another reason why you should eye he sales ads with suspicion.

Sluggy