San Marcos — Did everyone remember to give your friends and family valentines and little heart-shaped candies on Valentine’s Day? Did you cross your heart and make a promise that you really mean to keep?

Considering the month of February is American Heart Month everywhere we look we see and hear about hearts.

More than 70 million Americans live with some form of heart disease, and this disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States. During American Heart Month, we reinforce our commitment to fighting heart disease by promoting awareness about its risks, its causes, and the ways to reduce the chance of developing this deadly illness.

Many of the factors that lead to heart disease, such as high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, and obesity, can be controlled with common sense steps and healthy lifestyles.



Something to Consider

Last Valentine’s Day, love-struck consumers purchased over 36 million boxes of chocolate. Traditionally considered an aphrodisiac, chocolate has long been associated with romance and pleasure. Recently, scientists announced that eating chocolate can be good for heart health.

Americans consume around 11.7 pounds of chocolate per person each year. The health benefits of chocolate have largely been attributed to flavinoids, substances found naturally in the cacao bean. Flavinoids are metabolites most well known for their activities as antioxidants.

The types of flavinoids found in the cacao bean have also been shown to reduce fatty substances in arterial walls as well as counteract mild hypertension. Red wine, green tea, and citrus fruits also contain flavinoids, but no food can boast the same high content as chocolate.

Remember that chocolate’s high calorie and fat content means that consuming more than a few small pieces may also counteract its positive attributes. May we suggest if chocolate is too healthy for your Valentine, how about diamonds?



Tips for a Heart

Healthy Refrigerator

• Take stock of what’s inside. Once a month , pull everything out and separate the better-for-you foods from the rest. Make sure you have more low-fat, high-fiber and low sugar foods than other types, and, if not, consider gradually reducing the number. Choose more low-fat and fat-free dressings, condiments and sauces instead of full-fat ones.

• Hide desserts. Stow away desserts and other indulgent foods in the crisper, so they’re “out of sight.” Most of the time, healthier foods like fruits and vegetables are the ones that perish the quickest and, therefore, should be kept on the refrigerator shelf where you can see and eat them.

• Organize by “more” and “less.” Divide your refrigerator into different sections of “choose more often” and “ choose less often.” This could be by shelf or within the shelf, always keeping healthier foods up front.

• Substitute lower-fat foods for higher-fat ones. Some examples include skim or 1 percent milk for whole milk; soft margarine for butter; and lean meats, chicken and fish for ribs, ground meat and other fattier meats.

• Make healthy eating fun for the family by color-coding foods with

stars or heart stickers — use green for heart-healthy, and red for less healthy.

• Make healthy food appealing. Keep an indulgent topping or accompaniment next to a healthy food to make it more appetizing. Next time you want a snack, you’ll be more likely to eat something healthy if the mixed nuts are next to the low-fat yogurt, or the chocolate syrup is beside the skim milk, ready to be mixed together.

• Prepare leftovers as a meal for the next day. Put the entree with the vegetables and other side items on a plate and cover for the next day’s lunch or dinner to create a do-it-yourself balanced “TV” dinner.

• Prepare foods as “ready to eat” meals when you come home from grocery shopping. Cut up vegetables and fruits and store them in containers, so they’ll be ready for the next meal or when you come looking for a ready-to-eat snack.

• Freeze foods in portion sizes to make healthy eating easier. Did you know the recommended serving of cooked meat is 3 ounces, similar in size to a deck of playing cards? The standard serving size for pasta is one cup ( or the size of a Walkman ) and half a cup for vegetables ( about the size of a tennis ball ).

• Freeze fruit for fun. Freeze fruits such as bananas, grapes and orange slices to make them more fun to eat for children. Next time they want a sweet snack offer them frozen fruit rather than ice cream.