Nancy Clark: Heart Health

Posted May 8, 2008 at 02:00 PM by Alexandra M. Haller

Section: Her Fitness, Her Nutrition, Healthy Eating, Workout Fuel

Although exercise is one of the best ways to improve heart health, even athletes are not immune from heart disease. You have undoubtedly heard reports of marathon runners who die of heart attacks and football players who have strokes. Women, like men, need to pay attention to heart disease; it is the #1 killer of women, higher than all cancers combined. To address the topic of heart disease among active people, the Sports and Cardiovascular Nutrition practice group of the American Dietetic Association (http://www.SCANdpg.org) featured heart health as the theme of their annual convention (April 2008, Boston). The following bits of information from that conference might inspire you to eat wisely to keep your heart beating for a long and healthful lifetime.

• First of all, when it comes to heart disease, you should know your cholesterol numbers. Get your blood tested for total, LDL and HDL cholesterol. Having a low LDL is the primary goal for reducing heart disease. If your LDL is >160 mg/dL, the sooner you lower it to