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How can you protect your heart?
- Eat healthily. Choose low fat, high fibre foods and eat regularly.
- Be active and take part in exercise often.
- Don't smoke.
- Maintain a healthy weight; lose weight if necessary by eating well and increasing your levels of exercise.
- If you drink alcohol, drink only in moderation.
Being active is vital for your health
Lack of physical exercise is a risk factor for heart disease. Inactive people have twice the risk of suffering a heart attack. Exercise is crucial in the fight against heart disease. The heart is a muscle and needs exercise to stay fit and healthy.
You can increase the amount of activity you do, simply by taking the stairs instead of the lift, walking to the shops rather than going in the car or playing games at break time rather then just sitting down.
Healthy eating at school
To get a good start to the day, breakfast is vital. This meal will give you fuel for the day and kick-start the brain into motion. If time is short in the mornings or if you battle to eat first thing, have something to eat in the car, bus or when walking to school.
Examples of quick and handy food on the go-
- Low fat fruit yoghurt and a banana;
- Whole-wheat or brown sandwich with mashed banana/peanut butter;
- Fruit or muesli bar;
- Dried fruit and a cereal bar.
Without breakfast, your concentration will dwindle and eventually, by lunchtime, you could struggle to stay awake. Some ideas for healthy breakfasts in the home:
- Whole-wheat breakfast cereal, with chopped up fresh fruit and low fat yoghurt
- Whole-wheat/brown toast and cottage cheese/peanut butter
- Scrambled egg on whole-wheat/brown toast with baked beans
- Fruit smoothie made with low fat yoghurt and fresh fruit, sprinkled with muesli
- Oat or mielie meal porridge
The next step now is to plan and pack a healthy lunch box.
- Always keep your likes and dislikes in mind and avoid forcing yourself to eat foods that you do not like.
- Also try to make sure that the type of food you pack is suitable for the season i.e. some fresh vegetable soup on a cold winter's day and some fresh vegetable sticks on a hot summer's day.
- It is also important to pack some extra snacks if you are going to be doing some sport after school.
It is preferable to have home packed food, as the food available at school is often fairly high in fat and sugar due to the use of processed foods by tuck shops or from vending machines.
Keep the tuck shop as an occasional treat or for when there has not been enough time to pack a lunch. Try and choose the healthier options if you use the tuck shop i.e. baked rather than fried foods, water or fruit juice rather than fizzy drinks, fruit or low fat yoghurt rather than a chocolate.
The following are some suggestions for a healthy lunchbox
The main - the sandwich, roll, crackers, pasta or pita.
- Use whole-wheat or brown bread.
- Some healthy toppings: cottage cheese; tuna, pilchards; mashed up egg with low fat mayonnaise; baked beans; peanut butter; avocado pear with lemon juice; lean chicken slices, fish paste and sliced tomato.
- Make a pasta salad with chopped up vegetables, lean chicken and some plain yoghurt
The drink- sufficient fluid is vital in preventing dehydration through the day
- Water is the best option
- Unsweetened fruit juice can be given once or twice a day
- Low sugar concentrate mixed with water
- Long life milk in a suitable size
The snacks for the day
- Fresh or dried fruit or fruit salad
- Vegetable sticks with some low fat cottage cheese as a dip
- Rice cake with peanut butter or jam
- Peanuts and raisins
- Low fat yoghurt with container of muesli to add
- Fruit or muesli bars
- Home made oat crunchies
- Home made popcorn
By planning ahead and buying in suitable, healthy, easy to pack foods, you can save yourself the last minute rush in the morning and avoid having to resort to convenience foods too often.
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Heart Disease in Children
