WHY YOU SHOULD FOCUS ON HEART HEALTH THIS FEBRUARY

February is heart month, which means that the Spud blog will be taking a closer look at heart health, how to stay healthy, where risks lie, what lifestyle changes can be improved, recipes, and general fun facts about your heart! And we’re serious about that last part–when it comes to heart month, you can’t skimp on fun facts.

For example, did you know that your heart is about the same size as your two hands clasped together? How about that a woman’s heart beats an average of eight more beats per minute than a man’s? One more: Turning a kitchen faucet on all the way for 45 years is comparable to the amount of blood a human heart pumps in one lifetime. Wowee! Talk about an inspirational organ.. Our hearts are incredibly hard working, but we need to take care of them in order for them to take care of us.

You might be surprised to learn that heart health gets a whole month as the centre of attention, but heart disease affects more lives than you might think. In Canada, heart disease kills more than 33,000 people per year, and the Heart Research Institute of Canada estimates that this averages out to one death per 7 minutes.

These statistics are anything but fun, but they are a reality. The good news is that many forms of heart disease are largely preventable simply by maintaining a healthy lifestyle that includes healthy eating, physical activity, and avoiding health threatening substances. So what better time is there to start taking better care of yourself than now? Though it may seem so sometimes, we’re never too busy to stay healthy–and our hearts truly depend on this.

Stay tuned for Spud’s February heart healthy forecast, featuring our advice on what to eat, what to avoid, heart healthy diets, insight from dietitians, and more! We hope you’ll share your advice as well.
From us to you, happy heart month!