I have been taking a cue from Mrs. Claus and checking my grocery list twice the past few weeks to make sure it has heart healthy elements like Omega-3 fatty acids and Vitamins D & E on it. Some foods that have Omega-3 in them are probably your’s and your kids favorites including salmon, sardines, walnuts, and even raspberries and kale! In order to get my daily dose of Omega-3 I not only take a fish oil dietary supplement but I have also been experimenting with smoothies as you might have seen in my post about my new Intel Tablet¹. You might be wondering what Omega-3 is. Omega-3 fatty acids are necessary for human health but the body can’t make them, you have to get them through food.
Studies show that instances of heart attacks increase over the holiday season. Sad, isn’t it? Two of the most beloved holiday icons are leveraging their celebrity this season to bring attention to heart disease – the No. 1 cause of death in the U.S. Mrs. Claus is inviting American families to join her in making the same, heart-healthy lifestyle changes she and Santa are taking on this year to raise awareness for nutrition’s role in heart health.
Adding Omega-3 to your daily diet can help with such ailments as depression, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma and ADHD. Nutrition plays a HUGE role in the development of our children and eating a few raspberries, walnuts, a piece of salmon, or a kale salad, can possibly help reduce the risk of your child having heart issues, or even ADHD. In addition to eating foods rich in ingredients like omega-3s, Vitamin D and E, and Beta-Glucan, the Clauses and I know it can be difficult to get all the essential nutrients we need from diet alone, so we’ve added supplements to our daily routine.
If you don’t get enough nutritional elements from your diet, ask your doctor about adding supplements like Vitamin D, fish oil and multivitamins. I, like many busy parents, forget to eat lunch some days so I started taking a vegetable and fruit supplement as well as Omega-3 and my doctor recommended Vitamin D. Your doctor should be able to do lab work on you to see if you are deficient in any vitamins and minerals. Maybe getting lab work done to check your heart health (vitamin and mineral levels) is a great resolution for you for the upcoming New Year!
Let’s join Mrs. Claus! Let’s offer our family’s healthier options this holiday season. Mrs. Claus was kind enough to share some of her favorite heart-healthy recipes with us. Click here to see four of her favorites (pdf view). There are tons of recipes for healthier cookies than what you and I might have used in the past as well as heart-healthy smoothie recipes your kids will love. I’m sure Santa and his reindeer will appreciate a heart-healthy chocolate chip cookie and carrots for the reindeer!
To learn more about how your family can make heart-healthy choices this holiday season, visit ClausNutrition.com. Mrs. Claus will track the progress made by Santa, as well as share tips from experts in nutrition and heart health. To see tips and recipes, click on the “Links” icon on Mrs. Claus’ video.
Mrs. Claus had the opportunity to ask Dr. Michael Roizen, founder of RealAge.com, a few questions about heart health
What advice do you have for keeping heart health top of mind during the holidays and after?
Maintain a healthy diet, be active, keep warm, relax
Between Santa and myself, is one of us more likely suffer from heart disease based on gender alone?
No. Research shows the percentage of all deaths from heart disease is nearly 50/50 between men and women. Heart disease is not a gender-specific issue, but rather one that all of us should be focusing on.
Let’s take a peek at the Claus’ routine and see how we can improve our own routine to be more heart-healthy this holiday season!
Set a better example for your children by making heart-healthy choices for yourself!
Have a happy, healthy holiday season!
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¹ Read about my Intel Tablet and how it has helped in my smoothie journey here