February is American Heart Month so take the opportunity to conduct a wellness training session on heart disease.
Reassure your workers that while there are some risks they can’t control, including age, gender, and heredity, there are many ways they can prevent heart disease. Advise them to take these heart-healthy steps:
- Eat right. Limit fats and sodium. Eat lean meats, fish, and fresh vegetables and other complex carbohydrates.
- Be active. Exercise helps you keep your heart strong, manage your weight, and lower blood pressure and bad cholesterol. It also reduces your risk of developing diabetes, a major risk factor for heart disease.
- Stop smoking. If you don’t smoke, don’t start.
- Trim down if you are overweight.
- Limit alcohol to no more than one or two drinks a day.
- See your doctor regularly and get recommended blood pressure checks and cholesterol checks.
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Furthermore, remind employees that heart health is not just an off-the-job priority. Because they spend so many hours at work each week, they need to make sure those hours are healthy ones. Give them these tips to make heart health part of the job every day.
- Stand rather than sit whenever you can—like when talking on the telephone.
- Take a walk during your break.
- Take the stairs rather than the elevator.
- Brainstorm project ideas while walking.
- Walk down the hall to speak with someone rather than sending an e-mail message.
- Have stand-up meetings.
- Form a sports team to raise money for charity events.
- Relieve stress by taking a mental mini-vacation every day. Close your door or go to a quiet spot and relax while picturing yourself in your favorite escape, such as the beach, the mountains, or the woods. Close your eyes, breathe deeply, and let the stress of the day pass you by.
- Keep heart-healthy snacks in your desk, mini-fridge, or locker. Good examples include:
- Air-popped popcorn
- Angel food cake
- Animal crackers or graham crackers
- Canned, fresh, or dried fruit
- Fat-free or 1% milk
- Flavored low-fat yogurt, plain or with fruit
- Fruit juices
- Gelatin
- Gingersnaps or fig bar cookies
- Peanut butter in celery sticks
- Pretzels
- Sherbet, sorbet, fruit ice, popsicles, frozen yogurt
- Vegetable sticks
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Why It Matters
- Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men—and women—in the United States.
- Around 70 million Americans will develop heart disease.
- One out of every four people dies from heart disease.