Welcome to the NVFC Heart-Healthy Firefighter E-News. The NVFC Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program was designed to help firefighters become more heart-healthy and lower the incidence of heart attack related deaths in the fire service. We hope that you enjoy this newsletter and that it benefits not only you, but others in your fire department, family and community.

1. Joe Montana Recipe Contest
2. NVFC Seeks Heart-Healthy Recipes for Cookbook
3. NVFC Offers Free Health Screenings Across the Country
4. Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program to Offer Free Screenings, Cooking Demonstrations at Fire Rescue International
5. Facts About Cholesterol
6. The Benefits of Building Muscle
7. Heart-Healthy Firefighter Tip
8. Small Steps

Joe Montana Recipe Contest

Do you or does someone you love have high blood pressure? Have you tried to eat healthier as a result? If so, stay tuned to learn how you can win a chance to cook your favorite heart-healthy recipe with Joe Montana this November in New York City!

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The National Volunteer Fire Council's (NVFC) Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program is putting together a cookbook of heart-healthy recipes that firefighters and emergency services personnel can use at home or at the firehouse. The NVFC invites those who have a heart-healthy recipe they would like included in the cookbook to submit the recipe for consideration. Send your heart-healthy recipe to Brooke Marshall at bmarshall@nvfc.org, or fill out the recipe form and mail it to:

The National Volunteer Fire Council
Attn: Brooke Marshall
1050 17th Street, NW, Suite 490
Washington, DC 20036

The Cookbook is part of the NVFC's national effort to decrease the risk of heart attack among firefighters and emergency services personnel through proper nutrition, fitness and health education. It will be released later this year.

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The NVFC brings its Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program booth to fire/emergency services trade shows and state conferences across the country as part of its national heart attack prevention campaign. In the coming months, the booth will be coming to several industry events to conduct free health screenings, hand out information and more. Make plans to visit the Heart-Healthy Firefighter booth at one or more of the following locations.

Arizona State Fire School
September 7-10
Mesa, AZ
*Cholesterol and glucose screenings

Fire-Rescue International
September 14-16
Dallas, TX
*Blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose screenings
*Cooking demonstrations

Firehouse Las Vegas
September 27-29
Las Vegas, NV
*Blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose screenings

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The National Volunteer Fire Council's (NVFC) Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program will have an interactive exhibit at Booth #5225 at Fire Rescue International from September 15-16th in Dallas , TX .  At the show, the NVFC will display many exciting components to the program.

Chef Kevin Harris of Food For Love, Inc. will perform cooking demonstrations to encourage firefighters to cook heart-healthy at home as well as at the fire department.

Additionally, the NVFC will once again offer free health screenings for firefighters. This year the program will provide cholesterol, glucose and blood pressure screenings. The non-fasting screenings, conducted by L&T Health and Fitness, take about seven minutes to complete, and the results are available immediately. A counselor will be on hand to discuss results with each participant. For more information on attending Fire Rescue International, visit www.iafc.org.

NVFC launched the Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program in 2002 to reduce the number of firefighter deaths from heart attack. This is accomplished by promoting a healthier lifestyle and by providing firefighters with fitness, nutrition, cholesterol and other pertinent information to assist them on the road to becoming heart-healthy. To learn more about the program, visit www.healthy-firefighter.org. For information on NVFC, visit www.nvfc.org.

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Cholesterol is a type of fat that your body needs it for many things, such as making new cells. But too much cholesterol in your blood increases your chances of having a heart attack and stroke. You get cholesterol from the foods you eat and from your liver. Your liver makes most of the cholesterol your body needs.

• Desirable cholesterol is less than 200 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL).
• Borderline-high cholesterol is 200 to 239.
• High cholesterol is 240 or higher.

Cholesterol travels through your blood attached to a protein. This cholesterol-protein package is called a lipoprotein. Lipoproteins are either high-density or low-density, based on how much protein and fat they have. Low-density lipoproteins (LDL) are mostly fat with only a small amount of protein. LDL is the bad kind of cholesterol because it can clog your arteries. If you have high cholesterol, your doctor will want you to lower your LDL.

LDL levels:

• Best LDL is less than 100 mg/dL.
• Near best LDL is 100 to 129.
• Borderline-high LDL is 130 to 159.
• High LDL is 160 to 189.
• Very high LDL is 190 and above.

High-density lipoproteins (HDL) help clear the bad cholesterol from your blood and keep it from clogging your arteries. HDL is the good kind of cholesterol. High levels of HDL (60 or above) can protect you from a heart attack.  

HDL levels:

• Desirable or high HDL is 60 mg/dL or above.
• Undesirable or low HDL is less than 40.

Triglycerides are another type of fat in your blood. If you have high triglycerides and high LDL, your chances of having a heart attack are higher.

Triglyceride levels:

• Borderline high is 150 to 199 mg/dL.
• High is 200 or above.
• Very high is 500 or higher.

High cholesterol may run in your family. The foods you eat also may cause high cholesterol. 

Causes of High Cholesterol

• Your Diet. Eating too much saturated fat and cholesterol can cause high cholesterol. Saturated fat and cholesterol come from animal foods such as beef, pork, veal, milk, eggs, butter, and cheese. Many packaged foods contain saturated fat such as coconut oil, palm oil, or cocoa butter. You will also find saturated fat in stick margarine and vegetable shortening. Cookies, crackers, chips, and other snacks usually contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oil or trans fat, which can raise cholesterol.
• Your weight. Being overweight may raise triglycerides and lower HDL.
• Your activity level. Not exercising may raise LDL and lower HDL.
• Your overall health. Having diseases such as low thyroid can raise cholesterol. Cigarette smoking may lower HDL.
• Your age. After you reach age 20, your cholesterol starts to rise. In men, cholesterol levels usually level off after age 50. In women, cholesterol levels stay fairly low until menopause. After that, they rise to about the same level as in men.
• Your family. A disease called a lipid disorder can also cause high cholesterol. This rare problem is inherited from family members, and it changes how your body handles cholesterol. If you have a lipid disorder, your cholesterol may be well over 250 mg/dL. It may be harder to treat.

High cholesterol doesn't make you feel sick, but if cholesterol builds up in your arteries, it can block blood flow to your heart or brain and cause a heart attack or stroke. In some people, cholesterol deposits that look like small bumps called xanthomas form under the skin.

How to Test Your Cholesterol 

A lipoprotein analysis is the most complete test. It measures your total cholesterol: HDL, LDL, and triglycerides. It is called a “Fasting Test”, which means you cannot have food for 12 hours before this test. A simple cholesterol test can measure your total cholesterol and HDL. You can eat before this test. Sometimes doctors do this test first and then order a lipoprotein analysis if you have high cholesterol or low HDL.

How to Treat High Cholesterol

You and your doctor may decide first to treat your high cholesterol without medicine. Changes to your lifestyle and diet may be all you need, including eating foods low in saturated fat, being more active, losing weight if you need to, and quitting smoking if needed. If you cannot lower your cholesterol enough after trying lifestyle changes for a few months, you may need to take a medicine called a statin. If you have high blood pressure, diabetes, or coronary artery disease (CAD), your doctor may want you to take a statin right away. This is because your chance of having a heart attack is higher. Research shows that people who have a high risk for heart attack could benefit from taking higher doses of statins to lower their LDL cholesterol as much as possible. The more these people can lower their LDL, the less likely they are to have a heart attack.

Courtesy of Yahoo!Health

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Muscle fitness can mean you have more powerful muscles that can lift heavier objects or muscles that will work longer before becoming exhausted (endurance). Having stronger muscles also protects your joints. With regular resistance training, you will see increases in muscular strength and endurance, lean body mass, metabolism, bone mineral density, and overall stability and balance. You will also begin to see a decrease in blood sugar, body fat, psychological stress, and body aches and fatigue. 

Muscles become stronger through a 3-step process: stress, recovery (rest), and repeated stress. When you exercise against resistance, you stress your muscles slightly but not to the point of serious damage or injury. When you rest, your body rebuilds the muscles and the connective tissues between them (joints, tendons, and ligaments) in a way that prepares them for the next time they will be stressed. When you stress the same muscles again, the process is repeated, and the muscles gradually become stronger.

A resistance-training program to increase muscle fitness can include basic muscle-conditioning exercises such as push-ups, leg lifts, and other familiar exercises; resistance training with surgical tubing or stretchable bands; weight training with free weights ("dumbbells") or weight-training equipment. Doing housework and yard work, such as scrubbing the bathtub, washing walls, tilling the garden, or pulling weeds, on a regular basis are also forms of resistance training. Swimming, cycling, and skiing are activities that improve both muscle strength and aerobic fitness.

When you begin your muscle-conditioning activity, try to take 5 to 10 minutes to walk, jog in place, or do other activities to warm up, and do some stretches. It is important to learn and pay attention to the proper form for all exercises. As you build muscle strength and endurance, you will notice that you can do more and more of each exercise. Some people will see a change in the way their muscles look, but others will not see a change for a long while. A more important sign of progress is how many repetitions and sets of an exercise you can do, or how much easier it feels to do them. This means your muscle fitness has improved.

Make sure to talk to your health professional before starting a resistance-lifting program, particularly if you have high blood pressure, heart disease, or joint problems.

Courtesy of Yahoo!Health

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Home Sweat Home
A home gym can remake your body and save money -- if you know how to use it. For home exercise programs to succeed, you need to treat a room in your home like your own private health club. When you enter the room you have entered the gym. Be sure to establish a training time that you will stick to, and keep all other activities OUT of the room.

Drink Up
By the time you feel thirsty during a workout, you may already be dehydrated! Your body requires constant hydration during exercise. Drink at least 8 oz. of water every 15 minutes while you are exercising.

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1. Snack on fruits and vegetables.
2. Top your favorite cereal with apples or bananas.
3. Try brown rice or whole-wheat pasta.
4. Include several servings of whole grain food daily.
5. When eating out, choose a small or medium portion.
6. If main dishes are too big, choose an appetizer or a side dish instead.
7. Ask for salad dressing "on the side".
8. Don't take seconds.
9. Park farther from destination and walk.
10. Try a green salad instead of fries.

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