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. February is American Heart Month!
2. Join NVFC and Merck/Schering-Plough Pharmaceuticals (MSP) in “Sounding the Alarm for High Cholesterol”
3. NVFC Promotes Heart-Health at Trade Shows
4. The Ten Most Common Food Mistakes
5. Protect Your Heart! Prevent High Blood Pressure
6. Heart-Healthy Tip
7. Small Steps

February is American Heart Month!

Cardiovascular disease, including heart attack and stroke, is the number one cause of death in America. The emergency services are not immune to this tragic statistic. Heart disease remains the leading cause of firefighter fatalities, with over half of all firefighter deaths each year attributed to heart attacks. The NVFC Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program is an awareness campaign designed to help reverse this devastating trend.

In recognition of the nation’s ongoing fight against heart disease, Congress issued a joint resolution in 1963 requesting that the President issue a proclamation each year designating February as American Heart Month. The purpose of this annual proclamation is to renew the nation’s commitment to fighting this deadly disease and increase public awareness of how to prevent cardiovascular illnesses.

To view the President’s Proclamation, click here.

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Heart attack is the leading cause of on-duty death among firefighters. Moreover, nearly 100 million American adults have high total cholesterol – a risk factor for heart disease. With statistics like these, the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) and Merck/Schering-Plough Pharmaceuticals (MSP) are "Sounding the Alarm for High Cholesterol" to alert firefighters to the risks of high cholesterol and its role in heart disease. This important new program is an extension of NVFC's Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program initiative, which aims to reduce the number of firefighter deaths from heart attack.  

Education is the first step toward living a heart-healthy lifestyle. NVFC and MSP are challenging firefighters to learn more about high cholesterol and its role in heart disease. Log onto the program's new web site, www.cholesterolalarm.com, to take the Heart-Healthy Challenge - a fun, educational quiz for firefighters - and access other resources including family history mapping and risk assessment tools. Be on the lookout for more information in your fire station about "Sounding the Alarm for High Cholesterol.”

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NFL player Erron Kinney to attend Firehouse World

The NVFC Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program began its 2007 trade show schedule by conducting health screenings at Fire-Rescue East in Jacksonville, FL, on January 26-27. Hundreds of firefighters and EMS personnel received free blood pressure, cholesterol, and glucose screenings at the Heart-Healthy Firefighter booth and learned how the combination of nutrition, exercise, and health awareness can help prevent heart attack, which is the leading cause of firefighter deaths.

The Heart-Healthy Firefighter booth will next be at Firehouse World in San Diego on February 25-31. At this event, the Heart-Healthy booth will feature a series of interactive components designed to raise heart-health awareness and keep fire and emergency services personnel heart-healthy. L&T Health and Fitness, an award-winning fitness management and health promotion company, will conduct the health screenings for blood pressure, cholesterol, and glucose. Chef Kevin Harris of Food for Love, Inc. will perform a series of cooking demonstrations designed to show attendees that heart-healthy cooking does not have to be difficult or bland. 

Heart-Healthy Firefighter spokesperson Erron Kinney will also be at the booth to sign autographs and promote the importance of heart-health among the emergency services. Kinney is a tight end for the NFL team Tennessee Titans and a volunteer firefighter. He has served as spokesperson for the Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program since 2005 and will make several appearances with the Heart-Healthy Firefighter booth throughout 2007. 

For more information about the NVFC Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program, as well as the complete 2007 Heart-Healthy Firefighter booth schedule, visit www.healthy-firefighter.org.

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Ours is an age of unprecedented bounty and convenience—and almost nonstop nutritional advice, much of it subject to change as new research findings come along or scientists change their minds. You try to keep up with the latest and make the smartest choices—but are they as healthy as you think? Here's a reality check, with tips from experts on how to make the very best of your good intentions.

1. You reach for multigrain bread or cereal
Foods labeled 7-grain or multigrain may seem like the healthiest choices; especially with new findings showing that a diet rich in whole grains protects against heart disease, cancer, and other ills. The famed Nurses' Health Study documented lower rates of heart disease and stroke among whole grain eaters. Experts don't know all the reasons behind the benefits, but they do know that intact grains are rich in fiber and nutrients—including vitamin E, B vitamins, and magnesium—that are stripped away when grains are refined into flour. Unfortunately, many foods are only posing as rich in whole grains. "Take a closer look at the labels and you may find there's not a single whole grain in them," says Cynthia Harriman, director of food and nutrition strategies for the Whole Grains Council, a nonprofit consumer group in Boston. The reason: Labels can claim that products contain grains even if they're highly processed and stripped of most of their nutrients and all of their fiber. "White flour is made from grain, after all," says Harriman.

Smarter Move
Learn the lingo of food claims. Bread that's 100% whole grain means just that—it contains no refined flour. Cereal that's made with whole grain may have a little or a lot. Crackers labeled multigrain may not have whole grains at all. To be sure you're getting the grains you want, check the ingredients panel. Whole grains should be the first or second ingredient listed. Luckily, finding whole grain products is easier now that manufacturers supplying at least 16 g of whole grains per serving—what's considered an excellent source—are stamping their packaging with the Whole Grains Council's logo.

2. You buy bottled water laced with vitamins
It's a measure of how health conscious we've become that water is now fortified with nutrients and even medicinal herbs. But when asked for the low down on so-called enhanced water, Prevention advisor Elizabeth Somer, RD, counseled: "Save your money." Many are bloated with unnecessary calories. The label of one leading brand, for example, reports that it supplies half the daily requirement for some nutrients. But to get that amount, you have to drink the whole bottle, which contains 125 calories. And for that you get just 6 of the 40-plus essential nutrients provided by most supplements. An entire bottle, notes Somer, supplies no more vitamin C than you'd get from eating two strawberries.

Smarter Move
Drink plain, refreshing, calorie-free water when you're thirsty—and take a multivitamin daily to make sure you get balanced levels of the essential vitamins and minerals.

3. You choose veggie chips over potato chips
You'd think you were at a farmers' market when shopping the snack aisle these days. Dozens of munchies are made from carrots, spinach, kale, and even exotic tropical vegetables. But scrutinize their ingredients and you'll find that vegetable coloring is all most of them have in common with produce. What could sound more virtuous than a brand called Veggie Booty—especially when the packaging advertises kale and spinach? The ingredients label reveals that vegetables are at the bottom of the list (that means they contribute less, by weight, than ingredients at the top of the list, like oil). Many of these seemingly healthful snacks are still loaded with calories: A 4-ounce bag of Hain Carrot Chips contains 600 calories—just as much as Lay's Classic potato chips.

Smarter Move
When you simply must have chips, look for brands with vegetables at the top of the ingredients list. Terra Chips, for instance, contain decent amounts of taro, sweet potato, parsnip, batata, and other vegetables. A tip-off to a snack's healthfulness is its fiber content. One ounce of Terras contains 3 g of fiber—not bad for a snack food. They're no bargain in the calorie department, however: At 140 per ounce, they're almost the same as regular chips. If you're counting calories, baked potato chips—at 110 calories per serving—are a better choice. An even healthier alternative? A handful of nuts, loaded with fiber, healthy oils, and vitamins and minerals; they'll even satisfy your urge to nibble. And if you want to be truly virtuous, go for the real thing: carrot sticks, jicama slices, lightly salted radishes, or roasted sweet peppers chilled in the refrigerator.

4. You choose snacks that are "made with real fruit"
Pictures of luscious-looking fruit adorn the packaging, and the labels claim that there is real fruit inside—but don't think you can count these snacks as one of the four to five daily servings the new dietary guidelines recommend. Because current law doesn't require labels to specify how much fruit is in the product, manufacturers can brag on packaging that food is made with real fruit if it contains only small amounts of fruit juice.

"Concentrated white grape juice or pear juice may sound healthy, but all that really means is fruit sugars and water," says Gail Rampersaud, RD, of the food science and human nutrition department at the University of Florida. Other downsides: Few of these snacks provide any fiber, and some faux-fruit munchies even contain small amounts of artery-choking hydrogenated fats. And they often have as many calories—almost all from sugar—as candy. For example, a 25-g serving of Fruit Gushers has 90 calories, just about equal to a handful of Willy Wonka's Everlasting Gobstopper jawbreakers.

Smarter Move
Treat these snacks as candy, which is what they really are, and eat them sparingly. Satisfy your sweet tooth with real fruit instead. If you're looking for convenience, pack a single-serving box of raisins or other type of dried fruit.

5. You buy low-sodium products to cut down on salt
Almost all of us could do with less salt, which has been shown to increase the risk of high blood pressure. Americans consume an average of 3,375 mg of sodium a day—way over the recommended maximum of 2,300 mg for healthy people (1,500 mg for the one in three among us who has hypertension). Because processed foods represent one of the biggest sources of hidden sodium, it's great news that manufacturers are making low-sodium alternatives. Problem is, many still contain more salt than the 140 mg most of us should get in a single serving. A 1-cup serving of a leading chicken broth labeled less sodium, for instance, contains 554 mg; 1 tablespoon of reduced-sodium soy sauce has 600 mg.

Smarter Move
"Be wary of products labeled less sodium," says Rampersaud. The law requires that the sodium level be only 25% less than the original product. But if that product happens to be very high in salt to begin with—like many soups and broths—you may still be getting a lot of sodium. "To ensure that you get 140 mg or less per serving, look for products marked low in sodium," says Rampersaud.

6. You drink fat-free milk to bone up on nutrients
Smart move. But if you buy milk in glass or translucent containers, you may not be getting all the nutrients you should be. Although calcium in milk is relatively stable, vitamins A, B2, C, D, and E, and amino acids all break down gradually when milk is exposed to light. Milk is especially susceptible because the riboflavin (vitamin B2) it contains acts as a photosensitizer, says Donald McMahon, PhD, an expert in dairy foods processing at Utah State University. In a study at Cornell University, levels of vitamin A fell as much as 32% when milk in plastic containers was exposed to fluorescent light for just 16 hours. Other studies have found that up to 60% of the riboflavin is lost under similar conditions. Light also oxidizes fat and diminishes the flavor of milk.

Smarter Move
Buy milk in opaque containers, which eliminate as much light exposure as possible. "A container that blocks light will maintain vitamin A, riboflavin, and other nutrients in milk for about 10 days," says McMahon.

7. You toast your health with a glass of wine or beer
More than 100 studies have found that moderate drinkers have about one-third lower risk of heart disease than those who abstain. But excessive drinking—three or more alcoholic beverages a day, most studies agree—has also been proven to send blood pressure climbing. New evidence shows that even light to moderate drinking on an empty stomach can contribute to high blood pressure risk. In a 2004 study that looked at data from 2,609 men and women ages 35 to 80, State University of New York at Buffalo assistant professor of preventive medicine Saverio Stranges, MD, found that the risk of hypertension was almost 50% higher in people who drank alcoholic beverages without food than in those who imbibed only with a meal.

Smarter Move
Enjoy that drink over dinner. "Consuming alcohol with a meal slows the rise of alcohol in the blood and speeds its elimination from the body," says Stranges. Together, those effects may help prevent increases in blood pressure. Drinking small amounts of alcohol with a meal is a good idea for another reason. Alcohol is known to help prevent the formation of small blood clots that might clog arteries and cause a heart attack—and which form most often after a big meal.

One more advantage: Alcoholic beverages enjoyed with a meal are usually sipped, not chugged, which means you're less likely to become inebriated. The risks of regular overindulgence include weight gain, depression, and liver and kidney problems—as you can see, there are plenty of good reasons to save your drinking for dinner.

8. You grab a granola bar for a quick breakfast
Snatching an on-the-go breakfast is better than skipping it altogether; numerous studies show that people who eat a morning meal are slimmer and have lower cholesterol levels and better memory recall than those who don't. But many of those seemingly healthy breakfast bars so great for eating on the run are basically candy bars in disguise, says nutritionist Christine Gerbstadt, MD, RD, a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. "Even though they may contain granola or fruit, some bars are full of high fructose corn syrup and trans fats to keep them soft and sweet," she says. A top-selling granola bar contains nearly the same amount of sugar—14 g—and fewer nutrients than a strawberry Pop-Tart or a slice of chocolate cake. A leading breakfast multigrain bar packs 15 g of sugar as well as heart-harming trans fats. "That rush of sugar will leave you feeling drained and hungry by midmorning," says Gerbstadt.

Smarter Move
Check labels and choose a bar with less than 11 g of sugar and no partially hydrogenated oils (that's code for trans fats). Also, choose a brand that has at least 3 g of fiber, which slows digestion and provides sustained energy. For a healthier—and cheaper—option, do a little preparation over the weekend. Bake your favorite oatmeal-raisin cookie recipe with half the sugar and half the oil, and pop them into individual plastic bags for all of oatmeal's goodness without the mess. Or better yet, hard-boil a half-dozen eggs and grab one each morning along with some fruit and an English muffin for a portable breakfast.

9. You have an after-dinner mint instead of dessert
The cooling taste of mint may sound like just the thing after a heavy meal, but it could spell trouble. According to the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse, mints are high on the list of foods that can cause heartburn, the telltale burning in the lower chest that occurs when juices from the stomach creep up into the esophagus. Mint seems to relax the muscle that keeps the valve at the top of the stomach clamped down, increasing the odds of reflux. Other surprising culprits: caffeine-containing food and beverages, such as chocolate, soda, and coffee.

Smarter Move
Skip the mints (and the Mississippi mud cake and cappuccino) and have a piece of fruit instead. If you're prone to heartburn, drink a tall glass of water after meals to flush out the esophagus. And then take a stroll. Walking keeps you upright and enlists gravity to keep acids from splashing up the esophagus. And it can help in another important way: "Being overweight increases the risk of reflux," says gastroenterologist Hashem El-Serag, MD, a heartburn expert at Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston. Getting into the habit of walking after a meal could help you keep the pounds off—and lower the risk of heartburn.

10. You save restaurant leftovers to reheat later
If you stop for a movie after the meal, your health may be in jeopardy. The food needs to be in your fridge or freezer within 2 hours (1 hour if it's over 90°F outside) or you're risking food poisoning. Another concern: nuking leftovers in take-home food bags, pizza boxes, fast-food wrappers, microwave-popcorn containers, and even on some paper plates. These can leach dangerous chemicals into the food when heated, reports Lauren Sucher, a spokesperson for the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit consumer organization in Washington, DC. The chemicals include phthalates and bisphenol A, which are known to cause reproductive damage in animals, as well as fluorotelomers, which can release fumes that cause a flulike sickness. The seriousness of the danger remains controversial. "But why take a chance when it's easy to reduce your exposure?" asks Sucher.

Smarter Move
When nuking food, place it in microwave-safe containers, preferably glass or ceramic. And make sure you reheat those leftovers to at least 165°F to kill off any nasty bugs; bring soups and gravies to a boil.

Courtesy of Yahoo! Health

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What is blood pressure?
Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against your blood vessels. Your blood pressure is at its greatest when your heart contracts and is pumping blood. This is systolic blood pressure. When your heart rests between beats, your blood pressure falls. This is called diastolic blood pressure. Blood pressure is always given as these two numbers: the systolic and diastolic pressures. The numbers are usually written one above or before the other, with systolic first, for example, 120/80.

Is high blood pressure really a big deal?
YES! When your blood pressure is high, your heart has to work harder than it should to pump blood to all parts of the body. High blood pressure is called the "silent killer" because most people feel healthy and don’t even know that they have it. If it is not treated, high blood pressure can cause:

• stroke
• heart attack
• kidney problems
• eye problems
• death

Know your number.

• Have your blood pressure checked. It is easy, quick, and painless.
• Your blood pressure should be checked by your health care provider at least once each year.
• If you have high blood pressure, it should be checked more often. You can have your blood pressure checked at your doctor’s office, your neighborhood clinic, health fairs at your church, or some shopping malls.

Check below to see where you fit in.

Prevent high blood pressure.
If your blood pressure is not high now, take steps to prevent it from becoming high. Here’s how:

Aim for a healthy weight.

• Choose foods lower in fat and calories.
• Eat smaller portions.
• Try not to gain extra weight. Lose weight if you are overweight. Try losing weight slowly, about ½ to1 pound each week until you reach a healthy weight.
• Be physically active every day.

Eat less salt and sodium.

• Read the food label. Choose foods with less salt and sodium.
• Prepare lower sodium meals from scratch instead of using convenience foods that are high in sodium.
• Use spices, herbs, and salt-free seasoning blends instead of salt.
• Use only small amounts of cured or smoked meats for flavor.
• Use less salt when cooking.

Add spice to your life.
When you cook, try adding herbs and spices instead of salt.

Eat more fruits and vegetables.

• Eat more fruits and vegetables in meals and as snacks.
• Add more vegetables to stews and casseroles.
• Serve fruit as a dessert more often.

Be active every day.

• Walk a little further each day or walk to the bus stop.
• Dance, skip, jump, run . . . take every opportunity to move your body.
• Use the stairs instead of the elevator.

Cut back on alcoholic beverages.

• Alcohol raises blood pressure. Alcohol also adds calories and may make it harder to lose weight. Men who drink should have no more than two drinks a day. Women who drink should have no more than one drink a day. Pregnant women should not drink any alcohol.

You may also need medicine to lower your high blood pressure. Tell your doctor about any medicine you are already taking.

Follow these tips if you take medicine:

• Take your medicine the way your doctor tells you. To help you remember, plan to take your medicine at the same time every day.
• Tell the doctor right away if the medicine makes you feel strange or sick. The doctor may make changes in your medicine.
• Make sure you don’t miss any days. Refill your prescription before you use up your medicine.
• Have your blood pressure checked often to be sure your medicine is working the way you and your doctor planned.
• Don’t stop taking your medicine if your blood pressure is okay - that means the medicine is working.

Courtesy of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.

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Prevent Diabetes – Lose Weight

Lose excess pounds. If you're overweight, losing just 5 percent of your body weight can improve blood sugar control and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. To keep your weight in a healthy range, focus on permanent changes to your eating and exercise habits. Motivate yourself by remembering the benefits of losing weight, such as a healthier heart, more energy, and improved self-esteem.

Courtesy of Yahoo! Health

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1. Walk to work.
2. Use fat free milk over whole milk.
3. Do sit-ups in front of the TV.
4. Walk during lunch hour.
5. Drink water before a meal.
6. Eat leaner red meat & poultry.
7. Eat half your dessert.
8. Walk instead of driving whenever you can.
9. Take a family walk after dinner.
10. Skate to work instead of driving.

For more ideas, go to www.smallstep.gov.

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