ALCOHOL
CHOLESTEROL
- About Cholesterol: Detailed description of cholesterol including the difference between "bad" and "good" types of cholesterol, the medical risks of unhealthy levels of cholesterol, and common misconceptions about cholesterol.
- Cholesterol News: Read articles about the latest research on cholesterol and your health.
- Cholesterol- What Your Level Means: A short illustrated article describing what cholesterol is, what levels of cholesterol you should aim for, and how you can improve your cholesterol levels.
- Cooking for Lower Cholesterol: Learn how to prepare meals that will help you achieve higher levels of "good" cholesterol and lower levels of "bad" cholesterol.
- High Blood Cholesterol and Triglycerides: A comprehensive overview from U.S. News & World Report.
- How Can I Monitor My Cholesterol, Blood Pressure, and Weight?: A chart you can use to track your progress toward the goals you have set with your provider for healthier levels of cholesterol, blood pressure, and weight.
- Know Your Fats: Some fats in food have a bad effect on your cholesterol levels, but other types of fat can be beneficial. Find out the difference between saturated, unsaturated, and trans-fat foods, and why you should decrease the unhealthy fats and increase the healthy fats you eat.
- Make Healthy Food Choices: A heart-healthy diet is delicious and varied. Learn how to make smart choices whether you are cooking at home or eating out so that you can enjoy flavorful foods yet keep your cholesterol in check.
- Managing Your Cholesterol: What to know, what to do. How to understand your cholesterol levels, develop a treatment plan with your provider, and maintain healthy cholesterol levels through lifestyle changes and medication.
- Talk with Your Health Care Provider About High Cholesterol: Basic overview of what high cholesterol is, what to do to prevent unhealthy cholesterol levels, and questions to ask your provider about cholesterol.
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EXERCISE AND WEIGHT LOSS
- A Prescription for Exercise: Three psychologists move clients and colleagues off the couch and onto the walking trail.
- Be Active Your Way- A Fact Sheet for Adults: A summary of the latest national guidelines on exercise.
- Be Active Your Way- A Guide for Adults: A complete illustrated guide to how and why to exercise.
- Be Physically Active: Find out how many calories you can burn in 30 minutes of doing different types of activity. Your current weight affects the number of calories burned- the more you weigh, the higher the number of calories used per activity.
- Changing Your Habits- Steps to Better Health: Self-help tips to prepare yourself psychologically and emotionally to eat healthier and become more active.
- Choosing a Safe and Successful Weight-loss Program: Learn what factors you should consider when looking at ways to lose weight, and what questions to ask your health provider to help you succeed.
- From Wallet to Waistline: The Hidden Costs of Super Sizing: A journal article that summarizes the true costs of super sizing portions and focuses on the fact that bigger is not necessarily better. Nutrient analysis tables are also included in this article.
- Getting to Your Healthy Weight: The bottom line- move more, eat less, turn off the T.V., and skip sugary drinks.
- How Can I Keep Track of Physical Activity and Eating?: Activity and eating logs for you to keep track of your efforts as you increase physical activity and carry out a healthy eating plan.
- In Brief- Your Guide to Physical Activity and Your Heart: Working out in a gym or doing specific exercises is just one example of how to be active. Find out how to be more active as you go about your daily life. This article gives specific examples of how to increase the amount of physical activity you do, and how many calories you will burn with each activity.
- Large Waist Can Almost Double Your Risk of Premature Death, Says Europe-Wide Study: Having a large waistline can almost double your risk of dying prematurely even if your body mass index is within the 'normal' range, according to a new study of over 350,000 people across Europe, published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
- Many Paths to Successful Weight Loss: compares the benefits of low-fat, low-carb, and Mediterranean diets
- Physical Activity and Weight Control: An overview of the types of exercise that are recommended, including aerobic activity and strength training, plus tips for a safe and successful physical activity program.
- Tips for Overcoming Obstacles to Weight Loss: It is not easy to start a weight loss program. These tips will help you overcome obstacles to beginning a program and how to stick with it.
- Walking- A Step in the Right Direction: Walking is an excellent weight control strategy. Learn how to start a program, including safety tips and ways to increase the pace and intensity as you build up your stamina.
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FOOD AND NUTRITION
- Alcohol: Balancing Risks and Benefits: Moderate drinking can be healthy—but not for everyone. You must weigh the benefits and risks.
- Carbohydrates: Good Carbs Guide the Way: from the Harvard School of Public Health. Also, check out their Healthy Recipes page and up-to-date collection of Nutrition in the News articles
- Diet and Lifestyle Recommendations: A healthy diet and lifestyle are your best weapons to fight cardiovascular disease.
- Eat a Wide Variety of Foods: A heart-healthy diet includes a variety of foods including grains, vegetables, fruits, and heart-healthy sources of protein and fats. Learn how many servings per week are recommended in each food group.
- Eat Less of the Nutrient-Poor Foods: Follow these recommendations to develop an overall healthy eating plan so that the calories you consume provide the nutrients your body needs.
- Fiber: Start Roughing It!: Fiber is one of those nutrients that many of us know is important but that remains a bit of a mystery. Exactly what is it? What are the best sources of fiber? And what are its health benefits?
- Flavor That Food: How to use spices and herbs instead of salt to flavor your food.
- Food Labels: Two sources showing you how to use food labels to help you eat food that is low in saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium.
- Health Gains from Whole Grains: includes a list of whole grains and their health benefits.
- Healthy Beverage Guidelines: The Harvard School of Public Health discusses which beverages are best to drink, and how sugary drinks and sugar-substitute drinks affect weight gain or loss.
- How Can I Cook Healthfully?: Which cooking methods to use to cut down on unhealthy fat, and how to cut fat without losing the taste.
- How Do I Change Recipes?: How you can substitute high-fat, high-salt ingredients for more heart-healthy ingredients and still eat delicious meals.
- How Much Protein Do You Need?: The idea of eating more protein has gained popularity in the past few years. Some people may think the way to build body muscle is to eat high-protein diets and use protein powders, supplements and shakes.
- Just Enough for You- About Food Portions: How can you control the portions you are eating to make sure that you are not eating more than you intended or more than you need for a healthy weight? Learn how to gauge portions when eating at home and eating out, and what a food label means when it gives the number of calories in a "serving size."
- Know How Many Calories You Should Eat: This table shows you how many calories are appropriate for males and females of different ages and different activity levels.
- Many Paths to Successful Weight Loss: Compares the benefits of low-fat, low-carb, and Mediterranean diets.
- Nutrition for Weight Loss- Is a Low-Carbohydrate Diet Right for Me?: Low-carbohydrate diets became popular several years ago as a weight loss method, but are they nutritionally safe?
- Protein: Moving Closer to Center Stage: Pay attention when selecting proteins. Fish, poultry, nuts, and beans are the best choices.
- Tips for Eating Out: How to eat low-fat, heart-healthy meals in 15 types of restaurants, from fast food and family restaurants to Italian and Vietnamese.
- Tips for Reducing Sodium in Your Diet: Ways that you can cut down the salt you consume in foods that you cook as well as in prepared foods that you buy.
- Vegetables and Fruits- Get Plenty Every Day: How eating more fruits and vegetables can help to reduce risks of cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure, in addition to other chronic diseases.
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HEART DISEASE IN WOMEN
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HEART HEALTH- GENERAL INFORMATION
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HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE
- Basic Facts About High Blood Pressure: A short summary of what blood pressure levels mean, the risk factors for developing high blood pressure, and how to lower blood pressure.
- High Blood Pressure- Every Step Counts: Comprehensive overview of what high blood pressure is, why high blood pressure is a health risk, and what steps to take to prevent and treat high blood pressure.
- High Blood Pressure- Things You Can Do to Help Lower Yours: Summary of what high blood pressure means and how it can be treated, from medications to lifestyle changes such as weight loss, exercise, smoking cessation, and improving your diet.
- In Brief- Your Guide to Lowering Your Blood Pressure with DASH: The DASH diet has been proven to lower blood pressure. This diet empasizes eating healthy foods such as more fruits and vegetables, grains, low-fat milk products, and healthy fats, while cutting down on salt, unhealthy fats, and red meats.
- Move to Prevent and Control High Blood Pressure: How 30 minutes of physical activity a day can help reduce high blood pressure. Includes practical examples of how to get started and tips to help you stick with your physical activity program.
- Talk with Your Health Care Provider About High Blood Pressure: Brief overview of why blood pressure is dangerous, what to do to control it, and how to consult with your medical provider about controlling your blood pressure.
- Your Guide to Lowering Blood Pressure: A complete illustrated guide to everything you need to know about controlling your blood pressure- from losing weight through diet and exercise, to following the DASH eating plan for better heart health.
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MENTAL/EMOTIONAL HEALTH
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SMOKING CESSATION
- Cigarette Smoking and Cardiovascular Diseases: Why cigarette smoking increases the risk of coronary heart disease which can lead to a heart attack, as well as the risk of stroke.
- MGH Tobacco Treatment Service: MGH offers an array of services to help you quit smoking including group counseling, nicotine replacement therapy, and clinical trials of new medications.
- Smokefree.gov Quit Guide: A step-by-step guide to how to quit smoking. Many different tips are offered- choose what works best for you. And don't give up, since studies show that most successful quitters tried multiple times before they became smoke-free.
- Smoking and Tobacco Use- Heart Disease and Stroke: A summary of the sobering statistics that show how much your cardiovascular risks increase by smoking as well as breathing secondhand smoke.
- You Can Quit Smoking: The Massachusetts Department of Public Health campaign to help you make a plan to quit smoking. Tips and tools include a chart to keep track of your progress, how to handle bouts of craving, and how to prevent weight gain once you have quit.
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STROKE
- Basic Facts About Stroke: Summary of the signs and symptoms of stroke, and what you can do to lower your risk of having a stroke.
- Stroke Risk Factors: Describes what risk factors can not be changed as well as the risk factors that you can change, treat, or control.
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