By Staff Reports
(Hawaii)– From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.
Cardiovascular disease – heart disease, stroke and high blood pressure – accounts for 1 in 3 deaths in America. But most of the conditions that lead to cardiovascular disease are under a person’s control, so they can be avoided. At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Fleetwood Loustalot:
“Leading factors include high blood pressure and cholesterol, diabetes, being overweight or obese, smoking, lack of physical activity – and an unhealthy diet, including consuming too much sodium in your diet.”
Most sodium comes from processed or restaurant foods. A healthy diet includes whole grains, lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, and low saturated fats and cholesterol.
A good goal for physical activity, if you’re not doing any now, is 150 minutes a week of something like brisk walking.
Learn more at healthfinder.gov.
HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.