A Good Heart

          “A good heart is better than all the heads in the world.” – Edward Bulwer-Lytton

          In 1964, President Lyndon Johnson proclaimed February as National Heart Month – a month long celebration of the 10-ounce muscle that runs our body.  A primary focus of National Heart Month is sharing information on ways to keep your heart healthy.

          The American Heart Association has recently launched a food certification program to aid you in the goal of a healthy heart.   A food certified by the American Heart Association carries the symbol of a red heart with a white check within it.  Before the mark can be displayed, a food must pass nutritional guidelines and reviews as well as meet all appropriate governmental regulations.  The distinctive heart-check mark on a package assures you that a food meets criteria for heart-healthy levels of fat, saturated fat and cholesterol for healthy people.

          A serving of a heart-healthy food product must:

          - Be low fat (less than or equal to 3 grams)

          - Be low saturated fat (less than or equal to 1 gram)

          - Have a sodium value of less than or equal to 480 milligrams for individual foods.

          - Contain at least 10 percent of the Daily Value of one or more of these naturally occurring nutrients: protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium iron or dietary fiber.

          Seafood, meat and poultry must meet the following nutritional requirements per standard serving and per 100 grams:

-         Contain less than 5 grams of total fat

-         Contain less than 2 grams of saturated fat

-         Contain less than 95 milligrams of cholesterol

With the American Heart Association Food Certification program,

information you need is visible on food products at the moment you are making your purchase.  Not just during February but all twelve months of the year, look for the heart-check mark and keeping celebrating your healthy heart.