The month of February has many fun and exciting events and the least number of days. February is Black History Month and contains the big game and Valentine’s Day. February is a time to cherish your loved ones and spend time watching the big game surrounded by friends and family. Both of those occasions can be very food focused with finger foods and candied hearts. For instance, around Valentine’s Day every year my parents have us over for prime rib and my mom makes a homemade heart-shaped chocolate ice cream cake. One event that is often overlooked is that February is also American Heart Month. I thought this would be a great time to talk and focus on what is a heart-healthy diet for your child and how you can help maintain your child’s heart health.
Nourishing your child’s body properly will help maintain a strong heart. Some small adjustments to your child’s current diet to positively affect their heart health is having them eat a variety of fruits and vegetables, swapping for, and incorporating more whole grains, and reducing the amount of sodium your child eats daily.
Eating fruits and vegetables is of course a given. Fruits and vegetables are high in nutrients containing vitamins and minerals and they are low in fat. The potassium in fruits for example such as a banana can help maintain a healthy blood pressure. Canned or frozen products can be just as nutritional as fresh produce, but they may contain added sodium. One thing that I make sure to do before I serve my family frozen vegetables is to rinse off the vegetables with water to remove any added sodium.
When shopping for products, I always try to look for low sodium items (5% Daily Value or less per serving). For reference, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) deems a food high in sodium 20% Daily Value per serving. Make sure to read the label for the serving size as this can be sometimes disregarded. If your child eats more than the serving size on the label, the sodium level for that food is also increased.
Lastly, fiber helps maintains a healthy heart. Whole grains have additional dietary fiber and help improve blood cholesterol levels over time. Again, label reading is key here.
To confirm that a food is whole grain, the first ingredient must be “WHOLE”. Some likely “whole” grain terms you might see on a food label are whole wheat/grain, brown rice, oats, and wheatberries.
Also, you can look for the Whole Grain Council Seal on the package to easily find whole grain products while you are shopping.
In honor of American Heart Month, make it a goal to implement a few small changes to your child’s routine to support their heart health. If you would like to learn more about these small changes such as increasing your child’s dietary fiber and/or reducing their sodium intake, please contact our dietitians at Feed to Succeed to help your child’s heart be stronger.
Written by: Nicole Michehl, MS, RDN, LDN, CNSC, CLC
