Hearty food and healthy lessons were both on the menu Feb. 7 at the NE Campus presentation Heart Healthy for People on the Move.
To observe American Heart Month, the tablecloths, napkins and entrée — Energy Boosting Stuffed Bell Peppers — were red, as was the blouse worn by guest speaker Sally Stutes, director of cardiovascular and critical care services at North Hills Hospital.
Stutes discussed healthy eating habits such as portion control and sodium intake rationing.
She said everyone should know their “numbers” — blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar level and weight.
According to Stutes, someone in the U.S. has a coronary event — from chest pains to heart attack — every 35 seconds, and someone has a stroke every 40 seconds. Every three minutes, she said, someone dies from a stroke.
She listed the eight factors of cardiac events, with smoking leading the list.
“People who smoke increase their risk for a cardiac event by 50 percent,” she said.
Stutes went on to discuss the difference between “good” and “bad” cholesterol and the relationship between diabetes and heart disease.
Exercise is important, she said, as well as diet. She described diets she believes effective in maintaining a healthy lifestyle and listed foods people should eat, foods they probably shouldn’t eat and healthy substitutes for the latter.
After a question-and-answer session, Stutes had dessert for the audience and goodie bags that included the recipe for stuffed bell peppers.
—Hector Luna
