In honor of American Heart Month, we at AdvantEdge are providing some tips to maintain good heart health. We know you put your heart and soul into your business and we want to help you and your business flourish. It's more than office space, it's the place your business thrives.
It's easy to pick up lunch from a food truck or scarf down leftovers from yesterday's meeting, but those foods and other ready made meals can cause heart disease and a host of other health issues due to ovewhelming sodium content. One of the easiest ways to improve and maintain heart health is to monitor our daily sodium intake. On average, the typical American consumes 3,500 miligrams of salt per day (minus salt added when at the table) but according to official dietary guidelines, the recommended daily limit is 2,300 miligrams. According to the CDC, excessive sodium consumption can lead to high blood pressure and ultimately, cardiovascular disease, which is one of the top causes of death in the United States today.
Most of our sodium intake is hidden in packaged, processed foods, which contributes to why sodium can be particularly difficult to control. Some unlikely sources of sodium that may be lurking in your lunch or office snacks are bread, cold cuts, pizza, soup, cheese, and store-bought snack foods. However, by simply incorporating a few new habits, decreasing your sodium consumption doesn’t have to be quite the task it’s made out to be. Try these tips to keep your salt in check and keep your ticker happy:
1. Avoid processed foods for lunches and work day snacks. Most frozen meals and restaurant take out dishes are filled with excess sodium. Try your hand at cooking from scratch so that you know exactly what is going into your food (And save a pretty penny as well)!
2. When preparing meals and snacks to bring to work skip the salt and opt for fresh herbs, spices, and salt-free blends for seasoning instead. You don’t have to sacrifice taste for a healthy meal.
3. Check the labels of the foods you purchase and think about sodium content in relation to a single serving portion. The numbers may surprise you! Additionally, check for salt by other names such as Sodium Chloride and Monosodium Glutamate (MSG).
4. Just like Mom told you, eat more fruits and vegetables. Fruits and veggies have virtually no sodium in them (unless we add it ourselves) and will help fuel your workday while keeping your metabolism stable.
By incorporating these small lifestyle changes into your workday, we can make a world of difference for both our short and long-term heart health. Later this week we will be posting more blogs about how you can keep your heart healthy throughout the work week. You can also follow AdvantEdge Business Centers on social media for more tips!
