American Heart Month
Valentine's Day is just around the corner. While you were cutting out paper hearts for friends, munching on chocolate hearts, or thinking of your special sweetheart, did you ever take a moment and think about your real heart? February is American Heart Month, and it's a great time to learn more about how you can stay heart healthy!
The Hardest Worker in Your Body
The heart is located on the left side of your chest, and it's about the size of your fist. It acts as a pump, sending blood, oxygen, and nutrients to all the parts of your body as well as carrying away the waste that your body produces. Blood vessels, which are attached to your heart, carry blood to and from the heart; your arteries carry oxygen-rich blood from the heart, and your veins carry stale blood, or waste, back to the heart to be "recycled."
While you're playing, studying, and even when you're sleeping, your heart is hard at work, circulating a fresh supply of blood all around your body through your blood vessels. By the time you're grown, your heart will be pumping about 2,000 gallons of blood every day...wow!
Even though you can't see your heart, you can feel it working by checking your pulse. Try pressing your index or middle finger lightly against your wrist, just below your thumb. When you're at rest, your pulse will be around 70 beats per minute, but the pulse speeds up when you're running or playing. Run in place or jump rope for a few minutes, and then see how much faster your pulse is.
Keep Your Heart Happy!
Keeping your heart healthy is important! According to the American Heart Association, heart disease is the number one cause of death in the United States. But by following some simple tips, you can help keep your heart happy and healthy:
- Get plenty of exercise. Thirty minutes of moderate exercise a day is a good rule of thumb, but you can challenge yourself with 15 to 20 minutes of more intense activity 3 days a week. Remember, exercise should be fun-do things that you enjoy and you'll be more likely to stick with it!
Eat a variety of foods. A healthy diet includes grain products, vegetables, fruits, low-fat milk products, lean meats, fish, poultry, and dry beans. Choose fewer foods that are high in fat or sugar. Avoid foods high in cholesterol, since they can clog your arteries and make it harder for your heart to pump blood through them.
- Don't smoke. Besides harming your heart, smoking can lead to cancer, a weakened immune system, emphysema, and a lot of other problems. Who needs that?
- Avoid alcohol. Drinking alcohol could cause your blood pressure to rise, increase your heart rate, and cause your heart to beat abnormally.
Check out these links:
General heart information www.kidshealth.org/kid/body/heart_SW.html
Learn about heart defects www.pediheart.org/kidzone/index.html
More information on nutrition and fitness www.girlpower.gov/girlarea/bodywise/
