Welcome back, everyone! This is the second class of Prevent T2. Today, we are going to talk about keeping your heart healthy. Before we start, let’s spend a few minutes going over what we discussed last time.
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Since you are at risk for type 2 diabetes, you are more likely to have problems with your heart or arteries. So it’s important to keep your heart healthy. Today, we will talk about:
- Why heart health matters
- How to keep your heart healthy
- How to be heart smart about fats
Finally, you will make a new action plan.
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Your heart is pretty amazing. With each beat, it pumps oxygen-rich blood to every cell in your body. The blood travels through tubes called arteries. When something goes wrong with your heart or arteries, it’s a big deal for your health.
Problems with the heart or arteries include:
- Chest pain (angina)
- Getting out of breath easily
- Kidney problems
- Narrow or blocked arteries in your legs
- Numbness
- Sexual problems
- Sudden death
- Thickened heart muscle
- Vision loss
If an artery to your brain gets blocked, you may have a stroke. If an artery to your heart gets blocked, you may have a heart attack.
Your risk of having a heart problem depends on a few things. One is age. As you get older, your risk increases. Another is your genes. If your parents had heart problems, you may be more likely to have them too. But your habits play a big role in your risk.
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We’ve discussed why heart health matters. Now we’ll talk about how to keep your heart healthy. There are a few things you can do every day to keep your heart healthy.
Some things you may already be doing include:
- Being active
- Trying to reach and stay at a healthy weight
- Eating foods that are high in fiber, water, vitamins, minerals, and protein
- Eating foods that are low in calories and fats
- Managing stress
You may also want to start cutting back on salt and alcohol. Quitting smoking is also beneficial.
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It’s important to limit foods that are high in fats, especially unhealthy fats. Let’s spend some time talking about fats and how they affect your heart. We all need a certain amount of fat in our diet. It gives us energy and helps us absorb vitamins. It helps us grow and stay healthy. At the same time, fat is very high in calories. In fact, it has more calories than any other food. So in order to reach or stay at a healthy weight, you’ll want to limit fat. Plus, some fats are good for your heart and arteries. Others are bad for your heart and arteries.
Review the different types of fats, including unhealthy fats such as trans fats and saturated fats, and healthy fats such as unsaturated fats and omega-3 fatty acids. Unhealthy fats can increase cholesterol levels and the risk of heart disease, while healthy fats can help protect the heart.
Now let’s talk about how to cook the healthy way. Discuss ways to avoid unhealthy fats and limit healthy fats when you cook. Tips include using healthy oils, baking or grilling instead of frying, and avoiding processed foods.
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Please look at your Action Plan Journal. Let’s spend the next few minutes making a new action plan. Keep in mind what worked and what didn’t work well for you since our last session. Are there any changes that you want to make? Also keep in mind what we discussed today about keeping your heart healthy.
As you make your plan, remember to keep it:
- Realistic
- Doable
- Specific
- Flexible
Remember to focus on behaviors. And try to have fun!
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We have come to the end of our meeting. Today, we talked about keeping your heart healthy. We discussed:
- Why heart health matters
- How to keep your heart healthy
- How to be heart smart about fats
Next time, we’ll talk about the things you tried at home, including your action plan. Thank you for joining us today. Remember to bring your Participant Notebook to the next session.