Akron Life February 2022

HEALTH & WELLNESS

by Alexandra Sobczak and photos provided by Full Scale Fitness

Pump It Take control of your heart health.

February is for more than heart-adorned

Valentine’s Day cards and Hershey’s kisses — it’s also American Heart Month.

Full Scale Fitness Trainers

Prioritize improving your car diovascular health with some help from the American Heart Association’s recently updated heart-healthy guidelines. Some involve swapping things out, like choosing lean meats or seafood over red meats and cooking with olive oil over but ter. Others focus more on your lifestyle, like limiting alcohol consumption and picking healthy foods when you’re on the go. Another emphasizes the

importance of pairing a healthy diet with physical activity. These tips can help you prevent things such as heart disease, dia betes and strokes, and they can help you feel better all around, no matter your age. “Heart health is a lifelong thing,” says Alex Schwarz, the head dietician at Full Scale Fitness in Akron. “It starts when you’re young and continues through out your whole life.”

EAT UP Choosing whole grain options, limiting ultra-processed foods and eating more servings of fruits and vegetables can all help you create a heart-healthy diet. But where should you begin? If you’re just starting this jour ney, try implementing some simple changes before taking on a whole new diet, Schwarz says. “I would suggest picking one thing,” he says, giving the

example of choosing almond milk over whole milk in an iced coffee. “Just get the moti vation going and achieve a small goal first.” Another good place to start is by picking a source of fiber and including it in your diet each day. Schwarz has a client who chose to make oatmeal each morning and put berries in it. “It was something quick and simple,” he says.

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