Giving opens up the Heart Chakra

I was so proud of my daughter, Isabella, and her friend, Juliette, who decided to run a bake sale at their high school as part of their club “Food for Friends”. The mission for them was simple, lets raise awareness for heart health during Heart Month.❤️

What was simply impressive is that they chose to then donate ALL their proceeds (~$1650 USD) to the American Heart Association (AHA) and STEM Goes Red for Women organizations.

As a Board Member of the AHA and executive member of Go Red for Women, I work closely with passionate women who are raising awareness of the risk of heart disease in men and women and helping educate on the risk factors and healthy living options. In addition, our mission is to empower high school students to pursue careers in STEM, and raise the next generation that will make a difference for society, this is where STEM Goes Red!

It is truly a proud moment to witness our young generation giving back within their own community! Congratulations to Isabella Duttagupta and Juliette Kildow for making a huge difference within their High school – BASIS Independent Schools.

Heart Month is a time to reflect on our own heart health, taking the steps to ensure that we, individually, and our families, are aware of our heart’s health and taking the steps to be aware and get healthy. Did you know women tend to have different signs of a heart attack than men? That is why, knowing your risk factors, your numbers, is so important, along with awareness of the signs and symptoms of a heart attack or stroke.

Here are a few tips:

1. Know your numbers: Talk to your doctor and make sure your blood pressure, heart rate and cholesterol levels (also called a lipid profile) are taken and discussed with your doctor. During this visit, talk about your family history, which can be a clue factor to potential genetics.
2. Exercise: The AHA recommends 10,000 steps daily, it is critical to move, to keep moving and to achieve movement daily. It isn’t a weekly phenomena, we need to find ways to move.
   1. Take stairs instead of an escalator or elevator when possible
   2. Park your car further and walk to your destination
   3. Get off an earlier station and walk to your destination
   4. Take a walk in the sunshine when the sun is out, during your lunch break
3. Eat Healthy: Grab a diary of start to note everything you eat, read up on what is good for you and some fun recipes to help you make a change. Fruits and vegetables need to be at the top of your list, along with lean protein, vegetable protein is preferable. Reduce sugar in your diet, this is a huge culprit leading to diabetes, a huge risk factor for heart health.

Reach out if you want more guidance and if you want to donate to the AHA, click here: https://lnkd.in/eibtajbR.