FOLLOW NEW GUIDELINES FOR STAYING HEART HEALTHY

February—the month for all things heart related— brings a new set of guidelines from the American Heart Association (AHA) to keep the body’s internal motor primed and pumping.

Life’s Essential 8™ offers a checklist for lifelong health that accounts for good nutrition and exercise, along with adding sleep as key to cardiovascular health and listing dangers of vaping.

Improving and maintaining cardiovascular health ranks among the top health concerns for Louisiana, which ties Arkansas and Oklahoma for the sixth lowest life expectancy in the country. While the average American expects to live 78.8 years, we drop to 75.7 years.

The AHA checklist breaks down three health behaviors and four health factors to monitor along with My Life Check, an online tool for scoring heart health and understanding risks.

For some, these guidelines require only minor lifestyle adjustments. It may be a complete overhaul for others. If it seems overwhelming, start slowly with small changes. Follow one guideline until it becomes habit, then add another.

Healthier behaviors can prevent natural ageassociated health factors such as increased blood pressure, glucose, weight and cholesterol. You may not be able to control aging, but you can control lifestyle habits. Let’s get started:

1. Eat better. Overall healthy eating that includes more fruits and vegetables, less meat and trans fats, whole grains and limited sugar, sodium and alcohol benefits overall health.

Read nutrition labels to check calories, carbohydrates and sodium. Cook at home regularly to control meals and portions. AHA offers hundreds of heart-healthy recipes.

2. Be more active. Adults need a weekly average of 2.5 hours moderate—walking, water aerobics, biking, yoga, gardening—or 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity—running, swimming, interval cardio training—or a combination of both. Add resistance, weight training or other musclestrengthening activities at least twice a week.

Kids and teenagers should get an average 60 minutes of exercise daily.

3. Quit tobacco. Nicotine products, whether cigarettes, e-cigarettes or vaping, are the leading cause of death in the US with about a third of those deaths resulting from heart disease. Within a year of quitting smoking or vaping, risks drop by 50%. Some people quit cold turkey, but most need a plan.

4. Get healthy sleep. Adults require 7-9 hours of sleep nightly for healing, improved brain function and reduced risks of chronic diseases. Kids require even more—10-16 hours for children 5 and under, 9-12 hours for ages 6-12 and 8-10 hours for teenagers.

Poor sleep can result from stress or lifestyle habits. Unplug from devices, TV included, 30 minutes to an hour before bedtime. Charge the phone as far from your bed as possible to resist the temptation to scroll. Dim screens or use red filter apps at night to prevent blue light from impacting your circadian rhythm and melatonin production. Set alarms for bedtime and awaking at the same times each day, weekends included.

5. Manage weight. Maintaining a healthy weight benefits the entire body. Losing weight requires burning more calories than you consume. Count calories, control portions, sit less and move. Know your body mass index (BMI), which measures weight in relation to height, to determine your healthy weight. The optimal BMI, which you can calculate online, for adults is 25.

6. Control cholesterol. Reducing levels of "bad" or low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol can improve heart health. LDL sticks to artery walls and causes plaque buildup, increasing the chance of heart disease and stroke.

Cholesterol comes from animal-based foods and our own bodies. Following a mostly plant-based diet, moving more and not smoking helps control cholesterol.

7. Manage blood sugar. Most food turns into glucose, or blood sugar, when eaten and fuel the body with energy. However, high levels of blood sugar over time can lead to Type 2 diabetes. When this happens, glucose builds up in the blood rather than going to the cells, and the body doesn't make sufficient insulin. Insulin resistance increases the risk of damage to the heart, kidneys, eyes and nerves.

As with other health factors that impact the heart, healthy diets, physical activity, weight management and no smoking help control blood sugar levels.

8. Manage blood pressure. Managing your blood pressure to stay within acceptable ranges keeps the heart in better working order. Optimal levels are less than 120/80 mm HG. High blood pressure is defined as the systolic pressure (top number) being 130-139 or higher and the diastolic pressure (bottom number) being 80-89 or higher. Manage blood pressure by watching your diet, moving more, controlling stress and getting more sleep. Your doctor may also prescribe medication for consistently high blood pressure.

Along with advanced technology and expertise, Thibodaux Regional Heart & Vascular Center provides education, prevention and a rehabilitation program to help patients adjust their lifestyles and improve overall health and wellness.

For more information contact Thibodaux Regional Wellness Education Center, 985.493.4765.

UNDER THE SCOPE | BY JOHN DOUCET

The Meaningful Points Of February

I have spent many years and, in fact, multiple decades keeping quiet about one thing: My February birthday. I have never been big on birthdays: No cakes, no candles, no singing except for the occasional Beatles rendition of “Birthday” in my head. I figured that if no one noticed the anniversary of my birth then I simply would not seem to get older. Just stay the yearly course, keep quiet in February, and age will go by silently, I reasoned. Regrettably, that pretense doesn’t work any longer.

Of course, family members, especially those older than me, know the specific date of my birthday, as they were alive when the glorious event happened. But outside of that circle, the date is mum except for temporary notices by people in pharmacies, credit companies, the payroll office, and liquor shops, as well as certain traffic police.

This birthday blackout began in second grade. It was then when our homeroom teacher instructed us to cut stars from yellow construction paper using our little, rounded-edge scissors and then print our names on them. She collected our stars and then stapled them individually to a huge bulletin board calendar in the appropriate square that marked each student’s birthday. I had problems with this. First, I would not cut-out a five-pointed star like the other kids because I knew that in reality stars were balls of fusion and hot gases shaped spherically by their own central gravity. When I gave the teacher a yellow circle with my name on it, she sent me back to my desk to make a five-pointed star like everyone else. This happened at least ten times. I even tried blue and red construction paper to convince her otherwise because, as all enlightened second graders knew, stars came in different colors like red dwarves and blue giants. But, I was stuck in the pre-Copernican world of that elementary school classroom, and by the time the recess bell sounded I hoped that my teacher had forgotten all about my astronomy antagonism. No such luck. As I was weaving through the desks to leave the room, she stopped me and demanded a pointed star. However, I had developed a distraction protocol in advance in case this would happen. I had noticed that she had posted to the month of February stars with “George Washington” and “Abraham Lincoln” printed on them. These people were not in our homeroom, but they were nonetheless very famous. Enlightened kids knew that these were U.S. Presidents, and we knew that they were born in February because we had to use our crayons to color ditto reproductions of their faces in that month. And ditto papers smelled really good, so we remembered it well. As it turned out, pointed stars weren’t the only calendar problem.

“You forgot William Henry Harrison!” I told my teacher. Harrison was the President who served the fewest days in office, having died in 1841 only 31 days after inauguration. Though unfortunately overlooked for that reason, his birthday is also in February. I knew that starting a discussion on Harrison with my teacher like this would make me tardy for recess, which is the worst kind of tardiness there was because I would not get a seat on the merry-go-round. However, it successfully diffused the issue of pointing out my birthday with a pointed star.

And all this was fine with me because I could not possibly compete for birthday attention with those iconic pillars of American history stapled to the month of my birthday. And so my monogrammed, astronomicallycorrect construction paper star never appeared on the bulletin board, and my birthday went unnoticed amongst my peers. But, I must have made an impression somewhere to someone because in the very next year Congress passed the Uniform Mondays Holiday Act, combining Washington’s and Lincoln’s birthdays into a single Presidents Day every third Monday in February in honor of all U.S. Presidents, including Harrison. Thus, in addition to winning the spelling bee that year, I effectively became a Congressional lobbyist.

Yes, this all began in second grade. Back then, there was a book I had bought with my saved candy machine money. I ordered it off of the Scholastic Book sales insert that accompanied the “Weekly Reader” magazine. The book was the now-famous novel by Madeleine L’Engle, titled “A Wrinkle in Time,” in which the characters travel through space and time to rescue good and fight evil. How prophetic that I remember it now in February when the price counter of life flips another digit, when the merry-go-round squeals with rustiness, and when wrinkles due to time and space are in every mirror. At least, I can console myself knowing that without all those ignited birthday cake candles over the years I have reduced my carbon footprint, which is good for the environment. I hope that gains me points on Valentine’s Day. POV

February Market at the Marina

February 4, from 8 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Downtown Houma Marina

Join the monthly outdoor farmers market, featuring local vendors selling goods such as fruits, vegetables, bread, jams and jellies, meat and seafood, homemade body care products, and more! Presented by Terrebonne General Health System and Houma Downtown Development Company, the market also features the Marina Sprouts Kid Club program sponsored by Terrebonne General Pediatric care, St. Matthew’s STEM Lab, Little Arts Studio, and more!

Bayou King Cake Festival

February 4, 2 p.m.

Downtown Thibodaux

Sample the taste of Mardi Gras and watch the Krewe of King Cake Children’s Parade at the Bayou King Cake Festival in Downtown Thibodaux! Following the parade, be entertained with music from Nonc Nu and the Wild Matous as you sample king cakes from some of your favorite bakeries and bakers alike, and vote for your favorite. All proceeds to benefit the Lafourche Education Foundation.

Acadian Elementary's 10th

Annual Mudbug 5K

February 4, 2 p.m.- 4:30 p.m.

Acadian Elementary School

The 5K Walk/Run to benefit Acadian Elementary School provides a fast, fun course that begins at the school and loops into the neighborhoods that the school services. Participants will receive a t-shirt, age group awards, and be eligible for door prizes.

Coco’s Sweetheart Party

February 14, from 6 p.m. - 10 p.m.

Bayou Country Children’s Museum

The BCCM will host a Parents Night Out event for Valentine’s Day. Coco’s Sweetheart Party will offer the perfect opportunity for kids to have a night of fun, while parents enjoy a night out, or a night in! The night will include crafts, games, free play in the museum, and pizza. The event is open to children ages 4 and up.

Y’Allstars International Roller Derby Tournament

February 24-26

Warren J. Harang Jr. Municipal Auditorium, in Thibodaux

The international flat-track roller derby tournament is the largest roller derby tournament to ever be held in Louisiana and first to feature both adult and youth roller derby teams. This action-packed, family-friendly three-day event will feature 15 competing teams across multiple divisions from over 25 U.S. states and three Canadian provinces. The event will also have an in-venue market with over a dozen vendors, concessions, and additional entertainment including performances, prizes, and a costume contest during the Mardi Brawl. POV

Upcoming Events

Roux for a Reason

March 11, starting at 12 p.m.

Southdown Plantation

Swamp Stomp Series

March 11, starting at 6 p.m.

Bayou Terrebonne Distillers

Terrebonne

Orchid Society Show and Sale

March 24- 26

Southland Mall

The Haven Gala

March 25, starting at 6:30 p.m. The Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center

Bayou Terrebonne Boucherie

March 25, starting at 10 a.m. Bayou Terrebonne Distillers