The Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025 looks at many health issues and makes recommendations for lifestyle factors, mostly diet, to help improve the overall health and reduce the risk of chronic disease among Americans over the age of 2.

With American Heart Month in full swing, this article focuses specifically on blood cholesterol values related to risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) – also referred to as heart disease.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S, and about 18.2 million adults have coronary artery disease, the most common form of heart disease.

Hypertension, high LDL cholesterol, and high total cholesterol are major risk factors for heart disease.

I know that not everyone sets resolutions, but many people do set goals of what they want to do this year. So, with just over 6-weeks into the year, dry January behind us, Girl Scout cookie season in full swing, Superbowl Sunday, and Valentine’s Day behind us, maybe now is a time to review those goals again. By now, we may set many of those goals aside because of lack of motivation or no/poor results. Are you one of those people? I hope not.

This year for American Heart Month the big focus is on blood pressure. High blood pressure has several risk factors and several lifestyle factors that directly affect it. Even with family history and age factored into our risk, we can still do many other things to keep that risk lower.

In case you haven’t heard, February is American Heart Month. Heart Month happens every year. People think of heart attacks and the drama we see on television and how that presents itself (or not). In reality, heart disease encompasses several diseases, including high blood pressure and blockages of the blood vessels, increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke. Here is the thing: people tend to think of how to help their heart AFTER a cardiac episode. So what can they do to improve their health AFTER the issue is already there?

But we can do things each day to reduce the risk of getting some form of heart disease before a visit to the emergency department or the surgery or the medications.

Wrapping up this Nutrition Facts series, it covers all the information at your fingertips on most of your foods. This entry covers those percentages on the right side of the Nutrition Facts panel, how this may apply to you, and how you can use it even if those numbers aren't in line with your specific needs.

Continuing with part 3 of this series on the Nutrition Facts label addresses the required vitamins and minerals: vitamin D, sodium, iron, calcium, and potassium. Why are these nutrients the ones listed? What are the reference amounts are for them?

Continuing with part 2 of this series on the Nutrition Facts label covers the macronutrients: fat, carbohydrates, and protein. I also address the sub-categories of fat including saturated fat and trans-fat, cholesterol, and the sub-categories of carbohydrates including the newest addition to the Nutrition Facts - added sugars.

See why those numbers don’t always add up and why protein seems like an afterthought. It isn’t

As I showed in Part 1 of Deconstructing Food Labels, one of several required information on the food label is the Nutrition Facts panel.

This required piece of information in the iconic black and white Arial font was required since May 1994, with a minor update that trans-fat be listed on labels by January 1, 2006.

Over the next several years, recommended tweaks and refinements to that label brought forth a "new and improved" label that was required starting January 1, 2020, with some leeway of another year for smaller companies for compliance by January 1, 2021.

While the Nutrition Facts panel is an excellent source of information, people don't always know what to pay attention to or how it applies to them. Others find it confusing or misinterpret the information on there.

Concluding the topic of food labels today addresses GMO labels, what this means, and should you pay extra for foods with this label?

While one would think that the label non-GMO is factually correct, this is not true. And just because a food has this label doesn’t mean the same food from a different company IS GMO.

This is part 4 of the series, Deconstructing Food Labels.

Continuing with the series on food labels, today’s topic includes some of those fronts of the package claims that are true but possibly misleading. In addition, because these fronts of the package labels tend to follow trends, what may be upfront today may differ a year from now.

The top terms addressed in this post include:

• Natural

• Organic,

• Made with whole grains,

• Low carb,

• Reduced-fat, low-fat, fat-free

• No added sugar

With so much information on food labels, it is hard to sift through what it all means and if you even need to pay attention to these things.

There are many “front of the package” labels too. Some of these are regulated. Others are mostly there for the hype and marketing to imply that one food brand is what you should choose. There are things like “natural,” “gluten-free,” and “no GMOs.” These are not regulated terms for the most part.

In this article, there are three types of statements allowed on food labels that the Food & Drug Administration regulates. These are Nutrient Claims, Health, Claims, and Structure-Function Claims. Can you trust these? As with many items in nutrition, this is another “it depends” situation.

This is part 2 of a series.

There is a lot of information packed onto a food label. There are required items and other items that are voluntary. Some of the voluntary things seen on the front of the package could be there merely to help sell a product, such as when peanut butter claims it is gluten-free (it is, but then all peanut butter is).

There are regulations about what is required and the use of certain statements making specific claims.

Because this topic is so extensive, I am breaking it into several articles to cover the various aspects. This entry is part 1.

It seems that many Americans are in denial regarding their health. With over two-thirds of our country classified as overweight or with obesity and people looking to blame everything or everyone but themselves, I find it alarming when people are surprised, no SHOCKED when I tell them they are in the classification of overweight or obesity. But is there a better way to know if this is a concern? And learn it from the comfort of your own home?

Many people set goals for the new year to lose weight, eat healthier, or start the latest trending diet, including lists of foods to cut out or avoid. This year consider an approach different from a temporary diet or short-term program by doing something for more than a few weeks while also improving health and weight.

While there is nothing wrong with a diet for a couple of weeks or 30 days, dietary changes that will positively impact weight and overall health require eating better well past a month of restrictions.

It will hit many people in the next day or two: the result of ringing in the New Year with more than just the toast at midnight. One of the many traditions of the New Year is often drinking to excess. Not everyone starts the night anticipating the hangover; it just happens after you realize a bit too late that you have had too much to drink. You can take steps to prevent the hangover or the steps to cure it.

The question is often asked and researched: what time is best to exercise: morning, after lunch, after work? While there are some minor differences when is ideal for the time on the clock, realistically, there is no actual physical benefit to certain times of the day. Here is the answer: whatever time of day works best for you.

If your true love gives you a partridge in a pear tree, then kiss your true love. Your pear tree provides you with a fruit low in calories, high in fiber, and full of vitamin C. A medium pear is about 100 calories and has 6 grams of fiber, about one-fifth to one-quarter of your fiber needs in just ONE pear.

Eat like turtle doves! They eat fruit and seeds primarily.

If humans, specifically those of us in the United States, ate more fruits and seeds, as well as vegetables, whole grains, and nuts, we would be a whole lot healthier as a population.

Question: are the three French hens healthier because they are French or drink red wine? More than 30 years ago, the term “French Paradox” hit the United States, and red wine consumption soared. To this day, people often tell me that they drink red wine because the French are healthier, “don’t get fat,” or any number of “health” reasons. However, is red wine the fountain of health, or is there something else?

Did you also know that most black foods are good for you? We often promote color in nutrition, and as dietitians, we suggest a rainbow of colors for your fruits and vegetables: red, orange, yellow, green, purple, and even white. But what about black foods? Here are seven black foods you can easily incorporate into your diet now and into the new year.