According to the American Heart Association, ninety percent of women have one or more risk factors for developing heart disease. That’s why The Quaker Oats Company, is encouraging women to take just five minutes a day to do something good for their hearts during American Heart Month through the “Nourish What Counts” campaign.

To support heart disease awareness and elevate the importance of preventative lifestyle changes for women, “Nourish What Counts” provides simple, proactive steps to help women eat healthy, become more active, take the quick American Heart Association “My Life Check” risk assessment and join the Go Red For Women movement.

Recent figures from the American Heart Association estimate that eight million women in the U.S. are living with heart disease, yet only one in six American women believes that heart disease is her greatest health threat, representing a significant disconnect between women’s beliefs about their heart health status – and reality.

“With the growing incidence of heart disease, it’s important now more than ever to help women make simple lifestyle changes,” said Andrew Sutherland, Senior Director of Marketing, Quaker Foods & Snacks North America. “For more than a century, Quaker has been committed to nourishing America’s families with heart-healthy whole grain oats, and we’re proud to help raise awareness with the American Heart Association’s Go Red For Women movement.”

Throughout February, American Heart Month, QuakerOats.com will feature multiple ways people can start making changes in just five minutes. Nutrition tips, heart healthy recipes and exclusive fitness routines from Quaker Coach Bob Harper are also available. A sneak peek of tips includes:

• Eat heart healthy meals: You don’t have to go on an extreme diet to be more heart-healthy. Replace some of the refined grains you eat with whole grains. Start making the change at breakfast by eating 100% whole grain Quaker Oatmeal.Three grams of soluble fiber daily from oatmeal, in a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may help reduce the risk of heart disease. Old Fashioned Quaker Oatmeal provides 2 grams per serving.

  Each serving of super grain Quaker Oatmeal helps provide energy plus fiber to fill you up and at least one serving of whole grains – a great first step towards meeting the recommended minimum of three daily servings of whole grains for overall good health.

• Increase your workout time: Take five minutes to post your favorite workout to Facebook or Twitter, and ask your social network to share their top picks in return. You’d be surprised what great workouts you can learn from your friends!

Experts cite lifestyle habits, like poor diet, lack of exercise and smoking as significant contributors to poor heart health among Americans. “While genetics play a role in everyone’s individual heart health, there are many simple things you can do to change your routine to benefit your heart,” said William H. Roach Jr., Chairman of the Board of the American Heart Association.

“Over time, these changes could have a powerful effect on your life and your family. Partners like Quaker are so important because they help to extend our efforts to raise awareness and educate Americans about the importance of a heart-healthy lifestyle.”

Image Courtesy of   https://www.facebook.com/GoRed

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2012 looks set to be the best year yet as the European Commission offers new thinking and support to quit smoking with their innovative campaign, “Ex-Smokers are Unstoppable.”

A New Year is a new start – and the European Commission is dedicated to helping smokers across the European Union to become unstoppable; finally stopping smoking and enjoying a better life. According to a recent survey, nearly 80 percent of people who make New Year’s resolutions will fail to stick to them, as many lose motivation and focus instead on the downside of not achieving their goals.

Uniquely, “Ex-smokers are Unstoppable” offers an inspiring and motivating approach to quitting smoking, inviting smokers to think again about the benefits of giving up cigarettes, which include better health, better social interaction, more money, and of course, a better quality of life.

In less than half a year, over 150,000 smokers in the European Union have registered with the European Commission’s innovative digital tool iCoach, launched in June 2011. This step-by-step personalized support tool has already helped thousands of smokers across the EU to quit and aims to support thousands more to achieve their New Year’s resolutions and become unstoppable ex-smokers in 2012.

iCoach offers:

- Personalized tips and advice to support smokers to kick the habit

- Regular emails to provide support at every step of the journey to a smoke-free life

- A forum to allow smokers to support each other and share their own inspiring stories

- Graphs showing the user’s progress towards their end goal: Becoming an unstoppable ex-smoker

“I am delighted that “Ex-Smokers are Unstoppable” has helped 150,000 smokers so far,” said Commissioner Dalli. “We look forward to supporting many more thousands of smokers to achieve their goal of a smoke-free life in 2012.

As we enter this new year, there is an opportunity to make 2012 the best year it can be as the “Ex-smokers are Unstoppable” campaign will be even bigger and better. I gave up smoking myself some years ago, and I really understand just how great it feels to be an ex-smoker.”

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