Del Monte says "Be Smart, Care for your Heart!"

"One out of every three Filipinos aged 20 and up already has borderline high to high total cholesterol levels."

That's the alarming news that was told us by the National Nutrition Survey of the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (NNHeS-FNRI) during the press conference that they held a few days back. And with that, Del Monte came to the rescue and reminded everyone to Be Smart, Care for your Heart!

In partnership with FNRI, Be Smart, Care for your Heart campaign of Del Monte was launched to help and guide each and every Filipino to good nutrition and right eating habits. But before they get into details of what's good for us, they also introduced on the said gathering the deadly health condition that most yuppies are suffering now, the Hypercholesterolemia.

Dr. Mario V. Capanza

FNRI Director

Dr. Trinidad P. Trinidad

Scientist II, DOST

Hypercholesterolemia is a condition when the level of total cholesterol in the blood becomes abnormally high at 240 md/dL or higher. It is a product of many factors including a sedentary lifestyle and healthy diet plus a stressful environment. People who are typically exposed to such risks and diseases appear to be getting younger such as professional who work in call centers and those who do desk-bound jobs.

Miss Clars Guerreto

Del Monte Philippines

Miss Charmaine A. Duante

Senior SRS, NAMD-FNRI

But they don't wanna scare us all, of course, they also indicated that it is normal to have cholesterol. It is a substance found among the fats (lipids) in the bloodstream and in all cells of the body. It is used for tissue formation, metabolism and hormone production. It is essential for the normal function of the body, which is also a natural producer of cholesterol.

But as they always say, anything that is less or over is bad. Hence, the shared to us these healthy tips to limit the intake of cholesterol and saturated fats while eating animal products.

1. Eat fish more often that meat and poultry.
2. Limit the intake of egg yolk to two to three times a week.
3. Remove skin of poultry. Trim fat from meat and poultry.
4. Occasionally replace animal foods with dried beans, peas and legumes.
5. Increase intake of fruits and vegetables to five servings a day.
6. Roast meat on a rack to allow meat fat to drip out during cooking.
7. Read labels to select foods lower in cholesterol and saturated fat.

And with these, Del Monte, a trusted brand known for quality and nutritious food and beverage products, brings this program that will inspire and convince everyone to live healthy.

With the help of fruits that are rich in vitamins A, C and fiber, beating high cholesterol could be fun and easy. Vitamin A is needed for normal vision, promotes growth and boosts immune resistance, while Vitamin C increases the body's resistance to infection, helps keep gums and teeth healthy and acts as antioxidant among other. And as for Fiber, it aids normal bowel movement, helps in management of diabetes, lowers cholesterol and may help prevent certain cancers.

FNRI also said that rootcrops and corn can also aid us to decrease the total cholesterol levels of adults. In a study that they did, eating kamote and cassava showed a good sign to help older people to decrease the cholesterol level in their body and also the LDL-cholesterol levels.

While the folate in corn served as a friend to the heart because it lowers the level of homocysteine, an amino acid responsible for damaging the blood vessels and increasing the blood clotting, which may lead to heart attack.

During the presscon, they also informed us that there'll be a series of programs/seminars that they'll hold in order to manifest the issue among the people concern. There will also be some free health checkups in order to determine the balance diet perfect for every individual. So watch out for it!

But for now, since I'm somehow one of the targets of this campaign, the best way I think for us to have a healthy happy life is to follow simple rules - eat healthy, rest well and be happy! I think's that the best way to be smart and have a healthy heart!