Friday night my son Gabe played in a non-district , media frenzied , very hyped, football game. Two small Iowa schools, one ranked 3rd in the state and our school ranked 5Th in many polls. There were several radio stations and TV stations there for the show down. There was alot of pre-game "trash talking" going on in forums like Iowa Preps and others.
Well we ended up on the winning side of this game AHST 42-Madrid 41. Both teams played a great game. No regrets from either side.

So what does this have to do with "Heart Health". Well what if all the attention that is given to sports and competition was given to our heart health. Newspapers, radio stations and TV stations would be reporting daily on the importance of "Heart Health". It might sound something like this: "Today you have a choice to "love your heart" by exercising, eating "heart healthy", and lowering your stress level." If you're on the losing side you might experience hypertension, heart attack, or stroke. If you're on the winning side you will experience a longer life, better quality of life, and a more active life style with the reward of being around for your family and friends.

If the media would give as much attention to staying healthy I feel we would be so inundated with a positive message about good health that it would negate all the commercials from fast food restaurants and unhealthy messages from other areas.

I know that athletes have to work hard and be healthy to compete. That's the story that many times goes untold. Maybe if we saw more stories about athletes on how they stay healthy more of us would be on the winning side too.

Blessings,
Laurie

PS - Today on the NFL they are spreading the message of "Breast Health". They're advocating that women over 40 get a mammogram. Football players are wearing pink cleats, gloves, or have the pink ribbon on their uniforms. Kudos to all the communities who support the "pink out" for breast cancer awareness in their local sports programs. I wonder what we can do for "Heart Health" to draw attention to the #1 killer of women and men in the US. Remember a woman dies in the US every minute from heart disease.