Heart Health for the Holidays: GNC Offers Seven Tips to Help Reduce the Risk of Heart Disease

To help reduce the risk of heart disease this holiday season, General Nutrition Centers, Inc. (GNC), the nation’s largest specialty retailer of nutritional supplements, offers a few tips. Heart Health for the Holidays GNC Offers Seven Tips to Help Reduce the Risk of Heart Disease

PITTSBURGH, PA (Tuesday, December 21, 2004) - According to a recent study, more Americans die from heart attacks and other natural causes on Christmas, the day after and on New Year’s Day than on any other days of the year. Perhaps it’s the stress of the holidays or a tendency to overeat unhealthy foods, but researchers have found a 4.65 percent increase in heart-related deaths over the 14 days spanning the December holidays.

To help reduce the risk of heart disease this holiday season, General Nutrition Centers, Inc. (GNC), the nation’s largest specialty retailer of nutritional supplements, offers a few tips:



• Manage your stress. Often times managing levels of stress is easier said than done around the holidays. It is a good idea though to try to set aside some time for yourself every day to relax, regroup or to just lose yourself in thought to help manage stress levels.
• Eat healthy. Pay special attention to what you are eating and the size of your portions this holiday season. A healthy diet should include a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, fish, lean meats and legumes.
• Exercise. You can incorporate exercise even at a basic level to improve your health. Take a break from all of the hustle and bustle and go for a walk. Studies show that, when done briskly on a regular schedule, aerobic activities such as walking can improve the body's ability to consume oxygen during exertion, lower the resting heart rate, reduce blood pressure and increase the efficiency of the heart and lungs. Aerobic activities can also help maintain a healthy weight by burning excess calories. This is particularly important as overweightness and obesity are both risk factors for heart disease.
• Control your blood pressure. Cut back on sodium and salty foods and watch your alcohol intake as heavy use – as is common around the holidays – can also increase your blood pressure.
• Control your cholesterol. Too much LDL or “bad” cholesterol can lead to harmful fatty buildup in your arteries. As part of a low-fat diet, soluble fiber can help lower your total blood cholesterol level. Foods high in soluble fiber include oat bran, oatmeal, beans, peas, rice bran, barley, psyllium seed husk, citrus fruits, strawberries and apple pulp.
• Quit smoking. Although the busy shopping malls and crazy family get-togethers may tempt you to “light-up,” remember that smoking increases your risk for a number of health problems and it tops the list of risk factors for heart disease.
• Take your vitamins. Research shows that many Americans are falling short of the recommended daily intake levels for a variety of vitamins and minerals. Over time this shortfall can lead to significant nutrient deficiencies that can impact your health, so don’t forget to take a multivitamin daily.
GNC offers a specialized product, Preventive Nutrition® Heart Advance™, which helps maintain healthy cholesterol levels, supports healthy heart and blood vessel function and healthy homocysteine levels. To support holiday heart health, GNC is offering a 50 percent discount on its Preventive Nutrition® Heart Advance™ product with the purchase of Mega Men®, Women’s Ultra Mega®, Ultra Mega® Gold or Ultra Mega® Green multivitamin.

For more information or to locate the nearest GNC store, visit www.gnc.com.

GNC is the largest global specialty retailer of nutritional supplements, which includes vitamin, mineral and herbal supplements, sports nutrition products, diet and energy products and specialty supplements. GNC has more than 4,900 retail locations throughout the United States, including more than 1,300 domestic franchise locations, more than 1,000 store-within-a-store locations under its strategic alliance with Rite Aid and more than 800 locations in more than 35 foreign markets including Canada and Mexico.

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