Heart disease is the #1 killer of American women. Risk factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and being overweight all increase your personal risk of developing heart disease. A healthy diet can help lower or control these risk factors. So put your heart into healthy eating. Here are 5 ways to do that.

Being healthy is a big deal. Eating healthy foods and being active are good for you and your family. Here are a few tips.

1. Never use the microwave when it is empty.  At the very least, make sure there is a cup of water inside.  (This is good for when you are teaching them about using the microwave.)

Whether you plant them or pick them up at the grocery store or farmers’ market, adding fresh herbs is a quick way to transform ordinary meals into extraordinary meals.

Besides helping flavor foods when cutting back on salt, fat and sugar, herbs may offer additional benefits of their own. Researchers are finding many culinary herbs (both fresh and dried) have antioxidants that may help protect against such diseases as cancer and heart disease.

1. Always wash hands before (and after) food preparation.  Not only do you carry germs on your hands, but there can be harmful items that you are preparing.

2. Wash hands during food preparation, especially after handling items like raw meat and eggs.  As a general rule, let them know that it’s a great idea to wash their hands many times during food prep.

Things to Teach Children about Kitchen Safety

1. One great starter way for children to help in the kitchen is helping with the dishes.  This could be loading and unloading the dishwasher, or even washing or drying dishes.  (Young children may really enjoy the “water play” aspect of that.)

Family, work, and other duties make moving more and eating better a challenge for all of us. But improving our health is worth the effort, and having someone to get us started can help! We all need a role model in our community or family to be a HEALTH CHAMPION and show us that healthy habits can be part of our daily routine. Here are things you can do to be a health champion:

What does your healthy look like? Start a conversation about healthy eating.

Obesity is common, serious, and costly. It is also associated with an increased risk of at least 8 types of cancer. Do you know which ones?

Teething is a normal part of childhood that doesn't need a "cure" with prescription or over-the-counter (OTC) medications. FDA warns parents that prescription drugs such as viscous lidocaine are not safe for treating teething in infants or young children, and that they have hurt some children who used those products. There are safer, non-toxic alternatives.

Food companies and restaurants could soon face government pressure to make their foods less salty — a long-awaited federal effort to try to prevent thousands of deaths each year from heart disease and stroke.

The Food and Drug Administration is preparing voluntary guidelines asking the food industry to lower sodium levels, FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg told The Associated Press. Hamburg said in a recent interview that the sodium is "of huge interest and concern" to the agency.