Heart Healthy in Seattle

Once a year, during one of my weekly food forays in suburban Seattle, a helpful little pamphlet is placed in my grocery bag. This is the Seattle-based Swedish Heart Institute’s free guide to healthy eating, which is packed with facts, recipes, menus and plenty of good advice. The Swedish Heart Diet has become a way of life for many—for those who have had heart surgery, or for people who simply need to drop a few pounds and want to eat a healthier diet. Since heart disease is a leading cause of death in the United States, this kind of community outreach is valuable and necessary, even in America’s fittest city, where, despite this accolade, more than half of Seattle residents are at risk for health problems because of their weight.