Eat grapefruit, stock up on canned foods and upgrade your Super Bowl party: 11 tips for a happy and healthy month
It’s February, and we don’t need a groundhog (or, erm, a “weather reveal” cake) to tell us that the days are going to be cold and short for a while yet. It’s probably why many people say February is the worst or at least the dreariest month (more about that below). But hey! It’s also the shortest, and there are still plenty of good — and good-for-you — things to look forward to. Whether your idea of fun means gathering the gang for a Super Bowl celebration, showering your sweetheart (or yourself) with loving affirmations or making the most of a rare three-day weekend, these tips will help you find the best ways to spend the next 28 days. (And if you’re curious as to what the stars have in store, you can find your monthly horoscope here.)
🟠 Get your grapefruit on. Let National Grapefruit Month commence! Citrus season is here to brighten up the dreary winter months, and grapefruits in particular have a lot going for them. As Johns Hopkins Medicine notes, the fruit is rich in vitamins A and C, and its fiber content helps support heart health, a healthy gut, lower cholesterol and weight management. Eating the fruit itself is a better option than drinking grapefruit juice, so consider adding grapefruit segments to a salad or even, as one dietitian tells Today, a half-cup of vanilla ice cream for a sweet treat. A word of caution: Grapefruit can interfere with some medications (such as anticoagulants or anti-anxiety meds), so check with your doctor to confirm it’s safe to consume.
🥫 Don’t dismiss canned food. Canned food gets a lot of flak, but that’s not fair. In fact, canned goods still retain most of their nutrients. Plus, they’re shelf-stable, affordable and are especially handy when you’re preparing for winter storms and the power outages they often cause. With February being Canned Food Month, consider this a nudge to add some to your stockpile, whether it’s hearty soups (look for low-sodium varieties) or ready-to-eat beans to add to your favorite salads or burrito bowls.
🏈 Make a Super Bowl game plan. Americans eat about a billion and a half chicken wings on Super Bowl Sunday, which means nobody is going to be judging you if you go a little too hard at your pal’s party on Feb. 9. But if you’re trying to stick to your health goals — or just don’t want to be dealing with heartburn, a hangover or blurry memories of challenging your brother-in-law to a beer-chugging contest when you walk into work on Monday morning — plan ahead. Maybe that means bringing a fruit and veggie tray or whipping up a healthier version of your famous buffalo chicken dip, setting a firm drink limit or peeling yourself away from the couch to get some steps in during the game. Make it a fun challenge: Do a jumping jack every time there’s a celebrity cameo in a Super Bowl ad, or turn Kendrick Lamar’s Halftime Show into a dance-off.
❤️ Take care of your heart health. American Heart Month means it’s time to check in on your ticker, and how your lifestyle can keep it going strong. A few tips to get you started:
Eat a heart-healthy diet — like the DASH diet, which involves low sodium (try using herbs to season food rather than salt) and more fruits, vegetables, whole grains and healthier protein sources, like nuts, poultry and fish
Get more exercise (including incidental exercise like taking the stairs or lugging in heavy groceries, which may help cut your chance of a heart attack)
Check your blood pressure. A lot of people — including many young adults — don’t even realize they have high blood pressure or hypertension. A blood pressure check is a routine part of medical appointments, but if you don’t have a doctor’s or dentist’s appointment coming up, you can visit your local pharmacy to get yours monitored.
Move around; sitting for too long is associated with poor cardiovascular health, so make it a point to get up and stretch, pace around or take a little dance break in between Zoom meetings
Drink coffee. Having coffee — one to three cups a day, to be more precise — is linked to a lower risk of cardiovascular disease. Just don’t overdo it; drinking more than 400 mg a day can have a negative effect.
Wear red. This won’t directly impact your heart, but taking part in National Wear Red Day (Feb. 7) helps raise awareness about cardiovascular disease being the No. 1 killer of women.
🙁 Fight the February funk. Many people consider February to be the worst month, mostly because it’s cold, dreary and because its biggest holiday (Valentine’s Day) so often makes folks feel bad about themselves. So let’s think of ways to beat those blahs, shall we? Look for activities that make you feel good (using the sauna at your gym on a cold day? Slipping on your comfiest fleece jammies after work?) and events to look forward to (the new Paddington movie hitting theaters, a concert or play in your area, even a reservation at that place you’ve been meaning to try). Sprinkling in some fun can make this month easier to get through.
❄️ Winter-proof your skincare. Bothered by dry, irritated skin? Blame winter weather and a lack of humidity in the air. If you haven’t already, it’s time to rethink your winter skincare routines, starting with: layering on sunscreen (yes, even when the skies are gray) and opting for thicker creams to keep your skin moisturized if your lightweight lotions and potions aren’t cutting it. Look here for more dermatologist-approved tips — including how adding a humidifier to your home might save your skin.
😊 Practice a random act of kindness: Mark your calendar for Feb. 17: That’s National Random Acts of Kindness Day, an opportunity to do a stranger a solid. (Bonus: Helping others is good for your health, too.) Need ideas? Pick up the tab for the car behind you in the drive-through line, send your kid to class with a treat for the teacher, shovel your neighbor’s sidewalk or bring bagels to share with your co-workers.
🩺 Cut your cancer risk. This National Cancer Prevention Month, it’s important to know that 40% of all cancers are considered preventable and that there are three leading risk factors for them: cigarette smoking, excess body weight and alcohol consumption (the latter of which recently prompted former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy to call for alcohol warning labels to include cancer risks). If you fit into those categories, consider doing what you can to change those and other modifiable risk factors: exposure to UV radiation, poor diet, infections (such as HPV, which causes cervical cancer) and physical inactivity.
To do this month:
Eat: Brussels sprouts. Along with citrus fruit and root vegetables, cruciferous veggies, including Brussels sprouts, are prime produce this month. Whether they’re crusted in parmesan or roasted with a tangy honey-chili glaze, today’s sprouts have come a long way from the boring boiled versions your mom might have served up. They’re healthy to boot, containing plenty of vitamin K, vitamin C, folate, fiber and even some protein.
Get: a history lesson. It’s Black History Month, so take the time to learn more about and honor trailblazers past (like Dr. Charles Drew, who revolutionized blood transfusions and blood banks) and present (like Heman Bekele, the Virginia teen whose determination to develop a soap that could help fight cancer earned him the title of Time’s 2024 Kid of the Year).
Take: yourself on a date. Valentine’s Day can be a loaded “holiday” even if you’re happily coupled up. But surely we can all agree that showing yourself — if not another person — some love is a good thing? Think of a kind thing you can do for yourself: ordering your favorite meal, treating yourself to a movie, spending your lunch break curled up with a good book (aka not answering emails) or even going on a little getaway for the three-day Presidents’ Day weekend.
