| Editor’s note: The second day of the NVFC’s National Firefighter Health Week on Tuesday focuses on nutrition, an essential part of firefighter health and wellbeing. |  |
By the NVFC
 Photo Jamie Thompson Joseph Bonanno Jr., an FDNY veteran and nutritionist, mans the NVFC booth at Fire-Rescue International to offer healthy cooking demonstrations. |
A healthy diet is an important component of your overall health. Proper nutrition will lessen your risk of high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes, as well as help you maintain your strength and energy so you can perform your duties as a first responder.
What you can do today:
- Show your department that healthy cooking can be easy and delicious by preparing a heart-healthy lunch or dinner for department personnel.
- Get a registered dietician, a nutrition student from a local college, or a local chef to donate time to help make your station heart-healthy. Ask them to host a session with department members on which foods in the station’s kitchen are not nutritious and what a tasty, healthier substitute might be.
- Buy or borrow a book on calorie counts, or use the internet to research the nutrition content of your favorite chain restaurants’ menus. Learn which items you can still enjoy while not ruining your diet.
- Conduct a demonstration for your department on portion size control. You can bring in common items (bagels, fast food items, sodas) and show the difference between how much someone normally eats and what the actual serving size is.
- Log in to a meal-tracking site, such as the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute’s Menu Planner or SparkPeople.com. These sites allow you to enter what you eat and see what your total calories and fat are for the day.
- Try to add more fruits and vegetables to your diet. You can exchange high-calorie snacks for fresh fruit or vegetables with a low-fat dip. Mix in fruit with your cereal, oatmeal or yogurt in the morning and add extra veggies to sandwiches, pizza, and as your side item at a restaurant.
| Related Resources | ||
 Firefighter Combat Challenge Record Breaker Outlines Nutrition TipsWith Juliet Draper | ||
 Nutrition Resources and TipsOn NVFC.org | ||
Nutrition tips:
- Start your day with a healthy breakfast.
- Use healthier ingredients and recipes for your meals.
- Eat foods and products that use whole grains instead of refined grains.
- Eat a variety of vegetables to get key vitamins and minerals
- Choose fresh, whole fruits instead of candy and chips.
- Add beans to your meals, as they help lower cholesterol.
- Consume foods and beverages containing Vitamin C.
- Heart-Healthy Firefighter Cookbook
Looking for healthy recipes that are both easy and delicious? The National Volunteer Fire Council’s Heart-Healthy Firefighter Cookbook features over 60 recipes that proves eating healthy has never tasted better. With recipes to satisfy every taste, this Cookbook can be used at the station and at home. Many of the recipes were submitted by health-conscious firefighters. While the Cookbook is complimentary, shipping and handling charges apply. Click here to order the Heart-Healthy Firefighter Cookbook.