It’s the height of flu season. Even with the vaccine, there are things you can do to protect yourself and others.

Nine out of 10 Americans eat more sodium than is recommended for a healthy diet. Too much sodium can lead to high blood pressure, which in turn can lead to heart disease and stroke.  Nearly 800,000 people die each year from these and other vascular diseases. Sodium intake has a huge impact on our health.

Eating low-sodium is a real challenge

You can’t just “eat fewer pretzels” because —

• Most of the sodium we eat comes from processed foods and restaurant food.
• High sodium comes in common foods you don’t expect.
• High sodium foods don’t always taste salty.
• Breads, sandwich meats, cheese and cheesy foods like pizza & pasta, and chicken are some surprising high-sodium sources.

What can you do?

• Take control of what you put in your body by preparing more foods yourself.
• Compare labels, because brands vary their levels by a lot. And even most raw chicken and pork from the grocery store have been injected with salt water.
• Limit processed foods high in sodium.
• Eat more fruits and veggies - without sauce.
• Tell your favorite restaurants and grocers that low sodium is important to you. Make sure that cafeterias and vending machines suppliers at school and work are aware as well.

Track your sodium intake

Most people need to limit their sodium intake to at least 2,300 mg a day. However, people who are older than 50, African Americans and people with high blood pressure, diabetes or kidney disease may need to limit their intake to 1,500 mg a day.

On average Americans intake 3,300 mg a day, which shows how far off target we are. In today’s busy world, it’s very easy to eat twice as much sodium as you should. Learn more about the effects of a high-sodium diet from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Keeping up with vaccines is not always easy, particularly if you live in a household with family members of different ages. Vaccination needs can also change quickly if there’s an outburst of a disease.

These days, however, figuring out who needs to get vaccinated, when and where is as easy as visiting Vaccines.gov, the federal government’s centralized portal for everything related to vaccines. The portal recently launched a Spanish-language version of the site.

“Vaccinations protect you but also protect family members and the community, and this website will help everybody get answers to some of the most basic questions about vaccines,” said Guillermo Avilés-Mendoza, a Public Health Advisor to the National Vaccine Program Office at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Useful Information about Vaccines

The site offers information about vaccines from a practical and useful perspective. You’ll find, for example, vaccination calendars, explanations on how vaccines work and resources on which vaccines you need to take before going abroad.

In addition, you can:

• Read about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines.
• Learn which diseases are preventable through vaccines.
• Become familiar with the many acronyms and abbreviations surrounding vaccinations.

“It’s a place where you can find practical and useful tools,” said Guillermo Avilés-Mendoza.

Who Needs to Get Vaccinated and When

It’s a myth that vaccinations are only for children, pregnant women and senior citizens. In fact, every year thousands of adults get vaccinated against flu. There are different factors that determine if you need to get vaccinated, including your age, lifestyle, medical conditions and the places you visit. You might also want to get vaccinated if there’s an outburst of a particular disease, like whooping cough.

Dozens of people died during an outbreak in 2010, most of them children under the age of one who couldn’t get vaccinated because they were too young. That’s why the federal government recommends that 11 or 12 year-olds get a booster of whooping cough vaccine, and that all adults get vaccinated against the whooping cough and get a booster every 10 years.

“The vaccine protects the person who took it, but also those who can’t get vaccinated, such as small children and people with weak immune systems,” said Avilés-Mendoza.

Find out who needs to get vaccinated and when.

Where to Get Vaccinated

Vaccinations are available in many places, from your doctor’s office and hospitals to pharmacies, churches and even schools and colleges. And many insurance companies cover the cost of vaccines. But what if you don’t have insurance?

You can always get vaccinated at the many community clinics funded by the federal government across the country. These clinics offer low cost vaccinations, so you pay what you are able to afford. Vaccinations.gov has a community clinic locator. Just type in your ZIP code.

“These clinics are great because they also offer other types of services such as prenatal care, dental and mental health services,” said Avilés-Mendoza.

Currently, over 100,000 people are waiting for an organ donation, and each day, 18 people die waiting for an organ.

February 14th is recognized across the country as National Donor Day. The nationwide event focuses on five types of donation:

• organs
• tissues
• marrow
• platelets
• blood

Many nonprofit organizations hold blood and marrow drives as well as organ and tissue sign ups to encourage those who are able to donate to do so as often as possible.

One organ can save up to 8 lives.

Supported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as well as many nonprofit organizations, National Donor Day was started in 1998 by the Saturn Corporation and its United Auto Workers.

Learn more about organ and blood donation and how you can help.

February is known to be about hearts, but not just the kind Cupid aims for. It’s National Heart Month, and a great time to learn about taking the best care of your body’s most important muscle. Here are some important facts you might not know and tips you can use to keep your heart healthy:

• Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. Over time it can cause a heart attack, and many people are unaware of the warning signs—which can be rather mild. Chest pain or discomfort, pressure or squeezing, along with shortness of breath, and nausea, are all symptoms of heart attack. Although not everyone who has a heart attack experiences the same symptoms, it’s important to take notice and know what to look for in order to get proper help quickly.
• Risk factors such as age and heredity cannot be changed, so be sure to see your doctor regularly and make sure they know your family’s history of heart problems.
• Heart issues are often associated with men, when in fact 1 in 4 women have heart disease. Being overweight, a smoker, or inactive all contribute to heart disease. Luckily, you can prevent these risks by making good food choices, quitting smoking, and getting more exercise. While this can sound daunting, making small daily changes can go a long way: avoid adding salt to your food, gradually cut back on cigarettes, and make an effort to take a walk each day.
• Diets that are high in fat can lead to elevated levels of cholesterol in your blood, which can cause heart complications by creating blockages in your arteries. There are medications to help with high cholesterol including statins, bile acid sequestrants, fibrates, and niacin. Each has potential side effects, so talk to your doctor to devise a plan for what will work best for you.

For more information on heart disease and other health matters wherever you are, check out the MedlinePlus mobile site.