You're busy preparing for your first warm-weather party. Reading the label of every product is time-consuming, so how can you buy only what's heart-healthy? Help from the American Heart Association makes it easier than ever before.

Although you can't take along a registered dietitian to the grocery store, you can take along recommendations from the American Health Association. The organization's red and white heart-check mark is now in hundreds of foods sold nationwide. Products bearing this mark have been evaluated to ensure they meet AHA nutritional criteria and can be part of a heart-healthy diet for healthy people over the age of 2.

To be eligible to carry the heart-check market, a single-serving of a food product must:

• be low in fat (less than or equal to 3 grams)

• have low saturated fat (less than or equal to 1 gram)

• have low cholesterol (less than or equal to 20 milligrams)

• have a sodium value of less than or equal to 480 milligrams

• contain at least 10 percent of one of these nutrients: protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, iron or dietary fiber.

• Meats must meet the USDA's criteria for extra lean.

The heart-check mark is a convenient tool for those who don't have time to read labels. You can rely on the American Heart Association's evaluation that the food bearing the heart-check mark is nutritionally sound.

For more information on diet and nutrition, visit american heart.org or call toll free 1-800-AHA-USA1 and ask for a free copy of the "Shop Smart with Heart" brochure.

For a complete list of certified products, visit the American Heart Association's webite and check off what you need before you leave home!

Source: NAPSI