What is DASH Diet?
The Dash diet is a healthy balanced diet which experts recommend for you to keep healthy. It is an approach used to control the high blood pressure levels. The full form of DASH diet being Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension — hypertension being high blood pressure, which puts one at a risk of heart disease and stroke.
As per experts, it not only helps manage blood pressure, but also helps in preventing and managing other disorders and diseases. The Dash diet bagged the first position in the ‘Best Diets Overall’ in this year’s assessment by the U.S. News and World Report. It’s been on the top of this list since last 8 years.
The DASH diet emphasizes more on vegetables, fruits, whole grains, low fat milk and milk products and lean proteins while limits the sodium, saturated fat and refined carbohydrates and sugar intake– the high intake of which can cause one to be overweight or obese, raised bad cholesterol levels and give rise to diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, heart diseases etc.
Also, studies suggest DASH works best in combination with physical activity for weight loss.
There are two types: — Standard DASH Diet and Lower Sodium DASH Diet
#based on these recommendations, the following table shows examples of daily and weekly servings that meet DASH eating plan targets for a 2,000-calorie-a-day diet.
Daily and Weekly DASH Eating Plan Goals for a 2,000-Calorie-a-Day Diet
*Sodium restriction is either 2300 mg or 1500 mg per day. 1,500 milligrams (mg) sodium lowers blood pressure even further than 2,300 mg sodium daily.
When following the DASH diet plan, it is important to choose foods that are:
- Low in saturated and trans fats
- Rich in potassium, calcium, magnesium, fiber, and protein
- Lower in sodium
Some amount of saturated fats are essential for our body but in excess are harmful for our health. While trans-fat should be completely avoided being unhealthy. To know more about the healthy and unhealthy fats and the foods rich in saturated fats and Trans fat you can refer our article ‘The Fatty Facts’ — https://medium.com/healthdekho-healthcare/the-fatty-facts-a25b83179d00 .
Food sources of potassium are coconut water, sweet lime, fish, potato, sweet potato, beans and lentils, banana, skimmed milk etc.
Whole grains, vegetables and fruits, some seeds are good sources of fiber. To know various ways to include veggies in your daily diet, refer our article ‘Interesting Ways to eat your Veggies’ https://medium.com/healthdekho-healthcare/interesting-ways-to-eat-your-veggies-a07b1ef05d0a.
Calcium sources being low fat/fat free dairy products, nuts and sesame seeds, some green leafy veggies.
Good quality protein sources being egg whites/eggs/soy/fat free dairy products/beans and sprouts/ lean chicken and fish etc.
# DASH Tips for Gradual Change
Make these changes over a couple of days or weeks to give yourself a chance to adjust and make them part of your daily routine:
· Add a serving of vegetables at lunch one day and dinner the next, and add fruit at one meal or as a snack.
· Increase your use of fat-free and low-fat milk products to three servings a day.
· Limit lean meats to 6 ounces a day — 3 ounces a meal, which is about the size of a deck of cards.
· If you usually eat large portions of meats, cut them back over a couple of days — by half or a third at each meal.
· Include two or more vegetarian-style or meatless meals each week.
Along with this diet and exercise, quitting smoking, reducing alcohol intake, managing stress, sleeping enough and staying hydrated will help improve health and desired results as far as weight loss and lowering blood pressure is concerned.
References:
#Source: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; National Institutes of Health; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health-topics/dash-eating-plan
https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/files/docs/public/heart/dash_brief.pdf
http://dashdiet.org/what_is_the_dash_diet.asp
https://www.healthline.com/health-news/keto-ranked-low-dash-ranked-high-on-new-diet-list#5
