Dash Diet Tips, Food List, and Health Benefits

High blood pressure is becoming a serious health concern worldwide. Some of the main risk factors for elevated blood pressure are diet, exercise, family history, age, alcohol consumption, and caffeine. This health issue is linked to various conditions, including kidney failure, heart disease, and stroke. Diet plays a remarkable role in the development of high blood pressure. Therefore, scientists have engineered dietary strategies that can help combat hypertension. Based on science, the DASH diet can help in reducing the risk of high blood pressure and heart disease.

WHAT’S DASH DIET?

DASH is the short form for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. It’s a diet that’s recommended for individuals struggling with high blood pressure. In addition, consuming this diet can lower your chances of developing hypertension. The DASH diet focuses on vegetables, fruits, lean meat, and whole grains. Policymakers and scientists recommended this diet because vegetarians and vegans were less prone to high blood pressure. Fruits and vegetables are key in this diet. Although, you can add lean meat. In addition, the diet is low in salt, fat, red meat, and sugars.

DASH DIET FOOD LIST

– Fruits, such as bananas, apples, oranges, dates, berries, apricots, Citrus, pineapples, and mangoes.

– Vegetables, including spinach, broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, asparagus, cucumber, potatoes, carrots, etc.

– Low sodium, low-fat poultry, and lean meat

– Eggs

– Low-fat dairy products, such as yogurt, cheese, sour cream, buttermilk, and milk

– Fish, such as trout, salmon, and halibut

– Grains, such as pitas, cereals, pasta, rice, kidney beans, bread, tortillas, and crackers.

– Seeds and Nuts, such as sunflower seeds, chickpeas, lentils, walnuts, and almonds

– Seasonings, condiments, and spreads. Include spices, herbs, olive oil, salsas, and flavored vinegar.

DASH DIET TIPS

1. Limit Lean Meat

You should treat lean meat as a whole meal. Therefore, limit it to at least six ounces per day. To balance your plate, increase servings of vegetables, whole wheat pasta, brown rice, and cooked dry beans.

2. Change your Eating Habits

Introducing yourself to the DASH diet can be a bit challenging because you’ll have to change your eating habits. Here you need to increase your vegetable and fruit intake. It can be hard at first; therefore, add at least 1 – 2 servings of fruits and vegetables a day.

3. Eat More Vegetables and Fruits

As previously mentioned, the DASH diet emphasizes fruits and vegetables. Based on science, fruits and vegetables are great sources of potassium, which reduces hypertension. It counters the effect of table salt, which contain sodium. Studies show that sodium plays a vital role in raising your blood pressure.

4. Enjoy Eating Desserts and Snacks

You can enjoy eating foods that are low in cholesterol, calories, sodium, sugar, and fat. Whether fresh, dried, or canned, fruits are healthy substitutes for chocolate cake and candy bars. Some of the healthy snacks that you can consider are nuts, frozen yogurt, raisins, unsalted rice cakes, raw vegetables, and popcorn with no salt.

5. Read Food Labels

Food labels will help you choose products that are low in sodium. In addition, if you have trouble digesting various dairy products, try lactase enzyme pills with milk products. Some people choose to buy lactose-free milk because it comprises lactase enzymes. Also, if you have a nut allergy, use legumes, nuts, and seeds.

HEALTH BENEFITS OF THE DASH DIET

a. May Aid in Weight Loss

Based on science, you’ll experience lower blood pressure even if you aren’t losing weight. However, most scientists recommend patients with high blood pressure try and maintain a healthy weight. Obese and overweight individuals are more prone to diabetes and hypertension. Consuming more fruits and vegetables will help you manage blood pressure and aid weight loss. DASH diet reduces the intake of sugary and high-fat foods that can cause weight gain.

b. Lowers Blood Pressure

Blood pressure can be measured in either diastolic or systolic. Systolic is the pressure of blood in your blood vessels when your heart beats. On the contrary, diastolic is the pressure in the blood vessels that are recorded between heartbeats. A healthy human being should have a diastolic pressure of 80 mmHg and a systolic pressure of 120 mmHg. The pressure can be recorded as 120/80. Interestingly, the DASH diet can help in managing blood pressure. Restricting sodium intake can increase the efficiency of the DASH diet in controlling hypertension.

c. Boost Heart Health

Most people with high blood pressure are more prone to cardiovascular problems. Some of the common heart problems are cardiac arrest, coronary artery disease, heart valve disease, heart failure, arrhythmia,

etc. The DASH diet can help in reducing hypertension, which is a risk factor for heart issues. Based on studies, the DASH diet can help in lowering triglycerides and cholesterol levels. In addition, it lowers inflammation, which can deteriorate your heart problems, especially in the long term. The plant-based food, including grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and legumes, are perfect for a healthy heart. You should reduce your intake of other products, such as eggs, fish, poultry, and lean meat.

d. Reduce the Risk of Type 2 Diabetes

It’s scientifically proven that the DASH diet can help in minimizing the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Researchers suggest it’s because of the high consumption of olive oil, whole grains, yogurt, and low-fat dairy products. Untreated type 2 diabetes is linked to other health issues, such as stroke and cardiovascular problems. Flavonoid antioxidants can help in combating diabetes. In addition, the DASH diet limits the intake of refined flour, processed meat, sugary foods, and other refined foods that can increase the odds of developing type 2 diabetes.

e. Lower the Risk of Cancer

The DASH diet can lower the risk of various cancers, including breast, hepatic, colorectal, lung, and endometrial cancer. In addition, the DASH diet can lower metabolic syndrome risk by up to 81%. High adherence to the DASH diet can decrease the mortality rate of all types of cancer.

CONCLUSION

The DASH diet can help you lower the risk of high blood pressure or treat hypertension. It consists of various foods, such as fruits, vegetables, lean meat, eggs, poultry, nuts, seeds, and other low-fat foods. Other benefits of the DASH diet include reducing the risk of cancer, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and heart disease. In addition, this diet can aid weight management.