DASH Diet to Lower Blood Pressure

The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) developed the DASH diet to provide guidelines for changing our diet to help reduce high blood pressure. It has been shown that following this diet will reduce blood pressure by clinically significant amounts.

The DASH diet is

• Low in sodium
• Incorporates heart-healthy foods including fruits, vegetables, nuts and whole grains
• Emphasis is on poultry and fish, rather than red meats
• High in calcium, magnesium and potassium - all of which have been shown to lower blood pressure, if insufficient amounts are being consumed
• Higher in fiber and lower in saturated fat than the average American diet

The DASH diet is substitution of some foods, and eating more fruits and vegetables

This basis of the DASH diet is substitution of some foods with healthier choices and incorporation of more fruits and vegetables. The best way is to incorporate the following changes slowly, and find what suits your tastes and budget. Try gradually doing the following changes.

• Increase the consumption of fruit and vegetables, by adding a serving at meals, or eating fruit as a snack
• Have a few nuts as a snack
• Replace a refined grain product with a whole grain product
• Reduce the amount of meat in meals, and try to eat one or two meatless meals per week
• Change a meal from red meat to chicken or fish
• Aim to increase consumption of fat-free or low fat dairy produce

The changes are not radical and are quite flexible. For anybody serious about wanting to lower their blood pressure with diet, the DASH diet should be relatively easy to do and follow (most of the time).

DASH diet resources

The DASH diet plan guide contains information about what exactly the DASH eating plan involves including information about studies using the plan, a weeks worth of menus and some recipes.

The plan is available as web pages, a PDF download and can be printed directly, all for free; or a hard copy can be purchased for $3.50. To view, download, print or order a copy of the diet go to www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/hbp/dash/.

If you decide to try the DASH diet and need more meal plans and help, try the book The DASH Diet Action Plan: Based on the National Institutes of Health Research: Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension by Marla Heller. This book has 4 weeks of meal plans, suggestions for what to eat when dining out and a whole range of suggestions for a healthy lifestyle. Another book is The DASH Diet for Hypertension by Thomas Moore, who is a hypertension researcher at Harvard Medical School. The book contains 2 weeks of meal plans and 61 recipes, and a lot of information about blood pressure.