The DASH Eating Plan
If you have high blood pressure, one of the lifestyle
modifications your doctor may have asked you to adopt is the
DASH eating plan. Developed by scientists sponsored by the
National Heart, Blood, and Lung Institute, DASH is a diet rich
in fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy products, and low in
total and saturated fats. There’s no mysterious trick in this
eating plan and no unusual foods or pills. Nevertheless, it’s
been proven to lower blood pressure in just two weeks.
Duke endocrinologist Laura P.
Svetkey, MD, co-authored the first major study proving the
effectiveness of the DASH eating plan. She answers a few
questions for us about this pressure-dropping diet:
Q. We’ve long heard that reducing salt intake can lower
blood pressure. Is the DASH eating plan just a low-salt
diet?
Not at all. The DASH studies sought to determine whether
combining other micro- and macronutrients, without reducing
sodium (salt) intake, could lower blood pressure. In fact, we
found that a dietary pattern rich in potassium, calcium,
magnesium, and fiber, at typical American levels of salt
intake, lowers blood pressure as much as a single prescription
blood pressure medication. In a second study, we showed that
combining DASH with reduced salt intake lowers blood pressure
even more.
Q. Which is better -- lowering my salt intake or following
the DASH diet?
DASH had a bigger effect on blood pressure than reducing salt.
And eating the healthy, well-balanced DASH dietary pattern may
be easier -- lowering salt intake can be harder than it sounds.
About 85 percent of the sodium consumed in a typical American
diet is already in the food and not added at the table or in
cooking. Instead of focusing on restricting what we eat, DASH
focuses on increasing the amount we eat of foods that are good
for blood pressure (fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy).
Q. Will the DASH plan help me lose weight?
It wasn’t designed for weight loss, but studies show that DASH
can help people lose weight in a healthy way. It’s a good
thing, too, because weight loss has a tremendous beneficial
impact on high blood pressure -- not to mention lowering the
risk of developing diabetes and improving cholesterol levels.
In people who are overweight or obese, even modest amounts of
weight loss -- say, 10 to 15 pounds -- can help control high
blood pressure and substantially reduce the risk of developing
high blood pressure in the future.
There’s a
free, downloadable booklet (PDF) from the National Heart,
Blood, and Lung Institute that details the DASH diet. It
includes guidelines, tips, recipes, and menus.
