The DASH Diet to control blood pressure and lose weight is a healthy proposal based on a balanced diet. Low in salt and saturated fat, this diet limits the consumption of certain foods and is rich in minerals, protein and fibre.
We all know that too much salt can contribute to high blood pressure or hypertension. Therefore, following the recommendations of the DASH Diet can help prevent high blood pressure or lower it in people who already suffer from this problem.
Although some foods contain natural salt, this may not be enough when processing or cooking the food. Therefore, salt is usually added, even knowing how harmful it can be to health since consuming less than 2,300 sodium in the daily diet is only recommended.
We share useful, and exciting share helpful and exciting information Diet is a new approach to healthy eating to prevent or slow the advance of hypertension. This problem affects millions of people worldwide.
Table of Contents
What is the DASH Diet
The DASH Diet, to control blood pressure and lose weight , is based on the consumption of certain healthy foods such as vegetables, fruits and dairy products with a low fat content, limiting the intake of red meat, sweets and sugary drinks.
Rich in potassium, magnesium, calcium, protein and fibre, the DASH Diet stands out as a health plan that provides the body with elements such as lycopene, beta carotene and isoflavones that help protect the body from different diseases such as osteoporosis, stroke and diabetes.
But one of the most critical aspects of the DASH Diet is that it is a balanced and healthy eating plan that helps reduce the risk of hypertension by lowering levels of low-density lipoprotein, also known as bad cholesterol or LDL.
How to do the DASH Diet
The most important principle of the DASH Diet is that it reduces high blood pressure because it reduces the amount of sodium in the diet thanks to a healthy and balanced eating plan to which at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical exercise must be added, so at least three times a week.
This is a healthy eating plan, such as the Mediterranean Diet, that can be followed by all people, particularly by those who want to prevent or control high blood pressure, in addition to helping to lose a few extra kilos. Most people who follow this diet benefit from reduced sodium intake.
Consuming up to 2,300 milligrams a day of sodium is typical for those without high blood pressure. Still, those suffering from this problem should reduce it to 1,500 mg a day, which is also recommended for those with diabetes, chronic kidney disease, or over 51 years old.
With the DASH Diet, eating from all the food groups is possible Still; it is advisable to consume more of those naturally low in salt and saturated fat and add those rich in potassium, calcium, magnesium and fibre.
This diet adds about 2,000 calories a day, and the menus comprise vegetables, fruits, low-fat dairy products, whole grains, lean meats, fish, poultry, legumes, nuts, and vegetable oils. Already sweets should be limited to less than five servings per week.
However, you need to know the allowable serving sizes for each food group:
- For vegetables, raw or cooked, the measure will be by cups, while for fruits, it can be done by pieces of 150 grams. Or half a cup that would give the same proportion.
- Cereals, dried fruits, legumes, rice and cooked pasta, sorbet, milk and yogurt are also measured in cups, while cheese will be measured in grams, as will meat, fish and poultry, while bread will be in slices.
- All fats and oils used in this diet should be measured by tablespoons, like margarine and salad dressings, sugar and jams, thus being easy to calculate the appropriate portions and amounts for each menu.
Some tips to reduce salt in the diet
Reducing salt in the diet is healthy for everyone, even when they do not have hypertension, so here are some tips to achieve it:
- Remove the salt shaker from the table.
- Season foods with herbs and spices instead of salt, and add lemon or vinegar in the case of salads.
- Avoid consuming canned food.
- Check food labels for sodium content.
- Choose foods that contain less than 5% of the daily value of sodium.
- I prefer versions of foods that are low in sodium.
- Reduce foods and condiments with salt (pickles, olives, cold cuts, tomato sauce, soy sauce, and mustard).
What to eat on the DASH Diet
The nutrition of the DASH Diet is balanced and balanced for good health. You do not have to buy special foods or pills or cook unique recipes to follow the DASH diet. If you follow the DASH diet, you will consume about 2,000 calories a day. These calories will come from a variety of foods.
The DASH Diet was developed for the first time to reduce blood pressure in patients who suffered from this problem, but later a calorie reduction was also made on the same plan, which is why today it is also a recommended method to lose weight.
Based on the nutritional pyramid, this diet suggests a higher consumption of fruits. It separates the vegetable proteins from the animals, also proposing the consumption of legumes, nuts and seeds, limiting the consumption of fat and increasing the amount of fibre and minerals ingested associated with achieving lower pressure in the arteries.
For two years in a row, the DASH Diet was selected as the best and healthiest eating plan for hypertensive patients, as well as for diabetics and people who are overweight.
The consumption of sodium and saturated fat is limited, and the intake of vegetables, fruits, fish, low-fat milk and other low-calorie dairy products is promoted, recommending a total daily fat content of 27%.
Tips for following the DASH Diet
Some tips for following this diet can help organize your daily menus:
- Use various herbs and spices to replace table salt.
- Avoid smoked, sausage, canned, processed or preserved meats.
- Choose lean red meat, skinless chicken, and low-fat fish.
- Always serve moderate portions with main meals and appetizers.
- Avoid frozen meals, concentrated soups and broths, and salad dressings.
- Start the day with a good breakfast based on cereals low in sodium and without added salt.
- Cook pasta, rice, and other cereals without salt.
- Prefer water to replace sodas with high sugar content.
- Limit the consumption of industrially processed foods that are high in salt.
Sample DASH Diet Menu
Below is an example of a DASH Diet menu equivalent to 1 day and providing approximately 1800. For best results, drink at least eight glasses of water daily.
Sample DASH Diet Menu
Breakfast
- One cup of skim milk tea with sweetener.
- One slice of toasted wheat bread.
- ½ banana.
Midmorning
- One natural skimmed yogurt.
- ½ cup of whole grains without sugar.
Lunch
- Two hundred grams of grilled skinless chicken with oregano.
- One salad of ½ cucumber, ½ tomato, ½ onion and lettuce leaves with one teaspoon of olive oil and no salt.
- Two slices of wheat bread.
Mid-afternoon
- One cup of unsweetened fruit salad.
- One cup of skim milk tea with sweetener.
- One glass of orange juice.
- 50 grams of raisins.
- 50 grams of almonds.
price
- Two hundred grams of grilled fish.
- ½ cup of cooked brown rice without salt.
- One slice of wheat bread.
- One piece of fruit.
Variants of the DASH Diet
As the DASH Diet was created to prevent and treat hypertension, there are numerous similar plans that not only have food as their primary factor but also the way to cook and preserve them.
There is no ideal eating plan for hypertensive people, and that is why the DASH Diet is so well recognized since, in addition to being healthy, it provides sufficient amounts of nutrients that meet daily needs to keep fit and enjoy good health.
The role of diet is essential to prevent and treat high blood pressure, being the cornerstone that supports the treatment of cardiovascular diseases.
Reducing salt intake is the primary measure for anyone who wants to prevent hypertension or for those who have already been diagnosed as hypertensive.
The daily salt needs for anyone; therefore, it is recommended to use less salt when cooking food and replace it with pepper, aromatic herbs, garlic, lemon juice or spices whenever possible.
Other recommendations for a diet for hypertensive patients other than DASH are to choose olive oil, products with a low amount of sodium in their industrial preparation, avoid smoked or very salty meats, sausages in general, and especially ham or bacon and when the restriction in the consumption of salt is more significant, common salt can be replaced by potassium or magnesium.
An alternative diet to DASH is the dietary treatment of HT, which consists of a
Reduced salt intake, a higher intake of vegetables, fruits, legumes, fish, olive oil, and foods containing little fat.
The HTA diet also recommends limiting the consumption of alcohol and exciting substances such as caffeine that cause a significant increase in blood pressure. The allowed is less than 30 grams of alcohol per day for men, less than 20 grams for women, and no more than two or three coffees daily.
Finally, this HTA dietary treatment recommends improving healthy lifestyle habits such as physical exercise, not smoking, and weight control.
Advantages and Disadvantages of the DASH Diet
The DASH Diet has been designed especially for patients with hypertension. Still, it is also ideal for losing weight since it is recommended to consume fresh foods such as fruits and vegetables, low-fat dairy products and restricted carbohydrates, limited consumption of salt and good daily hydration; in short, healthy living at any stage life.
The advantages of the DASH Diet are that it controls hypertension and helps you lose weight.
Control and lower blood pressure and the rate of bad cholesterol without resorting to drugs.
Counting calories is unnecessary, but focus more on the foods you eat daily to lose weight.
Accelerates metabolism thanks to a change in eating habits.
You avoid suffering the yo-yo or rebound effect common to many other diets.
Disadvantages of the DASH Diet to control blood pressure and lose weight
- It is a high-fibre diet and can cause bloating.
- It can cause constipation, so drink enough water daily.
DASH Diet Recipes
The DASH Diet was distinguished in 2012 and 2014 as the best diet to prevent and control high blood pressure, according to a report published by US News & World Report.
Numerous recipes for meals and snacks or appetizers are handy when organizing the daily menu to carry out this diet. These simple dishes are easy to prepare and have a lot of flavor. We share some of them here.
Healthy snack
This is a straightforward recipe for appetizers that are ideal for that mid-morning or mid-afternoon snack.
Ingredients
- Two cans of chickpeas were rinsed, drained and dried.
- Two cups of wheat cereal.
- One cup of dehydrated pineapple chunks.
- 1 cup of raisins.
- Two tablespoons of honey.
- Two tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce.
- One teaspoon of garlic powder.
- 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder.
Preparation
- Cover a baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
- Place one teaspoon of olive oil in a frying pan, add the drained canned chickpeas, and cook for 10 minutes.
- Transfer the chickpeas to the baking dish and cook in a preheated oven at 200ºC until crisp, about 20 minutes.
- In the same pan where the chickpeas were cooked, place the cereal, the pineapple and the raisins and cook for 2 minutes; add the toasted chickpeas and mix.
- Mix the honey, Worcestershire sauce, and spices in a mug, and pour over the ingredients in the pan.
- Mix all the ingredients and place in a preheated oven at 180º C for 15 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let cool. Store in an airtight container.
Cinnamon Ginger Iced Blackberry Tea
This recipe is ideal for enjoying a refreshing drink based on blackberry tea, especially in the summer, since it provides a feeling of satiety, quenches thirst, and hydrates the body.
Ingredients
- 6 cups of water
- Twelve blackberry herbal tea bags.
- Eight cinnamon sticks.
- One tablespoon of grated fresh ginger.
- One cup of unsweetened cranberry juice.
- Sweetener to taste.
- She crushed ice cubes.
Preparation
- In a large pot, heat the water, and before it starts to boil, add the tea bags, 2 of the cinnamon sticks and the grated or minced ginger.
- Remove from the heat, cover and let it rest for about 15 minutes.
- Once the specified time has elapsed, pass the cinnamon and ginger tea mixture through a fine mesh strainer and place it in a jug.
- Add to the preparation the sweetener to taste, mix and take to the refrigerator.
- Serve in tall glasses with crushed ice and garnish with cinnamon sticks.
Baked chicken with brown rice
This Baked Chicken with Brown Rice recipe is a complete dish that can be served for both lunch and dinner. It is easy to prepare and tasty as vegetables, aromatic herbs such as tarragon and dry white wine are added.
Ingredients
- Six chicken breast halves.
- One and ½ cups of chopped celery.
- One and ½ cups of onion.
- One teaspoon of fresh tarragon.
- Two cups of unsalted chicken broth.
- 1 and 1/2 cups of dry white wine.
- Two cups of cooked brown rice.
Preparation
Clean the chicken breasts, wash, dry and cut them into small cubes.
In a bowl, place the chopped chicken, celery, chopped onion, tarragon and 1 cup of the unsalted chicken broth, mixing everything and letting it marinate for half an hour.
Place the mixture in a pan with a teaspoon of olive oil and cook over medium heat until the chicken and vegetables are tender about 10 minutes. Remove and let cool.
In a baking dish, mix the wine, 1 cup of the broth and the cooked brown rice, add the chicken preparation and place everything in a baking dish.
Cover the dish with aluminum foil and cook in an oven at 200ºC for about 15 minutes.
Remove and serve hot.
Apple muffins
A delicious and healthy dessert, these apple muffins are tasty and perfect for a sweet snack.
Ingredients
- Two cups of whole-wheat flour.
- ½ cup of sugar.
- Two teaspoons of baking soda.
- Two teaspoons of ground cinnamon.
- Two eggs
- ½ cup of vegetable oil.
- ½ cup of unsweetened applesauce.
- Two teaspoons of vanilla extract.
- Two cups of grated apple.
- ½ cup of raisins.
- ¾ cup of grated carrot.
- Two tablespoons of chopped walnuts.
Preparation
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda and cinnamon and mix all the dry ingredients well.
Whisk together the eggs, oil, applesauce and vanilla, raisins and carrots in a separate bowl.
Add the previous preparation over the flour mixture and mix all the ingredients well until a homogeneous dough is obtained.
Pour the mixture into special muffin moulds, and sprinkle with the chopped walnuts.
Cook the muffins in a preheated oven at 180º C for about 35 minutes.
Remove from the oven, place the muffins on a wire rack, and calm.
Conclusions on the DASH Diet
The DASH Diet is a healthy eating plan that combines research gathered from two critical studies conducted by the United States Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), in which it was shown to be genuinely effective.
Thus, researchers from four medical centers, including Brigham Hospital and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts and medical institutions such as John Hopkins in Baltimore, Maryland, found that the DASH diet efficiently lowered blood pressure and was a good plan for slimming down.
Maintaining a healthy weight, engaging in regular physical activity, quitting smoking, and reducing the consumption of alcohol and sodium in the diet helps lower blood pressure. The DASH Diet offers an excellent proposal so that people who adopt it can reduce their high blood pressure without using medication and prevent this disease through a healthier life.
Dr. Thomas Moore, director of the original study, which developed the DASH Diet and is also the founder of “DASH for Health,” the only online program that teaches the DASH diet, claims that it is possible to control high blood pressure by following this healthy plan.
Considering that high blood pressure is a disease that can cause severe heart disease and even stroke, blindness or kidney disease, there is no doubt that the DASH Diet is an excellent alternative for the millions of people who suffer from this ailment in the world.
My name is Ellie Lauderdale, MD and I am USA based professional Nutritionist .
I am a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and board certified specialist in sports dietetics who is trained in integrative medicine. I have worked with hundreds of clients, from those suffering with chronic disease to professional and olympian athletes. My goal is to help optimize you from the inside so that you can feel, perform, and look your best on the outside.