THE DASH DIET
dietary approaches to stop hypertension
DASH stands for "Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension." The diet was developed in 1992 by the National Institute of Health to help lower patients' hypertension.
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Does this form of nutritional therapy still hold up? Or is it a fad of the past?
What does DASH entail?
The DASH diet promotes the increase in consumption of fruits, vegetables, lean meats, whole grains, low-fat or fat-free dairy options, healthy oils, etc. To the right is an infographic outlining each food group and its suggested daily serving size.
In regards to its main purpose, the DASH diet can help lower blood pressure, which has a range of benefits in and of itself. High blood pressure is a "silent killer" and is accompanied by little or no symptoms. By lowering your blood pressure, you can help lower your risk of heart attack, stroke, kidney disease, and other diseases. If you are already on blood pressure medication, lowering your blood pressure can increase the effectiveness of that medication. (American Heart Association, 2017).
Fact or Fad?
It's easy to see that this particular diet doesn't need to be debunked! It is supported by factual evidence and promoted by government and health agencies because of its effectiveness.
The following websites contain sample menus that meet the criteria for DASH:
We also recorded a video to show you how simple it is to make a DASH-compliant recipe at home! View it below!
The Research
The good news is, studies have found that the dietary intervention can help to lower systolic blood pressure by 6 to 11 mm Hg (Challa and Uppaluri, 2019).
Other possible benefits of the DASH diet have also been observed. According to one literature review, a relationship exists between the diet and the lowering of cholesterol as well as positive effects on bone metabolism and thus, overall bone health (Cashman and Doyle, 2004). Another study following pregnant women with gestational diabetes found that consuming a DASH-based diet is associated with decreased levels of fasting blood glucose and serum insulin levels after a period of just 4 weeks. Total antioxidant capacity was also increased in these subjects, suggesting that the diet may help protect against free radical damage (Asemi et al., 2013).