Healthy eating to lower your blood pressure
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DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. The DASH diet is a healthy-eating plan designed to help treat or prevent high blood pressure (hypertension).
The DASH diet includes foods that are rich in potassium, calcium and magnesium. These nutrients help control blood pressure. The diet limits foods that are high in sodium, saturated fat and added sugars.
Studies have shown that the DASH diet can lower blood pressure in as little as two weeks. The diet can also lower low-density lipoprotein (LDL or “bad”) cholesterol levels in the blood. High blood pressure and high LDL cholesterol levels are two major risk factors for heart disease and stroke.
The DASH diet is lower in sodium than a typical American diet, which can include a whopping 3,400 milligrams (mg) of sodium or more a day.
The standard DASH diet limits sodium to 2,300 mg a day. It meets the recommendation from the Dietary Guidelines for Americans to keep daily sodium intake to less than 2,300 mg a day. That’s roughly the amount of sodium in 1 teaspoon of table salt.
A lower sodium version of DASH restricts sodium to 1,500 mg a day. You can choose the version of the diet that meets your health needs. If you aren’t sure what sodium level is right for you, talk to your doctor.
The DASH diet is a flexible and balanced eating plan that helps create a heart-healthy eating style for life. It’s easy to follow using foods found at your grocery store.
The DASH diet is rich in vegetables, fruits and whole grains. It includes fat-free or low-fat dairy products, fish, poultry, beans and nuts. It limits foods that are high in saturated fat, such as fatty meats and full-fat dairy products.
When following DASH, it is important to choose foods that are:
The DASH diet provides daily and weekly nutritional goals. The number of servings you should have depends on your daily calorie needs.
Here’s a look at the recommended servings from each food group for a 2,000-calorie-a-day DASH diet:
The foods at the center of the DASH diet are naturally low in sodium. So just by following the DASH diet, you’re likely to lower your intake of sodium.
You can further reduce sodium by:
As you cut back on processed, high-sodium foods, you may notice that food tastes different. It may take time for your palate to adjust. But once it does, you may find you prefer the DASH way of eating.
