DASH 1 & 2 Diet

01 Aug DASH 1 & 2 Diet

The DASH 1 & 2 Diet

A landmark study called DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) looked at the effects of an overall eating plan in adults with normal to high blood pressure. Researchers found that in just eight weeks, people following the DASH 1 diet saw their blood pressure decrease. A subsequent study called DASH 2 looked at the effect of following the DASH diet and restricting salt intake to 1500 mg per day. Under the DASH 2 diet, people with Stage 1 hypertension had their blood pressure decrease as much or more than any anti-hypertensive medication had been able to lower it.

What are the benefits of the DASH eating plan?

Following the DASH eating plan and eating less sodium (salt) can reduce your risk of high blood pressure. If you already have high blood pressure, following the DASH eating plan and eating less sodium can lower your blood pressure.

Results from the DASH research showed that following a DASH plan containing 2,300 milligrams (mg) of sodium per day lowered blood pressure. Following a DASH plan containing 1,500 mg of sodium lowered blood pressure even more (systolic blood pressure was lowered by about 7 to 12 mmHg).

One important note: If you take medicine to control high blood pressure, you should keep taking it. However, you should tell your doctor that you’re now following the DASH eating plan.

Following the DASH eating plan

The DASH eating plan is easy to follow using common foods available in your grocery store. The DASH eating plan includes daily servings from different food groups. The number of servings you should have depends on your daily calorie (energy) needs.

To figure out your calorie needs, you need to consider your age and physical activity level. If you want to maintain your current weight, you should eat only as many calories as you burn by being physically active. This is called ‘energy balance’.

If you need to lose weight, you should eat fewer calories than you burn or increase your activity level to burn more calories than you eat.

Consider your physical activity level. Are you sedentary, moderately active, or active?

• Sedentary means that you do only light physical activity as part of your typical daily routine.
• Moderately active means that you do physical activity equal to walking about 1.5 to 3 miles a day at 3 to 4 miles per hour, plus light physical activity.
• Active means that you do physical activity equal to walking more than 3 miles per day at 3 to 4 miles per hour, plus light physical activity.

Recommended by the American Heart Association and the National Cancer Institute, the DASH diet is an overall eating plan that focuses on what people should eat, rather than what not to eat. Rick in rich in fruits, vegetables, complex carbohydrates, and low-fat dairy products, the DASH diet is lower in fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium, and higher in potassium, magnesium, and calcium than the typical American diet. The high levels of potassium, magnesium, and calcium in the DASH diet are thought to be at least partially responsible for its results. Table 3 below outlines the DASH eating plan.