What’s the DASH DIET?

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Jennifer Dawson

How To Implement The DASH Diet Into Your Life

The DASH Diet, which stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, is a growingly popular diet and nutritional regime, and with good reason: high blood pressure and hypertension is a growing problem that affects America at an alarming rate. With 32% of the population having high blood pressure, only 54% of those people are reported to have the issue managed and under control. The food we eat, and choosing a high quality of nutrition, is now more important than ever in controlling high blood pressure, which is where the DASH diet comes in. Implementing this diet, with its focus being on low fat intake and high consumption of lean fats and vegetables, will result in many benefits, and is a wonderfully healthy diet to follow.

Avoid Proteins With High Fat Contents

One of the main pillars in the DASH diet is lowering unhealthy, processed fats from the diet. This mainly comes in the form of fatty meats, such as red meat and poultry. Servings of proteins should be kept to a minimum of 6 or fewer a day, and lean options should always be prioritized. Incorporating natural protein is a great option, such as quinoa or a plant based protein to consume in juice or smoothies.

Consume Natural And Whole Products

When following the DASH diet, it’s best to always opt for natural and organic products rather than those with preservatives and added salt. It is recommended that vegetables be eaten 4-5 times a day, and it’s best to opt for organic versions. This also applies to fruit, with 4-5 servings a day. When it comes to fats and oils, it’s still important to incorporate them into the DASH diet, but it’s imperative that they be the correct ones. Coconut oil is a great addition to the diet because it helps the body absorb nutrients and builds the immune system, and offers many other benefits to your overall health, well-being, and even your skin. Saturated fats should especially be avoided, such as those found in butter and full fat milk, as they provide no nutritional value, and have been consistently linked to increasing blood pressure.

Restrict Salt

Sodium levels are also restricted on the DASH diet. In addition to the required servings of grains (6-8 servings), lean proteins (6 or less servings), vegetables (4-5 servings), fruit (4-5 servings), low fat dairy (2-3 servings), and fats and oils (2-3 servings), sodium levels must stay under 2300mg per day in order for you to reap the benefits of a salt reduced diet. Certain people following the DASH diet can further lower their sodium intake to 1500mg per day if their blood pressure needs to drastically be lowered.

There are many benefits to following the DASH diet when lowering blood pressure and hypertension. The diet can be implemented easily when eating correctly, choosing whole foods over processed, and incorporating aspects of the juicing lifestyle to your diet.