DASH Diet

Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension

This diet supplies approximately 2,000 calories daily. A trial of this diet, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that a diet emphasizing fruits, vegetables, and low fat dairy products significantly improved blood pressure in people with mildly elevated or normal values. The greatest drops were seen in those with the highest pressures.

In November of 1997, The National Institutes of Health recommended that people with mild hypertension try the DASH diet for 6 to 12 months before starting medications, The American Heart Association followed suit by adding the DASH diet to it's endorsement of sodium reduction as a means of both preventing and lowering blood pressure.

Both the National Institutes of Health and The American Heart Association also recommend:

• Exercise
• Not Smoking
• Consuming no more 1 or 2 alcoholic drinks/day
• Reducing sodium intake

If you  decide to try the DASH diet to help prevent or control high blood pressure, make it part of a lifestyle change. This means choosing foods lower in salt and sodium, maintaining a healthy weight, being physically active and, if you drink alcohol, doing so in moderation.

Note of Caution: If you have high blood pressure and are taking blood pressure medications, please don't just stop your medicines and start the diet. Discuss the idea with your doctor first.