What You Need To Know About The DASH Diet

May 22, 2019/in Blog, Nutritional Consultant, The DASH Diet

The foods we eat can affect our overall health. A diet rich in harmful elements like saturated fats and cholesterol is a sure way to hypertension and other diseases. On the other hand, the right choice of foods can lessen your risk of acquiring such diseases.

There is a particular eating plan that has been proven to lower hypertension or high blood pressure. This diet is called the DASH or Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension.

What is the DASH diet?

The DASH diet is a result of clinical studies conducted by scientists of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI). The researchers found out that a diet high in potassium, magnesium, calcium, protein, and fiber, and low in fat and cholesterol can drastically reduce high blood pressure.

The study showed that a diet rich in vegetables, fruits, and low-fat dairy products had a big effect in reducing hypertension. It also showed that the DASH diet produces fast results, sometimes in as little as two weeks after starting the diet.

The DASH diet also emphasizes three important nutrients: magnesium, calcium, and potassium. These minerals are thought to help reduce high blood pressure. A normal 2,000-calorie diet contains 500 milligrams of magnesium, 4.7 grams of potassium and 1.2 grams of calcium.

Doing the DASH Diet

Following the DASH diet is very easy and takes little time in the choice and preparation of meals. Foods rich in fats and cholesterol are avoided. The dieter is advised to eat as many vegetables, fruits, and cereals as possible.

Since the foods you eat in a DASH diet are high in fiber content, it is recommended that you slowly increase your consumption of fiber-rich food to avoid diarrhea and other digestive problems. You can gradually increase your fiber intake by eating an additional serving of fruits and vegetables in every meal.

Grains are also good sources of fiber, as well as the B-complex vitamins and minerals. Whole grains, whole wheat pieces of bread, bran, wheat germ, and low-fat breakfast cereals are some of the grain products you can eat to increase your fiber consumption.

You can choose the food you eat by looking at the product labels of processed and packaged foods. Look for foods that are low in fat, saturated fat, sodium and cholesterol. Meats, chocolates, chips and fast foods are the main sources of fat and cholesterol, so you should reduce your consumption of these foods.

If you decide to eat meat, limit your consumption to only six ounces a day, which is similar in size to a deck of cards. You can also eat more vegetables, cereals, pasta, and beans in your meat dishes. Low-fat milk or skim milk is also a great source of protein without excess fat and cholesterol.

For snacks, you can try canned or dried fruits, as well as fresh ones. There are also healthy snack options for those on the DASH diet such as graham crackers, unsalted nuts, and low-fat yogurt.

It’s Easy to DASH

The DASH diet is popular among many health buffs because it doesn’t require any special meals and recipes. There are no special preparations and calorie-counting to be considered as long as consume more fruits and vegetables and reduce your intake of fat- and cholesterol-rich foods. The DASH diet is a healthy eating plan that focuses more on the three important minerals that are believed to have a beneficial effect on high blood pressure.

The DASH diet is great for people who prefer convenience and ease in their eating plans. With scientific evidence to back it up, the DASH diet offers a proven and tested diet system for people looking for good health.

The Famous Dash Diet

May 21, 2019/in Blog, Nutritional Consultant, The DASH Diet

No, we are not talking about some famous Hollywood sisters. The DASH diet or Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension is a physician recommended, researched and used diet to help lower blood pressure in two weeks.

Today, one out of four Americans (approximately 73 million people) exhibit high blood pressure or hypertension. Blood pressure is the pressure within the artery walls. Hypertension can be defined as a consistent blood pressure elevation. High blood pressure causes the heart to work harder and is the leading cause of heart attack and stroke. Diminishing sodium intake and eating healthy can help you reduce your chances of acquiring hypertension. This is the premise of the DASH diet.

The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute conducted two studies about this diet. Their findings showed that blood pressure was reduced with a diet low in saturated fat, cholesterol, and total fat and high in fruits and vegetables, fat-free milk products, whole grains, fish, poultry and nuts.

As you can see, more food products are allowed in this diet compared to other commercial diets available. They also recommend diminished, not eliminated, amounts of lean red meat, sweets, added sugars, and sugar-containing beverages. Foodies will not have a hard time adjusting to this diet since it does not completely eliminate common foods in the American pantry.

In the DASH Diet plan, there are recipes and diet plans suggested for a 2,300 mg and 1,500 mg sodium consumption. About 2,300 mg of sodium is recommended by both the National High Blood Pressure Education Program and the United States Dietary Guidelines. And unlike most short term diet plans, the DASH diet also offers tips on how to stay focused on the diet. Think long term.

Although weight loss is not a priority, it is a welcomed consequence since the DASH diet is based on a 2000 calorie per day limit. Some tips on how to further reduce sodium in your diet include:

Read food labels.

You will be surprised how much sodium can be found in low fat or processed foods.
No extra salt, please. It is typical for us to add a “dash” of salt when boiling pasta or rice.
Discover other spices or herbs to replace salt in your usual recipes.

As a tip, a teaspoon of table salt contains 2,300 mg of sodium.

It is also best to do this change gradually, since you may experience some detoxification reactions like loss of appetite that may stop you from going through with this diet strategy. Adding some physical exercise and getting appropriate medical supervision is also beneficial.

In conclusion, there are a lot of nutritious but appetizing foods available in the market today. The DASH diet allows a lot of leg room, and its long term benefit is a longer, healthy life. And so, why not try a little DASH in your diet today?

The DASH Diet: Does It Work?

May 20, 2019/in Blog, Nutritional Consultant, The DASH Diet

Well, it is actually among the most renowned diet plans out there nowadays and it may be more than a trend. Designed by the US Department of Health and Human Services’ National Institutes of Health, this diet program is founded on nutritional facts.

DASH is an acronym for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, this basically means tips on how to decrease your blood pressure levels via the foods you ingest. The premise of the diet plan is to guide men and women with high blood pressure and hypertension on out how to eat much healthier and reduce their blood pressure and the possibility of connected ailments. High blood pressure is often a problem that might be easily avoided by leading a healthy lifestyle nevertheless, once a person has it, it can only be managed.

Having elevated blood pressure is a serious matter and may even bring about illnesses such as coronary artery disease, dementia, stroke and eventually heart failure. Picture this, close to 33% of men and women currently, have high blood pressure or hypertension. That’s one-third of the adult populace, and therefore there exists a very good probability that either you or somebody you know may possibly be identified as having the ailment.

The DASH Diet for Hypertension may help you reduce your blood pressure and also your potential risk for some of the affiliated ailments through setting a few rules to go by. To illustrate, one of the main recommendations set forth by the weight loss plan is to reduce your sodium consumption to between 2,300 and 1,500 mg a day. This may look like you are still receiving a large amount of sodium, but in reality, it is not very much.

Consider some of the items you might consume every single day…

Were you aware that a quarter pounder with cheese provides approximately 1,190 milligrams of sodium? That’s basically your entire daily allowance if you are limiting yourself to 1,500 milligrams a day. Even at 2,300 per day, it is still over 50 percent of the suggested daily portion.

Even if you imagine you are going to be health conscious and get a salad, be warned… Condiments and dressings have proven to be notorious for including large levels of sodium.

So, what will you end up taking in on The DASH Diet?

Plenty of vegetables and fruits per day in place of sweets and desserts
Foods which are high in dietary fiber as an alternative to refined carbs
Low-fat and fat-free dairy products rather than whole milk products
Water and club soda as opposed to sugary soft drinks

The DASH Diet is not just an agenda pertaining to eating, it advises some healthy lifestyle changes as well:

Initiate a workout plan whether or not your blood pressure level is typical
Try to get at least thirty minutes of physical exercise on a daily basis
Determine weight reduction targets for yourself
If you take prescription medication for high blood pressure, don’t forget to take it daily

With such common sense advice it’s no surprise The DASH Diet is gaining this sort of interest at this moment. This is a diet plan that makes sense and offers the potential to enable you to lose weight and remain healthful. Even people who have healthy blood pressure can usually benefit from the DASH Diet and sticking to a high fiber, low fat, minimal sodium eating routine. Pursuing this diet will not just allow you to shed pounds, it could actually help save your life.