Introduction to DASH:

The increasing trend and usage of junk and processed foods has developed a necessity for making a diet that is helpful to maintain good health. These junk foods contain a high amount of salts which become the reason for producing hypertension. These concerns lead to the making of a diet plan that could prevent and cure high blood pressure and also can shed some extra body fats. National Institute of health and some other health-related institutions held research-based studies and they came up with this amazing diet plan which was called DASH, dietary approaches to stop hypertension. DASH plans encourage the use of more raw vegetables, fresh fruits, low-fat dairy products, and unprocessed grains.  It discourages the use of foods that are high in saturated fat content and contain a lot of salt.

Why do you need to start taking the DASH diet?

Here comes an important question that why a person needs to switch his diet according to the DASH plan. AS said earlier, the trend of using canned products has become enormous. The natural foods don’t contain the salt too much but the synthetic product makes excessive use of salts like sodium to add a taste to the foods as the people like more salts in their foods now. The companies are producing more and more salty and spicy foods to compete with each other.

These foods make you very susceptible to developing some fatal disorders like high blood pressure (the silent killer), stroke, heart failure, diabetes and obesity, and so on. DASH provides you the basic nutrition and inhibits the intake of more salt than required. It also decreases the intake of fats and helps you to become slim and fat-free.

What to avoid in the diet?

Sodium and fats are two main components in the diet that make up the risk of developing deadly diseases. The main focus should be lessening these two components in the diet. Here are some tips to reduce the salt in the diet:

• Use the products with low salt or no added salt. Synthetic products that are supplemented with sodium should be avoided.
• Buy fresh and uncanny vegetables.
• Poultry, fish, and lean meat should be used in fresh condition rather than processed ones.
• See the label of the packed products and choose the ones with low salt content.
• Keep the salt shaker at a distance.
• Try to avoid salty, canny, and fast foods.
• Limit the use of pickles and sauces with high salt content.

Tips to develop the habit of DASH diet:

The beauty of the DASH diet plan is that it is not very limited in the food range and is not very hard to follow. You can also switch to the DASH plan menu when using some medication to cope with your high blood pressure. Here are some amazing tips and ways for you to adopt the habit of the DASH diet:

Think it as an easy task:

First of all, you need to make up your mind that you have the capacity of changing your habit. It’s not impossible. Take it easy and you will be successful in making up for your required goal.

Move gradually:

The best chance is the one that comes gradually. The abrupt change also abolishes as abruptly as it comes. Don’t impose all the restrictions on your body from day one rather go one by one. Adopt gradually, starting from some dishes and then increasing number day by day. You can also have a few salty diets off and on. If you take two vegetables a day, make it three. If you have one serving of fruits, double it. Lookup for the whole grains you eat and try to increase it a bit.

You must know that diets that are rich in fat and now stop taking them step by step. Decrease them to 2 or 3 servings per day. As an example, take milk with lunch instead of soda or tea or alcohol. Use the fat that is not saturated and reduces the total calorie intake. Always read the nutritional values of the product you buy and try to spend yours on low fat-containing products to have good health.

Eat meat as a component of the main food:

Don’t use the only meat at a moment, instead use a small amount of meat and think as a component, not the whole food. Limit meat to just two servings a day. Increase the servings of fruits and vegetables along with meat and make a balance between them.

Use dairy products with low fat:

Dairy products are often high in the fat content and they add a lot of fats to your body which deposits as cholesterol and damage your heart and vessels. Make sure to use fat-free yogurt and frozen yogurt. Take the snacks like popcorn with no extra butter added and again raw vegetables are best among all these.

All about the DASH diet

Are you spending a lot of money on treating your hypertension for a long time? Are you tired of taking pills? Is there any relief to stop this agony? The answer is yes. Stop wasting your time by visiting the doctor over and over again and spend your money on something else, not on hypertension.

Here we will know some simple, cost-free, and painless ways to cope with the problem of hypertension. Just making a few changes in your routine will make it happen. In this article, we will be focusing on specific diet adjustments to overcome hypertension.

Causes of high blood pressure?

The pressure on the blood vessels exerted by the blood is termed as the blood pressure. The normal reading for that is 120/80mmHg. When the readings of blood pressure fall beyond the normal ones, we term it as hypertension. It is a lethal disorder and kills a man silently all of a sudden.

Diet is the main factor that precipitates the likeliness of getting high blood pressure. Taking excess sodium in the diet, using less potassium and vitamin D causes high blood pressure. Other factors include obesity, age, genetic linkage, use of alcohol and tobacco, and a lazy lifestyle.

Treatment through the DASH diet:

The word DASH stands for ‘Dietary approaches to stop hypertension’.  Using a dash diet is the best diet plan to cure hypertension. It has also been marked as the best diet plan and the best diet for diabetes too. The dash diet plan focuses on a special variety of foods so that the body gets the right amount of every nutrient.

It is so effective plan that the blood pressure can be lowered to some points in just a couple of weeks. Once the pressure is decreased, the chances of having other health risks are greatly reduced as increased systolic pressure may cause serious damage to the heart and vessels. With the use of the dash diet, sodium intake becomes less than 2300mg a day. Some other health associations set 1500mg as the upper limit for an adult person.

What foods to use in the DASH diet?

The foods that are a part of the DASH diet include vegetables, low dietary fat products, and whole grains. Small amounts of sweets, fats, and meat are allowed.  Fat is an ingredient that is used to the minimum in the diet. The foods that contain high amounts of magnesium and potassium such as dates, green peas, grapefruits, melons, potatoes, pineapples, raisins, bananas, oranges, apricots, greens, broccoli. Lima beans, strawberries, tomatoes, and artichokes are recommended.

DASH plan sample:

This is a sample of the dietary plan to reduce high blood pressure:

•  Fruits: 2-5/day
• Vegetable: 4 to 5 a day
• Dairy: 1-3 servings/day
• Grains: 7-8 servings/day
• Seeds, Nuts, and Legumes: 4 to 5 servings/day
• Sweets: 5 or fewer a week
• Fats: 2 to 3 servings a day
• Limit the use of Caffeine and Alcohol
• Lean meat, fish and poultry: six or fewer times a day

Goals of the DASH diet:

The main goal to be achieved by the use of a dash diet is to regulate caloric intake, increase the potassium, calcium, and magnesium, and decrease the sodium in diet.

The DASH diet causes a significant decrease in the calories that the body is getting from the diet. Reduction in calories reduces both systolic and diastolic blood pressures as a result. Hence Discernable effects can be achieved.

Increased Sodium is a main dietary culprit for the increased blood pressure. Reduction in sodium utilization reduces the blood pressure directly. Following the DASH diet plan for some time will enable a person to decrease the sodium levels and a decreased value of blood pressure too.

The potassium helps sodium to balance the water level in the body, so its quantity is also very important. The ratio of potassium and sodium determines the blood pressure in the body. Potassium intake should neither exceed nor decrease than 4.7mg/day. Carrots, leaf green, potatoes, raw vegetables, and fruits should be eaten regularly.

The increased amount of calcium and magnesium also plays an important role in lowering blood pressure. They acquire a pivotal role in the DASH diet. However, they should be taken through diet, not by taking supplements.

Conclusive marks:

Some high blood pressure diets have been mentioned in the above paragraphs. It has been established that diet has an important and main effect in controlling blood pressure. And the DASH diet is considered the best among the available diet plans.  It should also be considered that the DASH diet is not the only option available. Losing some extra pounds, adopting the habit of exercising, preventing stress, and stopping usage of alcohol and nicotine also helps to maintain the blood pressure within a normal range. Diets are the simplest and very effective way, so start taking the DASH diet and have a great life.