These nutrients also promote relaxation of the blood vessels, reducing blood pressure. Adding more of these nutrients improve the electrolyte balance in the body, allowing it to excrete an excess fluid that contributes to high blood pressure. The DASH diet is rich in potassium, magnesium, calcium, and fiber and has a low content of sodium (salt) and saturated fat. The DASH diet is rich in potassium, magnesium, calcium, fiber, and low in content of sodium (salt). Discuss the diet-based changes you are making with your health-care professional, and if your blood pressure is at or below goal (<140/80), you can discuss reducing your medications and maintaining your blood pressure with diet alone. 2 As people adopt the DASH diet and lower their blood pressure, they may have a reduced need for medication.

When the DASH diet is followed along with exercise and caloric reduction, people improved their blood pressure even more lowering it by 16 mmHg systolic and 9mmHg diastolic plus, they lost some weight. However, in comparison to low-carbohydrate diets, the DASH diet alone was not as effective as a strategy for weight loss. 2 When people follow the Dash diet in addition to increasing exercise, they lose weight and improve metabolic measures such as insulin sensitivity.

Since the original research, scientists also have found that they could apply the DASH diet plan for weight loss. Or more simply stated, the DASH diet plan includes eating more The more sodium is restricted, the lower blood pressure goes. The study found, on average, people reduce their blood pressure by 6.7 mmHg systolic and 3.5 mmHg diastolic in just two weeks. Even though the original research was quite a long time ago, scientists recently conducted a meta-analysis for a DASH diet review to summarize how much blood pressure can be reduced by the DASH diet. 1 The purpose of the study was to identify a food-based strategy to lower blood pressure. Adding more of these nutrients improves the electrolyte balance in the body, allowing it to excrete an excess fluid that contributes to high blood pressure.ĭASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, and the diet was developed for a research study in the early 1990s.

Dash diet recipes