The healthy DASH diet plan was developed to lower blood pressure without medication in research sponsored by the US National Institutes of Health.
The nutritional plan recommended by doctors:
– Consumption of fruits, vegetables and dairy products low in fat;
– Giving up foods high in saturated fat, cholesterol;
– Introduction of whole grains in the diet, fish, poultry, seeds, nuts and peanuts;
– A diet rich in foods that contain magnesium, potassium and calcium.
The DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) is a nutrition plan that offers dietary solutions to normalize blood pressure. According to studies, blood pressure in hypertensive patients who have used this diet decreased in only two weeks. A similar diet, DASH – Sodium, involves reducing salt intake to a maximum of 1500 mg per day (about 2/3 teaspoon). In both diets, blood pressure of the subjects involved in the study, significantly decreased.
How to keep blood pressure under control:
The answer is the DASH diet.
The DASH diet involves eating a certain number of servings of different foods. Portion amount may vary depending on caloric needs. The program also involves the consumption of this nutritionally diet to 2,400 mg per day (about one teaspoon). After the body gets used to the diet, maximum sodium allowed daily in the diet will be 2/3 teaspoon. These totaling values includes salt used in cooking.
Here are some specific types of DASH diet:
– A serving of vegetables at lunch and dinner;
– A serving of fruits (that can be considered part of a main meal or snack). You can eat both fresh fruits, dried fruits, and fruit compotes;
– Consumption of butter, margarine or salad dressing will be reduced to half. Use only ingredients with low-fat or fat-free;
– Meat consumption will be limited to 200 grams per day.
– In the daily diet you should introduce large quantities of vegetables, rice, pasta and beans;
– Consume dairy products (especially milk), three times a day;
– Instead of typical snacks (chips, etc..) choose unsalted pretzels, nuts, raisins, graham, low fat yogurt, plain popcorn and raw vegetables;
– Opt for foods that are low in sodium, according to the nutritional information on their labels.
DASH diet in the daily life:
To comply with the nutrients of the diet, the plan must include the following groups of foods, daily:
– Cereals: 7-8 servings per day;
– Vegetables: 4-5 servings per day;
– Fruits: 4-5 servings per day;
– Milk with low (or no) fat: 2-3 servings per day;
– Poultry and fish: 2 servings per day or less;
– Nuts, seeds, dried beans: 4-5 servings per week;
– Fats and oils: 2-3 servings per day;
– Sweets: less than 5 servings per week.
How much?
When you want to adopt a healthy eating plan is important to know the size of the portions. The following table gives some examples:
