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October 19, 2010 | Comments: 1

The Dish on DASH

The DASH diet—rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat or nonfat dairy foods—helps lower blood pressure. Recent research suggests it has other health benefits, too. Here’s how to put DASH into action.

Short for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, the DASH diet may lower your long-term risk of heart attack, according to a new study from Johns Hopkins University of 436 people with hypertension or prehypertension. Compared to people eating a typical American diet, those who followed DASH for eight weeks reduced their estimated risk of heart disease by 18%, as based on improvements in risk factors, such as blood pressure. Another new study, from Harvard, linked DASH to a reduced risk of kidney stones.

Rich in potassium, calcium, magnesium, and other nutrients, the DASH eating plan is also low in saturated fat and provides guidelines on limiting sodium to 2,300 or 1,500 milligrams a day. Similar to the Mediterranean diet in many respects, DASH is not essentially a weight-loss diet, but if you keep daily intake to 2,000 calories a day (what the standard diet provides) or less, and if you exercise, you’re likely to lose weight. One aspect of DASH that appeals to people is that it offers many choices—a wide variety of foods prepared in different ways.

Figuring it out

The following DASH plan is based on a 2,000-calorie daily intake—you can adjust the number of servings up or down, depending on your weight and activity level. You choose from a wide range of fruits and vegetables (8 to 10 servings a day, including juice); grains (6 to 8 servings a day); dairy products (low-fat or nonfat, 2 or 3 servings a day); nuts and beans (4 or 5 servings weekly); lean meats, fish, and poultry (no more than 2 servings a day); fats and oils (2 or 3 servings a day); and sweets (5 servings weekly). Serving sizes are small—1 slice of bread; half a cup of cereal; half a cup of cooked vegetables, rice, or pasta; 1 medium fruit or 
6 ounces of juice; 3 ounces of meat, poultry, or fish.

Sound hard? Consider this sample DASH menu:

• Breakfast: 1 cup of bran cereal with a cup of nonfat milk and a medium banana, plus a cup of nonfat fruit yogurt. Coffee and tea are fine. Breakfasts vary; some even include a bagel and cream cheese.

• Lunch: 3/4 cup chicken salad (made with a reasonable amount of low-fat mayonnaise) on 2 slices of whole-wheat bread with a tablespoon of mustard; a cucumber and tomato salad with nonfat ranch dressing; and 1/2 cup fruit salad.

• Dinner: 3 ounces of lean roast beef; a small baked potato with nonfat sour cream and a small amount of reduced-fat cheddar cheese and scallions; 2 small whole-wheat rolls with soft margarine; 1 apple; and a cup of nonfat milk.

• You get snacks, too, on the DASH plan: 1/3 cup of unsalted almonds; 1/4 cup raisins; and a cup of orange juice, for example.

To download a free booklet that explains DASH, click here.

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