Highlights of the DASH diet for blood pressure

High blood pressure is most likely the number one chronic health issue in the world. What's surprising is that for most people, the condition can be easily managed and even eradicated through small lifestyle changes. One of the best ways is diet and here is what you need to know.

You can go a very long way towards taming high blood pressure by switching to a healthier mix of foods and eating more reasonable portion sizes.  The gold-standard eating plan for high blood pressure is called the DASH diet, which stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. The DASH diet recommends meals rich in grains, fruits and vegetables, and meals that include low or nonfat dairy products. The great news is that you can still experience extraordinary flavour, an abundance of colourful, fresh food, and the chance to enjoy your favourite dishes. Closely follow this well-established eating approach and you can lower your blood pressure in just two weeks.

The DASH diet has been tested repeatedly and the results are consistently praised widely as one of the most significant ways to lower blood pressure. People who followed the diet experienced significant drops in blood pressure within two weeks of starting — regardless of whether they had high blood pressure at the beginning of the study or not. Those who did have high blood pressure experienced reductions comparable to using anti-hypertensive drugs.

Interestingly, the original DASH diet was not a strict low-sodium diet; it allowed an intake of 3,000 milligrams of sodium per day. So if sodium reduction wasn't what helped the original DASH study subjects lower their blood pressure, what did? Simply this:

• Eating only low-fat dairy products
• Eating more fruits and vegetables (four to five servings of each per day)
• Eating more nuts and legumes (four to five servings per week)

Since then, researchers conducted a second set of studies that allowed only 1,500 milligrams of sodium per day. As predicted, the low-sodium DASH diet helped study subjects reduce their blood pressure even more.

The DASH diet is a proven blood pressure reducer. Add in more frequent exercise, a good attitude, better stress management and, for some, proper medication, and in almost all cases you will have brought your blood pressure under control.