DASH for high blood pressure relief | Pharmaprix®
DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. Simply stated, hypertension is the medical term for high blood pressure. This diet differs from most other traditional diets as it does not restrict the quantity of food you may eat, but rather encourages people to actually increase their intake of fruits, vegetables, and milk products. In addition, this diet also requires that daily fat intake remain moderate – not high.
In nutritional studies, participants are permitted to eat only foods provided by the study organizers. Different groups of people are given different types of diets to follow. In one such study, the group that enjoyed a diet that was rich in fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy products, while at the same time having a reduced saturated and total fat intake (compared to the average American diet), showed the greatest decrease in blood pressure compared to the other diet regimens. This was the DASH diet. The evidence supports a positive relation between high sodium intake and risk of cardiovascular disease, but results from studies with health outcomes were insufficient to conclude whether low sodium intake (less than 2.3 g per day or less than 1.5 g per day, as recommended in current dietary guidelines) is associated with an increased or reduced risk of cardiovascular disease in the general population.