DASH Diet to Stop Hypertension

What is DASH Diet?

DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. DASH Diet is a lifelong approach to healthy eating that is designed to treat or prevent high blood pressure. The DASH diet helps to reduce sodium in your diet and eat a variety of foods rich in nutrients that help lower the blood pressure such as calcium, potassium and magnesium. The DASH diet

• is low in salt, saturated fat and cholesterol.
• emphasizes vegetables, fruits and low-fat milk & milk products.
• includes moderate amounts of whole grains, fish, poultry and nuts.
• Is rich in potassium, calcium, magnesium and also proteins and fibres.

Dietary Management
Low calorie, low fat, low sodium diet with normal protein intake is given.

• Energy: Low calorie diet is given to obese patients to reduce weight to normal body weight. For a sedentary worker 20 Kcal /kg of ideal body weight and 25 Kcal / kg body weight for a moderately active worker is given
• Protein: About 60g protein per day is necessary to maintain proper nutrition.
  
• Fats: About 20g partly as vegetable oil is permitted.
• Carbohydrates: Complex carbohydrates are helpful in dietetic management
• Sodium: More about salt in DASH Diet

The DASH diet can include

• Whole grains (6 to 8 servings a day)
• Vegetables (4 to 5 servings a day)
• Low-fat or fat-free milk and milk products (2 to 3 servings a day)
• Lean meats, poultry and fish (6 or fewer servings a day)
• Nuts, seeds and beans (4 to 5 servings a week)
• Fats and oils (2 to 3 servings a day)
• Sweets, preferably low-fat or fat-free (5 or fewer a week)
• Sodium (no more than 2,300 mg a day)

Dash Diet Tips

• Limit salt when cooking Instead, add flavor without adding salt.
• Make your plate colorful. Add a serving of vegetables at lunch and at dinner.
• Add a serving of fruit to your meals or as a snack, dried fruits are easy to use, but check that they don’t have added sugar.
• Low-fat or skim dairy products, Limit meat to 6 ounces a day. Make some meals vegetarian.