This diet is originally conceived in 1992 as a way to find the right diet to combat rising cases of morbid hypertension among Americans. Today, after years of exhaustive studies by different health institutions, DASH diet promoted by the United States Government not only for people with hypertension but also as a healthy model diet for every American to prevent lifestyle diseases.
The DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet encourages the consumption of more fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy products. The diet also calls for lean meat, fish, poultry, nuts and beans as different sources of protein and advises reduction of salt, sugar, and fats in general. The amount of salt in a day was 3,200 mg maximum from all sources. Sugar was limited to no more than three teaspoons only. Alcohol consumption is limited to no more than two beverages and caffeinated drinks such as coffee and colas are restricted to a total of three beverages per day.
The studies of individuals basing their diet on DASH model, although not wholly vegetarian, can greatly reduce blood pressure by 6 mm Hg in systolic and 3 mm Hg in diastolic in normal persons. For hypertensive individuals, there is a drop of 11 mm Hg and 6 mm Hg respectively. This is a big cut and large gain to prevent further complications such as heart failure, kidney disease, coronary heart disease and hardening of blood arteries. It was universal to men and women with ages of 48 to 83.
This diet is easy to follow, but beware of so-called healthy foods that actually hide sizeable amounts of salt, white sugar and fats. See the packaging for sodium preservatives, corn syrups and saturated fats. DASH diet maintains ideal body weight that is better than sticking to fads that promises extreme weight loss.
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