Nowadays, high blood pressure is a common ailment. You most likely know someone with high blood pressure. Perhaps you are suffering from it yourself. The DASH diet was developed against high blood pressure and other cardiovascular diseases. With this diet you can prevent your blood pressure from becoming too high and, if it is already too high, you can lower it.
What is DASH?
DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. This diet was co-developed by the American National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. Scientific research has shown that DASH can lower high blood pressure and also improve blood lipid levels (fats in the blood). This reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease. This diet is also used by many to lose weight in a healthy way.
What is DASH made of?
The DASH diet recommends eating vegetables, fruits, and fat-free or low-fat dairy. Whole grains, poultry, fish, nuts, beans, seeds and vegetable oil also form an important part of the diet. Furthermore, the DASH diet emphasizes reducing red meat, sweets, salt and sugary drinks.
In terms of nutrients, the diet is rich in calcium, potassium, magnesium, fiber and protein and low in saturated fats, trans fats, sodium and cholesterol.
How do you apply DASH?
As you have already seen above, this diet does not require any special nutrition. Also, there are no set food schedules to adhere to. All you have to do is ensure that you consume certain amounts of different food groups every day.
These amounts depend on the number of calories you need. Your calorie needs depend on your age and especially on how active you are. You can use the table below to get an indication of your calorie needs.
|
physical activity |
||||
|
sex |
age |
few |
average |
a lot of |
|
man |
19-30 |
2400 kcal |
2600-2800 kcal |
3000 kcal |
|
31-50 |
2200 kcal |
2400-2600 kcal |
2800-3000 kcal |
|
|
50+ |
2000 calories |
2200-2400 kcal |
2400-2600 |
|
|
woman |
19-30 |
2000 calories |
2000-2200 kcal |
2400 kcal |
|
31-50 |
1800 kcal |
2000 calories |
2200 kcal |
|
|
50+ |
1600 kcal |
1800 kcal |
2000-2200 kcal |
|
Activity explanation
|
few |
average |
a lot of |
|
only movement from everyday activities |
equivalent to walking 2.5-5 km at 5-6.5 km/hour plus daily activities |
equivalent to walking more than 5 km at 5-6.5 km/hour plus daily activities |
Note: In addition to your age and activity, your body type is also a more important factor for your calorie needs. So it could be that your calorie needs are slightly higher or lower than what the table indicates.
Now that you have an indication of your calorie needs, you can determine how much you need per food type on this diet. You can use the table below for this.
|
kind |
units per day |
great unit |
examples and recommendations |
usefulness of kind |
||
|
1600 kcal |
2000 calories |
2600 kcal |
||||
|
grains (preferably whole wheat) |
6 |
6-8 |
10-11 |
1 slice of bread, 1/2 cup cooked rice/pasta |
whole wheat bread/pasta, muesli, oatmeal, brown rice |
important source of energy and fiber |
|
fruit |
4 |
4-5 |
5-6 |
1 medium fruit, 1/2 cup fruit juice, 1/4 cup dried fruit |
apples, bananas, pears, grapes, melons, strawberries, raisins |
important source of potassium, magnesium and fiber |
|
vegetables |
3-4 |
4-5 |
5-6 |
1 cup raw leafy vegetables, 1/2 cup vegetable juice, 1/2 cup chopped raw/cooked vegetables |
spinach, broccoli, potatoes, tomatoes, carrots |
rich in potassium, magnesium and fiber |
|
fat-free/low-fat milk and milk products |
2-3 |
2-3 |
3 |
1 cup milk/yogurt, 40 grams cheese |
fat-free/low-fat milk, fat-free/low-fat cheese, fat-free/low-fat yogurt |
source of calcium and proteins |
|
low-fat meat, poultry and fish |
3-6 |
6 or less |
6 |
30 grams of meat/poultry/fish, 1 egg |
only low-fat meat; remove visible fat; remove skin from poultry |
rich in magnesium and proteins |
|
seeds, nuts, legumes |
3 per week |
4-5 per week |
1 |
1/3 cup nuts, 2 tablespoons peanut butter, 2 tablespoons seeds, 1/2 cup cooked legumes |
walnuts, hazelnuts, peanuts, almonds, peanut butter, kidney beans, lentils |
source of energy, magnesium, fiber and proteins |
|
sweets and added sugar |
0 |
5 or less per week |
2 |
1 tablespoon of sugar, 1 cup of lemonade, 1 tablespoon of jam |
lemonade, ice cream, sugar, candy |
source of energy and low fat content |
|
fats and oils |
2 |
2-3 |
3 |
1 tablespoon vegetable oil, 1 tablespoon soft margarine, 1 tablespoon mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons salad dressing |
low-fat mayonnaise, soft margarine, vegetable oil (e.g. olive, corn, rapeseed, safflower |
source of energy, fatty acids, |
Additional tips
In addition to changing your diet, you can also improve your blood pressure in other ways. Some of these ways include maintaining a healthy weight, exercising for 30 minutes on as many days as possible, and if you drink alcohol, do so in moderation. You can also use this diet to lose weight if you are overweight. All you have to do is consume a little less calories than your calorie needs.
