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The acronym DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension and is commonly recommended by physicians for their patients with high blood pressure. Hypertension, another name for high blood pressure, can be a silent killer. If it goes undiagnosed it can cause serious long-term damage to the body. It can result in kidney damage or failure, heart attack or stroke. While the cause for high blood pressure may not be clear, treatments such as the DASH diet can be highly effective.
Blood pressure is defined as the force exerted on the walls of the artery when the heart is beating and while it is resting. The higher number is referred to as the systolic pressure and is used to describe the pressure exerted on the walls when the heart is contracting. The lower number is called the diastolic pressure and describes the pressure exerted when the heart is in the resting phase.
Blood pressure is described in the form of a fraction, with the systolic pressure going in the numerator and the diastolic pressure being recorded as the denominator. Blood pressure would be considered high if the top number is over 140 and the bottom number is above 90.
The DASH diet has been proven to lower elevated blood pressure significantly. The diet emphasizes fruits, vegetables, and low fat dairy products, while avoiding saturated fat, total fat, and cholesterol.
The diet is a good source of fiber, calcium, protein, magnesium, and potassium. The level of these nutrients that your body receives on the DASH diet will vary from day to day, but in general are two to three times the amount that most American who are not on the diet receive.
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute tested the DASH diet. Scientists tested the results using 459 adults who suffered from hypertension. Results of the tests confirmed that the DASH diet reduced systolic pressure by an average of 6 mm HG and 3 mm Hg for diastolic in two weeks.
The DASH diet is extremely effective because the food that it emphasizes, such as fruit, vegetables, and low fat diary products, act as a natural diuretics and can often help reduce blood pressure without the use of medication. This is because it encourages salt excretion and an increase in urination.
Keep in mind however that the DASH diet has more daily servings of fruits and vegetables that most people are used to eating. This makes it fiber rich and can sometimes result in diarrhea and bloating. Experts recommend easing into this diet to avoid any negative effects on your body. This means you should gradually increase your amount of daily servings of fruits, vegetables and grains.
The DASH diet boasts results in as little a two weeks. The best response has been reported in people with moderate hypertension or prehypertension. For people who suffer from more extreme high blood pressure the DASH diet may not eliminate the need for medication, but may still help lower blood pressure.
The DASH diet not only has been proven to lower blood pressure, but also can reduce cholesterol, lower your risk of heart disease, lower insulin resistance, and aid in weigh loss. It has also been proven to lower your risk of osteoporosis and certain types of cancer.
Experts agree that applying the DASH diet to your lifestyle will lower your blood pressure significantly. The diet is easy to follow, has many foods to choose from and is not overly expensive. Research shows that results are maximized when combined with regular exercise, limited alcohol and salt intake, and taking all medicines as prescribed.