What Is The DASH Diet?
When you are looking for a diet for treating high cholesterol, you might want to consider the DASH diet. This eating plan requires no special foods. It emphasizes fresh fruits and vegetables rather than processed foods. This is called as DASH diet which the first word stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension.
The DASH diet is highly recommended to many people with hypertension (high blood pressure) or pre-hypertension by their physicians. The DASH diet eating plan has been proven to lower blood pressure in studies sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension).
The DASH diet provides more than the traditional low salt or low sodium diet to reduce blood pressure. It is based on an eating plan rich in fruits and vegetables, and low-fat or non-fat dairy, fibers as well. New research continues to show additional health benefits of the plan.
The DASH eating plan has been proven to lower blood pressure in just 14 days of continued use. Best response came in people whose blood pressure was only moderately high, including those with pre-hypertension. For people with more severe hypertension, who may not be able to eliminate medication, the DASH diet can help improve response to medication, and help lower blood pressure. The DASH diet can help lower cholesterol, and with weight loss and exercise can reduce insulin resistance.
The DASH Diet Action Plan provides real life solutions to make it easy for people to follow the DASH diet. It has 28 days of meal plans (with adjustments for various calorie levels), recipes, guidance for weight loss, how to eat at restaurants, fast food places, etc. and still stay on track. It shows you how to organize your kitchen for the DASH diet, how to read food labels to make good choices. And, of course, the meal plans and recipes are all low sodium or low salt. This diet teaches you how to add exercise and other lifestyle changes to help lower blood pressure. It helps you design your own personal “DASH Diet Action Plan.”
New research shows that following the DASH diet over time will reduce the risk of stroke and heart disease. And the benefits of the DASH diet have also been seen in teens with hypertension.
The DASH diet is so easy to follow and manage. Therefore, it is truly the diet for everyone from anywhere in the world.
