The DASH Diet and Your Heart Health
The DASH diet, which stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, is often recommended to those who want to treat or prevent high blood pressure. High blood pressure impacts over a billion people across the globe, with that number rising steadily.
Over a 40-year period, the number of people with high blood pressure has doubled. This is a serious concern because hypertension is linked to an increased risk for other conditions, such as strokes, heart disease, and kidney failure.
Many physicians believe that diet plays a major role in blood pressure levels, and many people have sought out dietary strategies to reduce it. In this post, we want to examine the DASH diet and show how it has the potential to reduce people’s risk of heart disease.
What Is the DASH Diet?
This diet is often recommended to help people reduce their risk of heart disease. It focuses on lean meats, vegetables, whole grains, and fruits. When researchers noticed a connection between plant-based diets and a lower frequency of hypertension, they created this dietary strategy.
That’s the reasoning behind the diet’s emphasis on vegetables and fruits. Although it contains some leaner proteins (chicken, fish, beans, etc), it is low in salt, red meat, and added fats and sugars.
The reduced salt intake is part of why scientists believe it can benefit people with high blood pressure. At its base level, the DASH diet encourages participants to consume no more than 1 teaspoon of sodium each day. This amount aligns with many national guidelines. However, people frequently exceed it on a day-to-day basis.
What Are the Potential Benefits?
Aside from the potential to reduce your blood pressure levels, this diet offers other potential benefits, with weight loss high among them. However, everyone’s body has different requirements, so it’s important to remember that diet alone isn’t always enough to shed weight. The DASH diet’s ultimate goal is to lower your blood pressure. Weight loss is just a potential side effect.
Reducing Your Blood Pressure
Blood pressure is the measure of the force that is put on blood vessels and organs as blood passes through them. Your BP levels include 2 numbers:
- Diastolic pressure is the pressure in blood vessels between your heartbeats when your heart is at rest.
- Systolic pressure is the pressure in the blood vessels when your heart beats.
The DASH diet shows evidence that it can lower blood pressure in those with hypertension as well as in healthy individuals. In certain studies, participants in this dietary strategy who didn’t experience weight loss or restrict their salt intake still experienced reduced blood pressure.
However, those who did restrict their sodium intake found even lower blood pressure levels. In fact, those with the lowest salt consumption saw the greatest reduction in their BP levels.
Will the DASH Diet Work for Me?
As we said earlier, every body has different requirements. While many of the studies on the DASH diet showed that lower salt intake often translated to reduced blood pressure, there aren’t as many clear answers as to the benefits of salt restriction on your general health.
If you have hypertension, significant reductions in your salt intake will likely impact your blood pressure levels significantly. For those with average levels of blood pressure, the results might be limited.
When high blood pressure is a concern, it’s important that you consult your physician. At TCAH, our Kingwood cardiologists can develop a comprehensive health plan to reduce your risk of heart disease and improve your heart health. With our personalized approach to medicine, we examine your specific situation and tailor your treatment accordingly. Schedule an appointment today to begin your journey to a healthier heart.