Written by KURA Writer- Rylee Nelson
Incorporating a healthy lifestyle includes maintaining a healthy diet which can look different for everyone. Following a specific diet plan that matches your goals and preferences can help you maintain good food habits. It’s important to choose healthy foods that you personally enjoy eating for your diet to be sustainable. A diet that has demonstrated lowering blood pressure is the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute has funded four different studies to determine the benefits of the DASH diet. Their findings showed that the diet lowers blood pressure and reduces the risk of heart disease among other benefits (NHLBI, 2021).
The goal of the DASH diet is to treat or prevent hypertension by focusing on eating plenty of foods containing high amounts of magnesium, calcium, potassium, protein, and fiber (Mayo Clinic, 2021). The image below contains the serving suggestions for the DASH diet.
This diet is a good option because it allows for different personalized variations so you can choose the foods you enjoy from each of the suggested food group servings. You don’t have to start out eating the suggested serving amounts, it can be better to slowly incorporate them into your diet and gradually increase them. It’s easy to recognize the benefits of this diet since it has been studied and proven to lower blood pressure and decrease heart disease risk. Being able to perceive the benefits leads to a higher probability that a person will stick to a behavior. The DASH diet is just one example of how to maintain a healthy diet, but its health benefits are impressive.
Resources:
Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. (2021, June 25). How to make the Dash Diet Work For you. Mayo Clinic. Retrieved March 2, 2023, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/dash-diet/art-20048456
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2021, December 29). The science behind the dash eating plan. National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. Retrieved March 2, 2023, from https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/education/dash/research
What is dash diet? FutureLearn. (n.d.). Retrieved March 2, 2023, from https://www.futurelearn.com/info/courses/eduweight/0/steps/253859
