WHAT IS BLOOD PRESSURE?
Blood pressure is the force of blood against artery walls. It is measured in millimeters of mercury (mmHg) and recorded as two numbers—systolic pressure (when the heart beats) over diastolic pressure (when the heart relaxes between beats). Both numbers are important.
Blood pressure rises and falls during the day. But when it stays elevated over time, it's called high blood pressure. High blood pressure is dangerous because it makes the heart work too hard, and the high force of the blood flow can harm arteries and organs such as the heart, kidneys, brain, and eyes. High blood pressure often has no warning signs or symptoms. Once it occurs, it usually lasts a lifetime.
WHAT IS DASH DIET?
The DASH diet is a well-balanced, lifelong approach to healthy eating that was discovered in research funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to determine the role of dietary eating patterns on blood pressure.
The DASH diet was chosen by a distinguished panel of doctors for its healthy balance of food groups, its ability to improve health and its proven track record of successfully working time and time again.
WHY WAS IT CREATED?
DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. DASH diet recommends 1500 mg of sodium a day for people who have high blood pressure, where as normal recommendation is 2300 mg of sodium per day or lower.
DASH DIET IN DETAIL
· Lower sodium intake :
1500 mg of sodium per day.
· Increased vitamins and minerals :
All your essential vitamins and minerals are provided on the DASH diet by the many fruits, vegetables, whole grains and other whole foods that you are encouraged to eat on the diet.
· Increased good fats :
In DASH diet saturated and trans fats should be replaced with lean meats, omega-3’s from fish and seafood, low-fat dairy, nuts and seeds.
· Increased fiber consumption
The DASH diet recommends increasing your fiber consumption by eating several servings of fruits, vegetables and grains every day.
· Reduction of alcohol and caffeine :
The DASH diet suggests limiting your intake of alcohol, soda, tea and coffee because they offer no nutritional value, typically contain a lot of sugar and they can elevate blood pressure.
DASH DIET FOOD GROUPS
TIPS TO MAKE THE SWITCH TO DASH DIET PLAN:
· Change gradually
· Reward successes and forgive slip-ups
· Make exercise an important part of your DASH diet lifestyle
· Get support if you need it
TIPS TO LOWER YOUR SODIUM INTAKE:
Here are some other ways in which you can reduce your sodium intake:
· Don’t add salt to the water when preparing rice, hot cereal or pasta.
· Use sodium-free spices, flavorings or condiments with your food instead of salt.
· Purchase foods labeled “sodium-free,” “low sodium,” and “no-salt added”.
· Rinse canned foods to remove some sodium.
· Get rid of the salt shaker you would normally keep on your dinner table.
· Read food labels.
If you are diligent about reading food labels you might be surprised when you see how much sodium is in processed food. Even foods that you consider healthy can still contain a substantial amount of sodium.
For example canned vegetables and low-fat soups are some foods that you wouldn’t think would be high in sodium.
How much sodium is in salt?
One teaspoon of table salt contains approximately 2300 mg of sodium and a 2/3 teaspoon of salt contains 1500 mg of sodium!
Adjusting to low sodium foods
If food that you normally consume tastes too bland in the “low-sodium” variety then try making more of a gradual increase to low-sodium foods. Be patient. It can take a few months to get used to low sodium foods.
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