DASH to health

Suppose medical scientists discovered a way to significantly lower your risk of heart disease, stroke, and kidney failure—without any pills, surgery, or fancy gimmicks. Well, they have. It is focused on controlling or preventing high blood pressure, or hypertension—a major risk factor for many health problems—by improving dietary habits.

Called DASH, or Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, this diet involves eating lots of fruits, vegetables, and dairy products—about twice the average amount consumed by many Americans—and taking a cautious approach to

meat and fats. Medical researchers recently discovered that DASH not only helps control hypertension—as well as drugs do in many cases-but it may also help prevent this life-threatening condition.

The DASH diet requires no special foods, mixes, or weekly meetings. All it takes is a commitment to eat lots of grains, fruits, and vegetables. Also important: consuming enough low-fat dairy products and keeping an eye on the amount of meat and fat in the diet. If you think this sounds like a lot to bite off, start by making small changes in your diet. Then, move toward DASH diet recommendations over time.

Who Can Benefit from DASH?

The ideal blood pressure for adults is 120/80 or lower. Less than half of all Americans have an optimal blood pressure. The rest either have hypertension or fall somewhere in between. A person is considered to have hypertension if the top number—or systolic pressure—is 140 or higher, or the bottom number—diastolic pressure—is 90 or greater. But research indicates that even a higher than ideal blood pressure can increase the risk of heart disease.

The DASH diet's ability to lower blood pressure became clear in a recent study that involved 459 men and women of various ages and ethnic groups. Participants with hypertension who followed the DASH diet for eight weeks saw their blood pressure drop by 11.4/5.5.

Interestingly, participants without hypertension also experienced a drop in blood pressure of 3.5/2.1, suggesting that the diet may even help prevent the condition. This finding may be particularly relevant to women and men who are at a high risk for developing high blood pressure. This includes:

• people with a family history of hypertension
• African-Americans
• postmenopausal women
• overweight people
• diabetics
• people with a high-normal blood pressure—that is, 130 to 139 over 85 to 89.

Women and men who fall into any of these groups might want to consider adopting DASH as a way to avoid health risks associated with high blood pressure.

And, because this diet includes an abundant amount of fruits, vegetables, and dairy products, it may also reduce a person's risk of cancer and osteoporosis.

Getting More Fruits and Vegetables

A large number of fruit and vegetable servings are required with the DASH diet. This may sound intimidating, but the serving sizes are small.

For instance, one veggie serving equals only a handful of broccoli, and 15 medium grapes make up one fruit serving. Here are some tips to help increase your daily fruit and veggie quotient:

• Add sliced bananas or berries to your morning cereal.
• Heat frozen blueberries or strawberries in the microwave for a toaster waffle topping.
• Pack an apple or a bag of carrot sticks, raisins, or dried apricots for handy snacking.
• Stock up on canned and frozen fruits and vegetables. To reduce the salt content of canned vegetables, rinse them in water before eating.
• Add a little curry or cinnamon to canned fruits, and heat.
• Use your microwave to quickly prepare vegetables. Pop in a potato and top it with salsa and microwaved broccoli and corn.
• Top low-fat frozen yogurt with sliced peaches or berries.

Easy Ways to Cut Back on Meat, Fish, and Poultry

The DASH diet limits meat, fish, and poultry to two servings a day or less. To cut back, begin thinking of meat as only one part of a meal, rather than as the main course. Three ounces—the serving amount called for in DASH—is about the same size as a deck of cards. Here are some other tips:

• Make meatless meals at least a twice-a-week habit.
• To ensure entrees are low in fat, select lean meat, trim away the visible fat, and remove the skin from poultry. Broil, roast, or boil rather than frying.
• Include more vegetables, beans, nuts, rice, or pasta in casseroles or pasta dishes so you'll need less meat to fill you up.

Dairy Products Are Important, Too

DASH also calls for two to three daily servings of low- or nonfat dairy foods, such as yogurt, milk, and cheese. You can add dairy products to your diet by eating low-fat yogurt or cottage cheese as a snack and drinking skim or low-fat milk with meals.

Other Lifestyle Habits

For the DASH diet to successfully control or prevent hypertension, researchers emphasize that women and men need to engage in other healthy lifestyle strategies. These include: limiting salt intake, keeping weight at a healthy level, exercising 30 to 45 minutes almost every day, not smoking, and drinking alcohol only in moderation. In addition, experts caution people not to stop taking antihypertension medications without consulting a doctor.

The DASH Diet