Lower Your Blood Pressure and (Weight) With the DASH Diet

Following the article I wrote on the Fad and Crash diets, I searched the web to find another healthy diet plan to lose weight. I came across a booklet known as Your Guide To Lower Blood Pressure With DASH. DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension.

The booklet, based on the DASH research findings, tells how to follow the DASH eating and reduce the amount of salt you consume. It offers tips on how to start and stay on the eating plan, as well as a week of menus and some recipes.

The DASH eating plan follows heart healthy guidelines to limit saturated fat and cholesterol. It focuses on increasing intake of foods rich in nutrients that are expected to lower blood pressure, mainly minerals (like potassium, calcium and magnesium), protein, and fiber. It includes nutrient-rich foods so that it meets other nutrients requirements as recommended by the Institute of Medicine.

The DASH plan can serve as a healthy weight loss method. Here is an extract from the new DASH ebook which shows how to use the DASH eating plan to lose weight.

The DASH eating plan can be adopted to promote weight loss. It is rich in lower-calorie foods, such as fruits and vegetables. You can make it lower in calories by replacing higher calorie foods such as sweets with fruits and vegetables.

Here are some examples:

To increase fruits –

* Eat a medium apple instead of four shortbread cookies. You’ll save 80 calories.

* Eat ¼ cup of dried apricots instead of a 2-ounce bag of pork rinds. You’ll save 230 calories.

To increase vegetables –

* Have a hamburger that’s 3 ounces of meat instead of 6 ounces. Add a ½ cup serving of carrots and a ½ cup serving of spinach. You’ll save more than 200 calories.

* Instead of 5 ounces of chicken, have a stir fry of 2 ounces of chicken and 1½ cups of raw vegetables. Use a small amount of vegetable oil. You’ll save 50 calories.

To increase fat-free or low-fat milk products –

* Have a ½ cup serving of low-fat frozen yoghurt instead of a ½ cup serving of full-fat ice cream. You’ll save about 70 calories.

And don’t forget these calorie-saving tips:

* Use fat-free or low-fat condiments.
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* Use half as much vegetable oil, soft or liquid margarine, mayonnaise, or salad dressing, or choose available low-fat or fat-free versions.

* Eat smaller portions – cut back gradually.

* Choose fat-free or low-fat milk products.

* Check the food labels to compare fat content in packaged foods – items marked fat-free or low-fat are not always lower in calories than their regular versions.

* Limit foods with lots of added sugar, such as pies, flavoured yoghurts, candy bars, ice cream, sherbet, regular soft drinks, and fruit drinks.

* Eat fruits canned in their own juice or in water.

* Add fruits to plain fat-free or low-fat yoghurt.

* Snack on fruit, vegetable sticks, unbuttered and unsalted popcorn, or rice cakes.

* Drink water or club soda – zest it up with a wedge of lemon or lime.


The DASH plan also has a few guidelines on fitness.