DASH Diet for Lowering Blood Pressure

DASH Diet

 [Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension]

In addition to following the American Heart Association’s (AHA) heart healthy diet recommendations (low-fat, high fiber diet with fruits and vegetables and plant-based protein), the DASH diet emphasizes a low sodium diet with adequate amounts of calcium, potassium and magnesium. This plan has been shown to lower blood pressure in as quickly as two weeks. Following this plan may also lower LDL (bad) cholesterol.

The Guidelines:

• 1500mg sodium [The AHA recommends this amount of sodium for ALL individuals]
• 4700mg potassium
• 1250mg calcium
• 500mg magnesium

How to lower sodium intake:

• Eat more fresh fruits and vegetables for snacks
• Cook from scratch and freeze leftovers
• Don’t add salt to your food
• Eat out less often; ask servers how the food is prepared and ask for sauce on the side and/or no salt added
• Go easy on the condiments
• Rinse canned beans well
• Choose frozen/fresh over canned vegetables
• Limit frozen dinners or if you do have one on occasion, look for ones with less than 600mg sodium
• Read labels: aim for foods with no more than 300mg per serving (less than 150mg is even better)

Reducing your sodium intake is extremely important to lowering blood pressure, but the following nutrients have also been shown to play a role. Focus on eating a variety of fruits and vegetables daily (5 to 9 servings per day) as well as the other nutrient-dense foods below.

 Potassium rich foods: potatoes, banana, soybeans, apricots, sweet potato, lentils, spinach, zucchini, almonds, kidney beans, oranges, fat-free milk, low-fat yogurt, fish, wheat germ

 

Photo source

 

Magnesium rich foods: halibut, almonds, cashews, soybeans, spinach, whole wheat products, shredded wheat cereal, oatmeal, potatoes, peanuts, wheat bran, pumpkin seeds, low-fat yogurt, brown rice, lentils, avocado, kidney beans, wheat germ, banana, sunflower seeds, flaxseed

 Calcium rich foods: fat-free milk, low-fat yogurt, collard greens, black strap molasses, calcium-fortified orange juice, turnip greens, tofu, tempeh, kale, soybeans, okra, bok choy, broccoli, tahini, almonds, fortified soy milk, wheat germ

For more information visit the DASH Diet.

DASH Yogurt Parfait

Yield: 1 parfait

Time: 5 minutes

 Ingredients:

• ½ cup wheat bran cereal
• 1 6oz container of vanilla non-fat Greek yogurt [better yet, plain yogurt - lower in sugar]
• ½ medium banana, sliced
• 1/8 cup sliced almonds
• 1 Tbsp chopped dried apricots

 Place ¼ cup cereal in a small bowl; layer 3oz yogurt, ¼ banana, 1/16 cup almonds, ½ Tbsp apricots. Repeat.

 Nutrition Stats: 300 calories, 5gm fat, 0.6gm saturated, 66mg sodium, 47gm carbohydrate, 9.5gm fiber, 27gm sugar, 22gm protein

 Other ways to lower your blood pressure:

• Exercise at least 30-60 minutes 3-6 days per week
• Weight loss, if needed
• Caffeinated beverages can increase blood pressure, consume sparingly
• Quit smoking
• Practice stress management
• Increase fiber intake [fruits, vegetables, whole grains]

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