What you eat affects your chances of developing hypertension, otherwise known as high blood pressure. Blood pressure can be unhealthy even if it stays only slightly above the optimal level of less than 120/80 mmHg. The more your blood pressure rises above normal, the greater the health risk.
Cami Wells Following the DASH — Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension — eating plan and eating less sodium have been scientifically proven to lower blood pressure and have other health benefits. The DASH eating plan emphasizes vegetables, fruits, and whole grains and includes fish, poultry, beans, nuts and healthy oils. It limits foods that are high in saturated fat, such as fatty meats, full-fat dairy products, and tropical oils such as coconut, palm kernel and palm oils.
It is also lower in sodium compared to the typical American diet and reduces sugar-sweetened beverages and sweets. The DASH eating plan requires no special foods and has no hard-to-follow recipes. It simply calls for a certain number of daily servings from various food groups.
For example, the DASH eating plan includes four to five servings of fruit and four to five servings of vegetables each day for those following a 2,000-calorie diet. The DASH eating plan was designed for those with high blood pressure, but it is also a heart-healthy plan you can share with your family. • Change gradually.
If you now eat one or two servings of vegetables a day, add a serving at lunch and another at dinner. • If you don’t.