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DASH diet: Healthy eating to lower your blood pressure
Alcohol and the DASH diet
Aside from salt, drinking too much alcohol can increase blood pressure. The DASH diet recommends limiting alcohol to two or fewer drinks a day in men, and one drink a day for women.
DASH nutrient mix
By following the DASH diet, you'll be getting more nutrients that can help lower your blood pressure. The mix of potassium, calcium and magnesium in the DASH diet acts as a diuretic, helping the body excrete salt.
| Mineral | What it does | Where it's found |
|---|---|---|
| Potassium | Balances the amount of sodium in your cells | Many fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, dairy products |
| Calcium | Not proved to prevent high blood pressure, but eating too little is linked with high blood pressure | Dairy products, green leafy vegetables, fish with edible bones, calcium-fortified foods |
| Magnesium | Deficiency linked with higher blood pressure | Legumes, green leafy vegetables, nuts and seeds, whole grains, lean meats |
Putting it all together
The DASH diet is based on a diet of 2,100 calories a day. If you're trying to lose weight, though, you may want to eat around 1,600 a day. The DASH diet is not designed to promote weight loss, but it can be used as part of an overall weight-loss strategy. You may need to adjust your serving goals based on your health or individual circumstances — something your health care team can help you decide.
Use the DASH food group guidelines and the guide to recommended daily servings to get started with your own menu planning. Consult the guidelines to help plan some sample menus for yourself, or talk to your doctor or a registered dietitian if you need more help creating menus.
To help you get started on the DASH diet, consider these strategies:
- Change gradually. People seeking healthier lifestyles often try to change too much at once. Instead, change one or two things at a time. If you now eat only one or two servings of fruits or vegetables a day, try to add a serving at lunch and one at dinner. Rather than switching to all whole grains, start by making one or two of your grain servings whole grains. Increasing the amount of fruits and vegetables you eat gradually will also help prevent bloating or diarrhea that may occur in some people who aren't used to eating a diet with lots of high-fiber grains, fruits and vegetables. You can also try over-the-counter products to help reduce the gas from beans and vegetables.
- Forgive yourself if you backslide. Everyone slips, especially when learning something new. Remember that changing your lifestyle is a long-term process. Find out what triggered your setback and then just pick up where you left off with the DASH diet.
- Reward successes. Reward yourself with a nonfood treat for your accomplishments.
- Add physical activity. To boost your blood pressure lowering efforts even more, consider increasing your physical activity in addition to following the DASH diet. These two interventions together are more successful at lowering blood pressure than either alone.
- Get support if you need it. If you're having trouble sticking to your diet, talk to your doctor or dietitian about it. You might get some tips that will help you stick to the DASH diet.
Remember, healthy eating isn't an all-or-nothing proposition. What's most important is that, on average, you eat healthier foods with plenty of variety — both to keep your diet nutritious and to avoid boredom or extremes.
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