Learn Healthy Eating with the DASH Diet

You might have read about the DASH diet and wondered if it’s just another quick weight loss scheme. Far from it. It’s actually a very healthy approach to eating that was developed by the US National Institutes of Health to help people control their high blood pressure and cholesterol. DASH is an abbreviation for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. The diet encourages the consumption of lots of unprocessed, nutrient packed foods such as whole grains, fruits and vegetables, lean white meats and fish, while avoiding sugar, sodium and red meat. In fact, this plan is actually one of the most healthy weight loss programs you can find today.

The diet also encourages choosing fresh food over processed products. The incentive is that fresh foods often taste better. Processed foods contain three quarters of the sodium found in the average diet. This is why the DASH diet discourages them. A large number of cases of hypertension are caused by excessive sodium consumption. Reducing your sodium intake by eliminating processed foods from your diet is a big step towards controlling your blood pressure and living a healthier, longer life.

The DASH diet isn’t just for controlling hypertension. It also encourages lifestyle changes rather than food deprivation to help you achieve and maintain a healthy weight. The DASH diet was the outcome of numerous studies that looked at various diet programs and their results.

This lifestyle program not only tells people what foods are good for them, it also advises them as to how to choose healthy, satisfying foods as a replacement for nutrient poor fast food. This component of the program is perhaps the most important, because when people change their eating habits, they start to long for their old low nutrient favorites. People aren’t as likely to stray from their diet if they can find an appealing healthy food to replace their poor nutritional choices. With this valuable tool, people will be more likely to stay with the program until it becomes a habit.

There’s also a book of guidelines that has been published for the diet called Your Guide to Lowering Your Blood Pressure with DASH. This guide shows the nutritional information for many foods and gives suggestions for healthy alternatives for the less nutritious ones. The guide also provides meal ideas that meet the DASH guidelines, along with a nutritional analysis. It also features a useful resource section which includes the names of organizations that can help people get started with the plan, and provide support to maintain it.

The DASH program isn’t just another fad diet. It has been developed through careful research studies. It’s endorsed by numerous experts and organizations in the field of health and nutrition. It’s highly recommended for anyone who is having difficulties with high blood pressure. People who are looking for weight loss advice or just want to eat a healthier diet overall will also find this plan useful.

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