DASH is the acronym for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. The DASH diet can help lower high blood pressure, cholesterol, and other fats in the blood. It can help reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke and aid in weight loss. This diet is low in sodium (salt) and rich in nutrients.

How does the DASH diet work?
The DASH diet reduces high blood pressure by lowering the amount of sodium in your diet to 2,300 milligrams (mg) a day. Lowering sodium to 1,500 mg a day further lowers blood pressure. The DASH diet also includes a variety of nutrient-dense foods that can help some people lower blood pressure, such as potassium, calcium, and magnesium.

With the DASH diet, you:

• You will eat a lot of vegetables, fruits, and fat-free or low-fat dairy products
• It will include whole grains, legumes, seeds, nuts, and vegetable oils
  Eat fish, poultry, and lean meats
• You will cut down on salt, red meat, sweets, and sugary drinks
• It will cut down on alcoholic beverages
• You should also get at least 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise almost every day of the week. Examples include brisk walking or riding a bike. Aim for at least 2 hours and 30 minutes of exercise per week.

You can follow the DASH diet if you want to prevent high blood pressure. It can also help you lose the extra weight. Most people can benefit from a reduction in sodium intake to 2,300 mg per day.

Your healthcare provider may suggest that you reduce to 1,500 mg a day if you:

• You already suffer from high blood pressure
• Have diabetes or chronic kidney disease
• Is african american
• Are 51 years of age or older

If you take medicine to treat high blood pressure, do not stop taking it while on the DASH diet. Be sure to tell your provider that you are on this diet.

How to start?
With the DASH diet, you can eat foods from all the food groups. But you will include more of the foods that are naturally low in salt, cholesterol, and saturated fat. It will also include foods that are rich in potassium, calcium, magnesium, and fiber.

The following is a list of the food groups and how many servings of each to eat per day. For a diet that has 2,000 calories a day, you should eat:

• Vegetables (4 to 5 servings a day)
• Fruits (4 to 5 servings a day)
• Fat-free or low-fat dairy products, such as milk or yogurt (2 to 3 servings a day)
• Grains (6 to 8 servings a day and 3 should be whole grains)
• Fish, lean meats, and poultry (2 servings or less per day)
• Legumes, seeds, and nuts (4 to 5 servings per week)
• Fats and oils (2 to 3 servings a day)
• Sweets or added sugars, such as gelatin, hard candy, maple syrup, sorbet, and sugar (less than 5 servings a week)
• The number of servings you eat each day will depend on how many calories you need.

If you are trying to lose weight, you may need fewer servings than are listed.
If you are not very active, try to eat the fewest number of servings on the list.
If you are moderately active, eat the largest number of servings.
If you are very active, you may need more servings than are listed.
Your provider can help you find the correct number of servings per day for you.