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About the DASH diet
You need to eat the right amounts and right balance of food to maintain a healthy weight and reduce your risk of diseases including high blood pressure. Remember that no single item supplies all the nutrients necessary for good health. So eat a wide variety of foods, to ensure you get all you need.

Eating to lower blood pressure
The DASH eating plan significantly lowered blood pressure in the recent Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) study, and it may also help prevent and control high blood pressure.

DASH Eating Plan
Food Group	Daily Servings*	Serving Sizes
Grains	7–8	1 slice bread; ½ cup cereal or cooked rice, pasta, or cereal
Vegetables	4-5	1 cup raw leafy vegetable; ½ cup cooked vegetable; 6 ounces vegetable juice
Fruits	4-5	1 medium fresh fruit; ¼ cup dried, frozen, or canned fruit
Low-fat and nonfat dairy	2-3	8 ounces milk; 1 cup yogurt; 1.5 ounces cheese
Meats, poultry, and fish	2 or fewer	3 ounces cooked meat, poultry, or fish
Nuts, seeds, and legumes	Fewer than 1 (4–5 per week)	1.5 ounces or 1/3 cup nuts; ½ ounce or 2 tablespoons seeds; ½ cup cooked legumes
* Number of servings is based on eating 2,000 calories a day. If your caloric needs are higher or lower, you may eat more or fewer servings.

Compared with the standard food pyramid, the DASH eating plan is even richer in fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy foods and lower in saturated and total fat. It is also low in cholesterol; high in potassium, calcium, magnesium, and fiber; and moderately high in protein.

If you use the DASH eating plan to help prevent or control high blood pressure, make it part of a lifestyle that includes choosing foods lower in salt, maintaining a healthy weight, and making a habit of physical activity. And if you drink alcohol, do so in moderation.

Food and medicine
The DASH eating plan can lower blood pressure. But if you are taking medication for high blood pressure, don't stop taking your medication just because you are starting the diet. Instead, advise your healthcare provider of your lifestyle changes, so your medication regimen can be monitored accordingly.

This section © 1999 RxRemedy, Inc.

A word about fats
While fats don't directly raise blood pressure, they do affect the health of your heart and blood vessels. A high blood cholesterol level is a risk factor that raises your chance of developing heart disease. And fats, especially saturated fat, play a role in raising the cholesterol in your bloodstream.

Saturated fat is often found in foods from animals. This includes fatty meats, the skin of poultry, and whole-milk dairy products, such as butter, cheese, and ice cream. It also is in coconut, palm kernel and palm oils. These oils are found mostly in processed foods, such as baked goods, snack foods, and crackers.

If you use saturated fat, keep the amount small. Instead of saturated fat, try soft or liquid margarine and such oils as canola, safflower, and olive. But all kinds of fats have the same amount of calories and need to be limited to help you lose weight.

This section © National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

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