The DASH diet reduces high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and helps with weight loss! Nutritionist reveals: 5 tips for mastering the Dehe diet

According to the National Health Administration's survey data on changes in the nutritional and health status of the people from 2017 to 2020, the prevalence of the three highs among people over the age of 18 is that one in every four people suffers from high blood pressure. In addition to drug control, daily diet management is also very important when dealing with high blood pressure. The DASH diet, which has been popular for a long time, is based on the principle of using a diet that is high in potassium, magnesium, calcium, dietary fiber, rich in unsaturated fatty acids and moderate in saturated fatty acids. It combines a variety of nutrients to improve health in all aspects to achieve the goal of lowering blood pressure.

DASH diet helps lower high blood pressure and lose weight

The full name of the DASH diet is Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, which originally means a dietary approach to lowering high blood pressure. It was originally proposed by the National Institute of Health (NIH) to provide hypertensive patients with an option to lower blood pressure in addition to medication. In addition, its high fiber and low fat properties can also help with weight loss.

DASH diet lowers LDL cholesterol and is beneficial to cardiovascular health

In addition to helping lower high blood pressure, studies have shown that the DASH diet can reduce the levels of bad low-density cholesterol (LDL) and triglycerides in the blood and increase the levels of good high-density cholesterol (HDL), which is beneficial to cardiovascular health and has been ranked as the number one best heart-healthy diet.

Features of Deshu diet: rich in potassium, magnesium, calcium, dietary fiber, etc.

The DASH diet is characterized by the intake of foods rich in potassium, magnesium, calcium, and dietary fiber, such as vegetables, fruits, and low-fat dairy products. Meat should be low-fat and red meat intake should be reduced. For oil intake, choose fats mainly containing unsaturated fatty acids, such as nuts, olive oil, avocados, nuts, etc. The intake of sugary drinks and sweets should also be reduced.

The Deshu diet is suitable for the general public. People with diabetes, kidney disease, gastrointestinal diseases, etc. should consult before eating.

Nutritionist Pan Fu-zi from Beitou Health Management Hospital pointed out that although the DASH diet is designed specifically for patients with hypertension, generally healthy people can also use the DASH diet as a daily dietary guideline. Due to the high-fiber, low-fat, and good-oil characteristics of the Deshu diet, if you control calories and know the amount of each food, it can also help people lose weight. If you have diabetes, kidney disease, gastrointestinal diseases, etc., you should consult a doctor or nutritionist first.

Nutritionist Pan Fuzi suggested that it can be easily implemented by simply grasping the key points of "high fiber, whole grains, low fat, and eating good oils".

5 tips to master the DASH diet

1. Whole grain staple foods: Try to focus on whole grain staple foods. You can use brown rice, oatmeal rice, whole wheat steamed bread and other foods to replace refined starches such as white rice and white flour. Consume about 6 to 8 servings a day.

2. Five servings of fruits and vegetables a day: Take 5 servings of vegetables and 5 servings of fruits every day, and eat them evenly among the three meals a day. When choosing fruits and vegetables, try to consume as many high-potassium fruits and vegetables as possible. Vegetables rich in potassium include amaranth, spinach, water spinach, etc.; fruits rich in potassium include kiwi, papaya, guava, banana, etc. Nutritionist Pan Fuzi also reminds us that a serving size can be one fist.

3. Choose low-fat dairy products: consume 2 to 3 servings of low-fat milk or low-fat dairy products every day, such as low-fat milk, yogurt, etc.

4. Eat high-quality protein: You can eat soy products or white meat instead of red meat, such as fish, chicken, duck, and goose, which can also reduce the intake of saturated fat.

5. Consume good fats: Choose good fats when cooking ingredients, such as olive oil, canola oil, sunflower oil, etc. You can also eat nuts to supplement the intake of fats rich in unsaturated fatty acids, but the amount should not exceed 1 serving a day.

Finally, nutritionist Pan Fuzi reminded that due to westernized eating habits, people tend to prefer oily and salty flavors. Also, due to busy lifestyles, they often neglect nutritional balance in their diet and most people do not develop exercise habits. According to the National Health Administration's survey data on changes in the nutritional and health status of the people from 2017 to 2020, the prevalence of the three highs among people over the age of 18 is: 1 in 4 people has high blood pressure (26.76%), 1 in 4 people has high blood lipids (25.6%), and 1 in 10 people has high blood sugar (11.05%).

In fact, the three highs are one of the risk factors for many cancers, cardiovascular diseases, and other chronic diseases. However, whether it is high blood pressure, high blood sugar, or high blood lipids, there is no obvious discomfort in the early stages of abnormalities, and most of them are discovered accidentally through health checks. In order to maintain good health, in addition to a healthy diet, regular health checks are also important to truly understand the true condition of your body.