Making the DASH
For: Weighing in on the
Diet Debate, November 2002
Weight-loss diets—Atkins, Zone, Beverly Hills, Scarsdale, Grapefruit, Sugar Busters, Drinking Man's, and countless others—achieve fame but then sink because they don't work over the long haul. And some are downright dangerous. We are seldom enthusiastic about "diets." There is one exception: DASH, the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, an eating plan proven to lower blood pressure and help reduce blood cholesterol. It can also help you lose weight, particularly in conjunction with regular exercise.
Good news about DASH is accumulating. The original diet was not sodium-restricted; but when you combine the plan with a low salt intake, it lowers blood pressure even more, as recent studies have shown. The diet is rich in calcium (mostly from dairy), magnesium, and potassium, which help control blood pressure. Besides helping to lower blood cholesterol, DASH may also reduce blood homocysteine, a substance that has been linked to a higher risk of heart disease. B vitamins help lower homocysteine, and DASH supplies plenty of them.
What's magic about this diet? No magic—mostly
common sense. Almost nothing is off limits, except huge helpings of high-fat
snacks, desserts, and other processed foods.
The following DASH plan is based on a 2,000-calorie daily intake (you can adjust the number of servings up or down, depending on your weight and activity level). You'll choose from a wide range of fruits and vegetables (8 to 10 servings a day, including juice); grains (6 to 8 servings a day); dairy products (low-fat or nonfat, 2 or 3 servings a day); nuts and beans (4 or 5 servings weekly); lean meats, poultry, and fish (no more than 2 servings a day); fats and oils (2 or 3 servings a day); and sweets (5 servings weekly). Serving sizes are small—1 slice of bread; 1/2 cup cereal; 1/2 cup cooked vegetables, rice, or pasta; 1 medium fruit; 3 ounces of meat, poultry, or fish; or 6 ounces of juice.
If that still sounds hard, imagine this as a day's intake:
• Breakfast: 1 cup bran cereal with 1 cup nonfat milk and a medium banana, plus 1 cup nonfat fruit yogurt (no added sugar). Coffee and tea are fine. (Breakfast may even include a bagel and cream cheese.)
• Lunch: 3/4 cup chicken salad (made with a reasonable amount of low-fat mayonnaise) on 2 slices of whole-wheat bread with a tablespoon of mustard; plus a cucumber and tomato salad with fat-free ranch dressing; and 1/2 cup fruit cocktail juice.
• Dinner: 3 ounces lean roast beef with low-fat gravy; a small baked potato with nonfat sour cream and a small amount of reduced-fat cheddar cheese and scallions; 2 small whole-wheat rolls with soft margarine; 1 apple; and 1 cup nonfat milk.
• You get snacks, too: 1/3 cup unsalted almonds, 1/4 cup raisins, and 1 cup orange juice.
Not too bad, really, though there's no room for a Big Mac or chocolate
sundae.
And by the way: It's easy to get a free copy of a booklet on the DASH diet, with daily menus, simple recipes, and scores of helpful tips for getting used to healthy eating (snack on fruit and raisins instead of cookies, for instance, and choose whole grains instead of refined). Write to NHLBI Health Information Center, P.O Box 30105, Bethesda, MD 20824-0105. Or call 301-592-8573. Or download the booklet here.
UC Berkeley Wellness Letter, June 2002
