Make a DASH For It!

There is a specific diet plan that is designed to help control the symptoms of hypertension. It is called the DASH diet. The medical community recognizes that hypertension is a disorder, which goes on to impact some of the critical life supporting organs. The DASH diet for hypertension is recommended by many institutions, such as The American Heart Association, The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and U.S. guidelines for treatment of high blood pressure. In fact, one of the first remedial measures suggested by your doctor when treating hypertension is the DASH diet.

Pick A Plan

The DASH diet has two diet plans. First and foremost, you must lower sodium intake by reading food labels for salt content. Both plans involve the calories consumed in either the 1600 - 3100 calorie diet or the 2000-calorie diet with both presenting different components within the plan and with slight variance of lower and upper level servings allowed under the two plans. Both plans also focus on plenty of grains, fruits, and vegetables, with fats and sweets, and low fat dairy products being the most limited in servings allowed under both plans.

So Much to Choose From

Recipes under the DASH diet are split up in ten categories of appetizers, beverage recipes, bread recipes, deserts, main dishes, salads, sandwiches, sauces and dressings, soups, and side dishes. A few more examples of the recipes you’ll find here is Southwestern corn meal muffins under breads, strawberry banana milkshake under beverages, pumpkin hazelnut cake under deserts, pork chops with black current jam sauce, beef stroganoff, and hearty turkey chili under the main courses, honey-glazed sweet potatoes under side dishes, and that’s just a small sample of all the recipe choices. However, while all these recipes are completely free you will need to purchase the DASH diet book to understand how to keep the various recipes within the allowable ranges of whichever of the two plans one chooses to follow. For more information on the DASH diet and recipes, the world renown Mayo Clinic in Minnesota has a wealth of information on this subject. Visit their Web site at www.mayoclinic.com/health/dash-diet-recipes/RE00089