Embrace the dash diet for a heart head start

Following the trends on regimens, changing consumption habits, changing lifestyles and daily routines, changing menus, high expectations and then either satisfaction or disappointment sums up the lifecycle and attitudes of health nuts.

Some may foster obsession regarding weight and physical shape, these might need to learn how to love themselves first; unfortunately, not all people enjoy this luxury. Diets can be really helpful in fighting diseases or at least inhibiting symptoms. Among these regimens, we find the dash diet. What is the dash diet? What is allowed on this regimen? What is not allowed? And what does the acronym stand for in the first place and how does it help? All of these questions and others will be explored in this article, make sure you finish reading.

What is the dash diet?

If you’ve heard of the term then you must have wondered about the dash diet meaning! Well, DASH simply stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension.

Unlike other regimens, DASH has one specific purpose to which various approaches are tried.

This diet aims at lowering and controlling blood pressure, which is a common problem among people regardless of gender and age. It can also lower LDL, low-density lipoprotein, or simply known as bad cholesterol.

Studies have revealed that this diet can lower both bad cholesterol and hypertension in just two weeks. Though it was not the end goal of the regimen, the dash can actually cause weight loss, which is a bonus to cherish.

Dash promotes foods that probably you have been told to eat since you were a kid: fruits, vegetables, and whole grains which are full of blood pressure deflating nutrients.

What you are not allowed to eat on this diet are high-fat foods, sugar, and sodium.

Of course, you will not abandon sodium once and for all; you will need to lower your consumption to 2,300 milligrams a day and drop it eventually to 1,500 mg.

Dash eating plan: baby steps and small changes

Dieting can be hard; giving up your favorite foods and eating something you didn’t use to like can be very challenging.

The best part about the dash diet is that you don’t have to change your eating habits 180 degrees in one day. Start with baby steps and upgrade to the next level when you feel ready.

The following are simple changes that you can follow to kick start your regimen.

First of all, cut on sweets, confectionaries, and fast foods. You can try healthier options like roasting potatoes in the oven instead of chips.

If you are not a veggies person, you need to add at least one vegetable and one fruit to your daily meals. Try a salad or a veggies casserole.

Lower salt amounts you use to cook. If you are afraid your food would be bland, you can try adding spices. There are over a hundred types of spices from around the world that probably you haven’t heard of and they will change your consumption of food and flavors.

To keep it simple, citrus and chili peppers are great options to use in your recipes.

Most people crave snacks before lunch and dinner, others crave late-night bites. It is ok to take a few bites as long as the choice is healthy. Instead of salty or sugary packaged snacks, try a handful of nuts, dates, or dried fruits.

Exercise is not obligatory in this diet, but it is always advisable. You don’t have to hit the gym daily; take a walk, especially after you have lunch or dine.

The bottom line, dash diet does not really provide a list of special foods or restrict your normal eating habits. Instead, dash provides nutritional goals to be met on daily basis for the ultimate goal of controlling hypertension.

In this light, here is an example of servings for a daily dash eating plan goals for a 2000 calorie a day diet:

Grains: 6-8

Meats, poultry, and fish: 6 or less

Vegetables: 4-5

Fruits: 4-5

Low fat or fat-free dairy products: 2-3

Fats and oils: 2-3

Sodium: 2,300 mg

Nuts and seeds: 4-5 weekly

Sweets: 5 or less weekly

Dash diet breakfast recipes:

Breakfast is usually a dilemma for me. I wake up just in time to get ready, so I barely have time to prepare something to eat not to mention thinking about something. I am sure that most people suffer from the same issue. Dieting makes this worse.

If you are planning on starting the Dash then you must ask what do you eat for breakfast on the dash diet.

Dietitian Shena Jaramillo recommends overnight oats for breakfast. Mix your oats with low-fat milk and leave it for the night, next morning it is ready to be mixed with a few more ingredients such as fruits and flavored with honey, nut butter, or even maple syrup.

Kick-starting the day with a considerable amount of protein is a good way to stay energized and get through the day actively. A veggie omelet might be a delicious plate for morning breakfast.

If you prefer sandwiches for breakfast, especially if you eat them on the go, then maybe you can try a healthy sandwich. Opt for whole-grain bread such as sourdough. Add tomatoes, hummus, and any leafy green you like.

Smoothies such as carrots and bananas or nut butter and yogurt can be excellent choices to fill you all day long.

You can come up with various dash diet breakfast ideas. Just stick to healthy options, low sugar, and you will discover delicious recipes to try and see what suits you best.

Several studies and test trials proved that dash can lower blood pressure and bad cholesterol in just two weeks if followed strictly. By following this diet you will be protecting yourself from cardiovascular diseases and heart strokes. Give it a try and judge the change for yourself.