Better heart health in eight weeks? Double down on fruits and veggies

Two decades ago, the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) study tested the effects of three different diets on almost 500 participants over eight weeks. The first diet was a typical American diet, relatively low in fruits and vegetables (3.5 servings daily) and high in junk foods and sweets. The second offered more fruits and vegetables (8.5 servings daily) as well as seeds, nuts, and beans, and not many sweets. The third was the very healthy DASH diet, rich in fruits and vegetables (9.5 servings daily), beans, nuts, seeds, and whole grains, and barely any sweets. Participants truly stuck to each diet plan: All meals were provided by the researchers, with one meal per day eaten at the study center and the rest provided in coolers for take-home. All diets had the same amount of sodium (salt) and calories. What did the original DASH study find? After only two weeks, both the more-fruits-and-vegetables diet and the DASH diet significantly lowered blood pressure! This healthy blood pressure effect lasted for the whole eight-week study. Most importantly, it didn’t occur due to any differences in sodium intake or weight loss among the participants in all three diet groups. Further, the study highlighted a remarkable effect on participants following the DASH diet. Among those with a diagnosis of high blood pressure, systolic blood pressure (the top number) dropped by 11.4 points, and diastolic blood pressure (the lower number) by 5.5 points. Basically, the DASH diet was ...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Diet and Weight Loss Food as medicine Health Heart Health Nutrition Source Type: blogs