How DASHing Can Help You Avoid High Blood Pressure

Blood pressure is the force of blood against the walls of you arteries, and the measurement typically rises and falls throughout the day depending on activity, mood, health, and other factors. If your pressure stays elevated for a long time, you have high blood pressure. About 2/3 of people over the age of 65 have high blood pressure.

High blood pressure is dangerous and is sometimes called "the silent killer" because it makes the heart work harder than it should have to. It increases the risk of heart disease and stroke, two of the most prevalent causes of death in the United States. Untreated high blood pressure can also cause other risky medical conditions such as kidney disease, congestive heart failure, and blindness. High blood pressure is a condition that most people will have to deal with at some point in their lives, because even people who do not have it at age 55 are 90% likely to develop it later in life.

Unfortunately some people just have a genetic predisposition for high blood pressure just because it runs in their family. For those people, all the prevention tips in the world might not help avoid having to deal with the disease pharmaceutically. But for many people, blood pressure can be kept under control by not smoking, drinking in moderation, and getting plenty of exercise and regular sleep. However, one of the main strategies for dealing with high blood pressure isn’t just watching how much you eat, but also watching what you eat.

The basic idea behind using eating to control blood pressure is to set up a healthy eating plan with plenty of food low in saturated fat, total fat, and cholesterol, and be sure include plenty of fruits, vegetables, and lowfat dairy foods. A food diary is helpful to keep track of what you’re eating every day—sometimes you’ll be surprised by what that diary will reveal! If you need to lose weight, be sure to do so slowly. Not only is slow and steady weight loss healthier for your body, it improves your chances of maintaining the loss for the long term.

The most successful overall eating plan for helping to maintain healthy blood pressure levels is the DASH eating plan—"Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension." The DASH eating plan includes whole grains, poultry, fish, protein, fiber, and nuts, and is high in potassium, calcium, and magnesium. The plan is low in fats, red meats, sweets, and sugared beverages. Also, eating foods with lower amounts of salt and sodium can reduce blood pressure.

Because the DASH eating plan has more daily servings of fruits, vegetables, and grains than you may be used to eating, you may temporarily have to deal with bloating and diarrhea as your body gets used to the new regimen. For that reason, you should ease into the plan slowly, gradually increasing our servings of fruits, vegetables, and grains. The DASH plan was not designed as a weight loss diet, but if you’re trying to lose weight, you can still follow the DASH plan at a lower calorie level. You can simply replace high-calorie foods in the plan with more fruits and vegetables.

Tips for successful switching to the DASH plan:

* Increase fruits in your diet by swapping out four cookies with a medium-sized apple.
* Increase vegetables in your diet by replacing 5 ounces of chicken with a stir-fry made of 2 ounces of chicken and ½ cup of raw vegetables.
* Use only half the butter or margarine you use now. (Try it—you really won’t miss it!)
* Treat meat as just one part of the meal, equal to the side dishes, rather than making it the focus of your plate.
* Lower your meat intake by cooking more meat and vegetable casseroles, pasta, rice, and stir-fry dishes.
* Increase nutrients and vitamin B by choosing whole grain foots such as whole wheat bread and whole grain cereals.
* Have a couple of meatless meals each week.

Whatever dietary changes you decide to make to keep your blood pressure under control, be sure to make the changes gradually, instead of all at once, so you’re more likely to stick with it in the long run. For example, try one week using lowfat or fat-free salad dressing. The next week, try using half the butter you usually put on your biscuits. The third week, make your sandwiches with half the amount of mayo you usually use, and for an added bonus, use light mayo. Then try having one meatless meal a week for a couple of weeks. Taking tiny steps along the way to a comprehensive lifestyle change will make you more likely to stick with it for the long term. Most people don’t handle change well, but if the changes are steady and subtle, you won’t even notice them. Until you realize you’re feeling better and your blood pressure is under control.

The DASH diet, recommended by the American Heart Association and the National Institutes for Health, has been proven to lower high blood pressure in just 14 days. For more information, visit http://dashdiet.org.