image:Varsenaa/Getty Images
Diets can be difficult to maintain. This is one of the reasons why so many diets fail and people go back to the weight they originally lost. However, as we age, what we eat can have a significant impact on our health, especially since the risk of diseases such as high blood pressure and heart disease increases.
The American Heart Association recently surveyed medical data to find the heart-healthiest meal plans. And their vote was directed to the Diet to Halt Hypertension (DASH) diet, despite several leading candidates such as the Mediterranean and vegan diets.
The DASH diet is National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. Unlike other meal plans, there are no dietary restrictions on what you can or cannot eat. Instead, this plan provides recommendations to shape your daily and weekly nutritional goals.
“The DASH diet is one of the few heart-healthy diets that has been studied for many years,” he says. Dr. Chen Han Chenis an Interventional Cardiologist and Medical Director of the Structural Heart Program at Memorial Care Saddleback Medical Center in California. “It does a great job of lowering blood pressure, which is an important risk factor for heart disease, so we want to address it and improve it.”
Everyone’s meal plan is a little different, but the diet focuses on some important general themes. The DASH meal plan includes eating whole grains such as vegetables, fruits, and whole grain breads. All of the above are high in fibre, which will help you feel full faster. In addition, the plan also encourages opting for fat-free or low-fat dairy options, such as beans, fish, nuts, and lean meats like chicken breast.
The DASH diet also encourages limiting intake of foods high in alcohol, salt, and saturated fat. These include coconut oil, red meat, whole milk and cheese. Additionally, people on the DASH diet should reduce their intake of sodas and other sweets.
Based on a 2,000 calorie diet, daily dose The DASH meal plan includes:
- 6-8 servings of grain
- 4-5 servings of vegetables
- Fruit for 4-5 people
- 2-3 servings of non-fat dairy products
- 4-5 servings of nuts and seeds
- No more than 6 servings of red meat, poultry and fish
- 2-3 tablespoons of oils and fats
- No more than 5 servings of sweets per week
- Less than 2,300 mg of salt equivalent
Although it is possible to lose weight through healthier eating habits, please note that the DASH diet is not a weight loss meal plan. Designed to lower blood pressure and cholesterol by removing empty carbs and replacing them with protein and “good” fats.
“It’s easiest to think of it as a healthier way of eating than as a diet,” explains Dr. Chen. For this reason, anyone can follow his DASH diet, but it’s even more important for those who are overweight or have high blood pressure, he says.
of American Heart Association We’ve evaluated the 10 most popular diets aimed at helping heart health. Mediterranean, vegetarian, and pestalian meal plans follow guidelines for a heart-healthy diet, including eating lots of fruits and vegetables, limiting sugar and salt, and limiting ultra-processed foods, to name a few. is. Paleo and keto diets, on the other hand, actually worsened a person’s heart health.
The DASH diet was the only diet to score a perfect score of 100, followed closely by the Mediterranean diet, which scored 89. This is because the Mediterranean diet allows small amounts of alcohol.
The news that the DASH diet has ranked among the top heart-healthy foods isn’t all that surprising.Recent studies have shown that the DASH diet and lower risk of heart disease and heart failure as you get older.one study An estimated 10 percent reduction in heart disease risk was observed after following the DASH diet for two months.
Starting a lifestyle change can be difficult at first, but there are some tips you can take to stay on the DASH diet.
Any diet should be started slowly. A complete overhaul of your eating habits can put you under too much pressure and make you more likely to give up. Instead, try adding a little more heart-healthy food each day, such as adding another vegetable to your lunch or dinner. Everyone’s body is different, but Chen said he started seeing results within two weeks of starting the DASH diet. “Patients told me that after a few days they felt better and had more energy.”
To avoid snacking unnecessarily, consider using a food diary or app to keep track of your current eating habits. Once you know the patterns when you’re most likely to crave junk food and sweets, you can prepare fruit and other low-fat snacks to satisfy those cravings.
The most important thing is to never give up even if you don’t see immediate results. Chen says you might eventually see small changes in your health that act like positive reinforcement to keep you moving forward. “Don’t think of this as a diet plan to lose weight in the short term, but as a long-term investment in your health and future.”
