High Blood Pressure? Have a DASH of Spark

There's More to it than Your Sodium Intake

-- By Becky Hand, Licensed & Registered Dietitian

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For years, battling high blood pressure meant throwing out the salt shaker and throwing on the sweatpants. We now know that there’s more to the picture.

Exercise and maintaining a healthy weight have always been powerful tools for managing high blood pressure. But recent studies are showing that a number of food choices – not just salt – play a large role in your blood pressure levels. In fact, following a particular eating plan called the "DASH" diet, along with decreasing your sodium intake, can lower your blood pressure.

So if you’re specifically targeting high blood pressure, you can easily follow DASH diet principles and use them right along with your SparkDiet plan. You can even use the same tracking and planning tools. Simply keep these principles and strategies in mind when planning your meals and groceries.

What is the DASH diet?
Whether you are trying to reduce your risk of developing high blood pressure or want to bring an existing condition under control, the DASH principles and SparkDiet plan can work together to help. Designed by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) plan can help protect against osteoporosis, cancer, and heart disease. The healthy rewards are great with the SparkDiet and DASH combination.

The DASH plan:

Emphasizes whole grains, fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products
Encourages fish, poultry and legumes
Allows red meats, sweets and fats, but in limited amounts
Is low in saturated fat, cholesterol, and total fat
Is high in fiber and nutrients such as magnesium, potassium and calcium.
Encourages a reduction in sodium intake

Doing the DASH
The DASH strategies outline how many servings are needed each day from various food groups, based on calorie levels. The standard DASH plan is based on 2,000 calories a day. If you are trying to lose weight and want to eat fewer calories, the 1600-calorie version might be a better place to start (adjust as you can to account for your specific SparkDiet calorie goals). The following chart lists the food groups and daily servings recommended by the DASH diet, as well as portion sizes and tips to incorporate them into your meals:

Food Group	Daily Servings, 1600 Calories	Daily Servings, 2000 Calories	Serving Sizes	Tips
Grains	6	7-8	1 slice bread; 1 oz dry cereal; ½ Cup cooked rice/ pasta/ cereal; ½ bun/bagel	-Choose whole grains (brown rice, whole wheat bread/pasta, oats) rather than refined grains
Vegetables	3-4	4-5	½ Cup cooked vegetable; ½ Cup cut-up raw vegetable; 1 Cup raw leafy vegetable; ¾ Cup vegetable juice	-Choose fresh, frozen, or reduced sodium canned vegetables -Add vegetables to stir-fry, soups, stews, and casseroles -Snack on veggies and dip
Fruits	4	4-5	½ Cup fresh/ canned/ frozen fruit; 1 Medium piece of fruit; ¼ Cup dried fruit; ¾ Cup fruit juice	-Have a glass of juice for breakfast and a piece of fruit at lunch -Add fruit to cereal, salads, yogurt, pudding, cake -Snack on fresh fruit and dip
Low-fat and Fat-free Dairy	2-3	2-3	1 Cup low-fat/fat-free milk/yogurt; 1.5 oz low fat natural cheese; 1 oz low fat processed cheese	-Top soups, casseroles, salads with grated cheese -Enjoy a fruit yogurt smoothie -Have a slice of cheese on a sandwich
Meats, Poultry, Fish	6 oz. or less	6 oz. or less	2-3 oz lean meat/ poultry/ fish; 1 egg = 1 oz.	-Trim away skin and fat before cooking -Use low-fat cooking methods (broil, grill, roast, poach)
Nuts, Seeds, Dried Beans	3/week	4-5/week	1.5 oz of nuts; ½ oz seeds; ½ Cup cooked beans	-Peanuts, nuts, and seeds are high in fat, but it is a healthy type of fat; add small amounts to your stir-fry, salad, trail mix, and oatmeal -Soybean products such as tofu and tempeh are great meat alternatives
Fats and Oils	1-2	2-3	1 tsp soft margarine; 1 Tbsp low-fat mayo; 2 Tbsp light salad dressing; 1 tsp vegetable oil	Choose healthy fats like olive, canola, soybean, and peanut oil -Limit fat from meat, butter, cheese, whole milk, and cream
Sweets	0-1 tsp/day, OR 2 Tbsp/week	1-2 tsp/day, OR 5 Tbsp/week	1 Tbsp = ½ oz jelly beans, 8 oz lemonade, 1 T jelly/jam	Enjoy an occasional sweet treat in moderation -Use artificial sweeteners to help satisfy your sweet tooth while sparing the sugar

Tips to Reduce Salt
For best results, follow the DASH principles outlined above and lower your salt intake with these tips:

Use reduced sodium or "no salt added" products
Buy fresh, plain frozen, or canned with "no salt added" vegetables
Use fresh poultry, fish, and lean meat, rather than canned, smoked, or processed types
Limit cured and pickled foods, such as bacon, ham, pickles, olives, and sauerkraut
Limit high salt condiments, such as mustard, horseradish, catsup, soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, and barbecue sauce
Season foods with your favorite spices, herbs, lemon, lime, vinegar, and salt-free seasoning blends
Cook rice, pasta, and hot cereals without salt
Choose lower sodium frozen dinners, mixed dishes, canned soups, and broths

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About The Author

Becky Hand
Becky is a registered and licensed dietitian with almost 20 years of experience. Through her company, An Ounce of Prevention, she makes nutrition principles practical, easy to apply and fun. See all of Becky's articles.

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Member Comments

PAULINEMHORNER

I have read several books on the DASH diet...I have even followed it for a couple of days and found that even my blood sugars stabilized. My doctor was very happy about that. I would recommend this to all who suffer from high BP and diabetes. - 6/1/2013 7:34:06 PM
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JGMARIE80

Thanks for this article. How do I save this? I usually e- mail articles to my son's e- mail so I can print the article and read it over again but there's not even an option to do that. - 3/24/2013 10:55:33 PM
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LIVINGSIMPLY355

This is a great article! Thanks for all the pointers for lowering hypertension,
I would never have known some of these things without this information.
Thanks Becky for posting this! - 2/5/2013 4:54:05 PM
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BRIDEATH

Wow! Such a great and informative article! Just what I was looking for. Sparkpeople you never disappoint! - 9/29/2012 7:07:06 PM
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MINNIEKS6101

Great article! Thank you for this information! Several people I can pass it along too! - 9/21/2012 9:10:55 PM
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RENIESSPARKIN

Great article and I too would have liked more info on the reason minerals affect high blood pressure.

FFLYER Thank you thank you thank you. I've actually been hurt so much with the blood pressure cuff I'm made them take it off. I had no idea it was my Grandma Batwings causing the problem. - 9/21/2012 4:11:52 PM
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NAOLEE

My husband started with high blood pressure. I think is hereditary. His grandfather and an aunt died of high blood pressure. His mother have high blood pressure, too. I'm very sad because I have ALS and he help me a lot. We are veterans. - 9/21/2012 3:48:57 PM
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HOPEFULHIPPO

so, basically eat the way you should eat? LOL - 9/21/2012 2:44:41 PM
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SONITA34

I am 34 years and suffer from high blood pressure and high cholesterol, I don't eat vegetables no matter how much i try is there another approach i can tale to solve the problem, cause by reading this article it sounds interesting but there are lots of food i cant eat - 8/16/2012 10:21:26 AM
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DEIDRE143

I was taken to the er this past weekend with a major head ach and bloodshot swolen eyes and found out my blood pressure was 186 over 118... I am 36 years 5 ft and 182 lbs...did not even think my headachs could be comming from blood pressure...I was put on meds and told about the dash diet.... I had already started to diet and had lost 4 lbs in 2 weeks but this has made me take it more seriouse then the fact I dont want to be fat.. my weight actually IS affecting my health...my LIFE..Gotta Keep It Up!! :) - 7/27/2012 3:52:06 PM
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06GR8KDZ

My husband and I have been following the DASH for six months now. We've both lost nearly the desired amount of weight and hope to continue this way of eating as a lifestyle, not a diet. We're definitely never hungry and I believe, for us, it's been the combination of the specific number of servings of each food group that brings the weight loss along. I've been following a 1200 calorie/diet regime and my husband follows 2000 calories/day. We've learned alot and continue to learn everyday of different things we can add to our plan to stay within the limits of calories/sodium/e
tc for the DASH. We are true believers! One tip I would add, is that you can make your own dry, low (or no) sodium mixes for just about anything you want to cook, i.e., taco mix, spaghetti mix, etc. It's exciting to find the recipes and implement them and to see the difference in sodium that the homemade recipe has compared to the mixes you buy. Definitely, one easy change you can make. - 6/13/2012 6:01:16 PM
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PEGGIE57

I used to take Lisinopril until I began to exercise regularly. Then, my BP when down to normal. & my kidney function returned to almost normal! When I went off cholesterol med, it returned to 100% normal. Now both my sodium & my potassium are low. I take potassium. - 4/15/2012 11:26:05 PM
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CHRIS3874

I wish there could have been more info on the role POTASSIUM , calcium and other minerals play in regulating blood sodium levels. Other than that it was a very good article.
Ironically the last time I bought soy sauce the "no - name" brand had LESS sodium in it than the name brand "reduced salt" did. Go figure- it pays to read labels. - 4/15/2012 7:47:15 PM
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LKG9999

My father is 86 years old and has had hypertenion for over 40 years. When he was diagnosed, he was told to lose weight, exercise, and limit salt. He was one of the rare people who did all those things, but still needed medication to keep his hypertension under control. Sometimes diet and exercise aren't enough. I'm extremely grateful that by the time my father was diagnosed in the late 1960s there were medications to keep his blood pressure in check. He's outlived both of his parents, who died at much younger ages from complications based on hypertension (heart attack & stroke). - 4/15/2012 10:16:19 AM
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JOEMARCHESANI

After 25 years, I was able to discontinue my hypertension medication after losing fifty pounds through a combination of DASH diet principles combined with cardio, strength, and yoga exercise. More importantly, by staying with this diet and exercise regimen, I have maintained my weight loss for a year now. In my retirement, I find myself training to become an instructor for the Silver Sneakers program and for yoga. Typically, I'm 20 years older than the other trainees for Silver Sneakers and 30 years older than those in the yoga training. It's never too late to begin working to be well. But you already knew that. - 4/15/2012 9:46:22 AM
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