THIS MEAL PLAN HAS BEEN RATED NO. 1 FOUR TIMES.
IS IT RIGHT FOR YOU?
Have you heard of the DASH diet? DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. Hypertension is another word for high blood pressure. Health experts in the U.S. News and World Report ranked the DASH diet the best overall diet for the last four years. The DASH diet was compared with 20 to 32 of the most popular diets during those years. The expert panel also ranked the DASH diet as the best diet for diabetes.
What is the DASH diet?
The DASH diet was developed at the National Institutes of Health in an effort to lower high blood pressure. Researchers of the DASH diet found that eating foods that are high in potassium, calcium and magnesium and lower in sodium can help lower blood pressure. Better still, the DASH diet helps people who already have high blood pressure.
The DASH Diet and diabetes
Besides lowering blood pressure, the DASH diet can lower cholesterol and even help lower fasting blood glucose and A1C levels in people with type 2 diabetes. Also, the DASH diet is easily adjusted for weight loss. The main benefit of the DASH diet for people with diabetes, however, is its ability to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke.
| FOODS THAT ARE PART OF THE DASH DIET | |
| Food | Servings |
| whole grains | 6–8 daily |
| fruit and vegetables | 4-5 daily |
| low-fat dairy | 2-3 daily |
| nuts, seeds or beans | 4-5 per week |
| lean meat, poultry or fish | 6 ounces per meal |
| sweets or added sugar | 5 or fewer per week |
What else do you need to know about the DASH diet?
While whole grains, fruit, milk and yogurt, starchy vegetables and beans are healthy, they also contain carbohydrates. Therefore, it’s important to plan your DASH diet with your diabetes menu in mind. Your dietitian can help make sure you get the right amount of carbohydrates while following the DASH eating plan. You can reap the benefits of the best diet for high blood pressure and diabetes at the same time.
with diabetes have high
blood pressure, or take a
blood pressure medicine.
— The American
Diabetes Association
2
reasons
people with
diabetes
need to
be aware
of Blood
pressure
numbers
➊
High blood
pressure is
two times
as common
among people
with diabetes
as it is among
people without
diabetes.
➋
High blood
pressure can
lead to the
same problems
that result when
diabetes is not
controlled:
heart attack,
stroke and
kidney failure.
If you have
both diabetes
and high blood
pressure, it’s
very important
to manage both
conditions.