Lowering Blood Pressure Through Diet – DASH Diet Plan
The DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet is an eating plan used for lowering blood pressure through diet. Studies have shown dramatic results, in that the DASH diet can lower blood pressure in as little as 2 weeks! It’s a diet reduced in total and saturated fat and rich in fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy foods can significantly lower blood pressure.
HOW TO FOLLOW THE DASH DIET
Serving Sizes and Choices
To help you follow the DASH diet, the list below suggests the number of servings per day from each of the indicated food groups. These servings apply to people who require 2000 calories per day. The number of servings may increase or decrease depending on your caloric needs, which vary according to age, gender, size, and how active you are.
7-8 servings Whole Grains and Whole Grain Products per day
4-5 servings Vegetables per day
4-5 servings Fruits per day
2-3 servings Low fat or Nonfat Dairy Foods per day
2 or fewer servings of Meats, Poultry and Fish per day
4-5 servings Nuts, Seeds and Legumes per week
Limited intakes of Fats and Sweets
Tips on Eating the DASH Way
Start small. Make gradual changes in your eating habits.
Most people find it hard to make changes in their diet if they try to do too much too fast. Start slow. You are more likely to have your healthier habits be lasting ones if you make small changes that you can realistically maintain.
Treat meat as one part of the whole meal, instead of the focus.
Although meat contains protein and other nutrients, which are good for your body, it also has a lot of fat, including saturated fat, calories and cholesterol. Often people have a large portion of meat as a main course and don’t eat enough vegetables or grains.
Use fruits or low fat, low-calorie foods as desserts and snacks.
Many people enjoy snacks. This can be a healthy benefit to your diet if you choose the right kinds of foods. Instead of chips, cookies, candy bars, or high fat muffins, try foods such as fresh fruits, unsalted nuts with raisins, graham crackers, and raw vegetables.
Remember!
If you use the DASH diet to help prevent or control high blood pressure, make it a part of a lifestyle that includes choosing foods lower in salt and sodium, keeping a healthy weight, being physically active and, if you drink alcohol, doing so in moderation.
Learn more about the DASH diet: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/hbp/dash/new_dash.pdf.
All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
Not Enough Fat – Cutting Fat Too Low Can Impact HDL Cholesterol
When it comes to lowering cholesterol, it’s common to drastically decrease fat intake. While it’s important to reduce total fat, especially saturated and trans fats, if you limit heart healthy fats too much you can make it difficult to raise HDL (“good”) cholesterol levels.
Fat is an essential component of a healthy diet providing energy and the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K. Some types of fat even reduce your risk for certain chronic diseases.
What’s important is the amount and type of fat. I recommend restricting fat intake to ~30% of your total daily calories. This would mean if you are consuming 1500 calories per day, 450 calories or 50 grams would come from fat sources.
Healthy fat sources include mono and poly-unsaturated fats. Here are examples of healthy fat sources to include in your diet in moderation:
Olive oil
Canola oil
Avocados
Seeds
Nuts
Peanut butter
Fish
Some fat in your diet actually promotes weight loss by helping you feel full longer, decreasing your likelihood to snack and overeat!
All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
How to Lower Cholesterol in 8 Simple Steps
Supplements – How to Pick a "Whole Food" Supplement for Optimal Health
If you strive for optimal health, consider adding a whole food supplement to your daily regimen. However, you must be a savvy shopper to make sure you select a supplement that lives up to its claims. . .many are a waste of money! Things to look for:
1. Independent research – This means the company selling the product did not conduct the research.
2. Double blind, placebo controlled studies – This means neither the “patient” nor the doctor knew if they were taking the supplement or a sugar pill. Provides more reliable results.
3. Research that shows results – If the product claims to raise antioxidant levels and reduce high blood pressure then research studies need to back this up.
4. Publication in peer reviewed journals, such as The Journal of the American College of Cardiology or the Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics.
All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
Juice Plus
How to Lose Weight – 5 Key Strategies to Start Losing Weight Today!
Here are five strategies you can start using today to promote long term weight loss:
1. Don’t cut calories too low – Drastic calorie restriction can slow your metabolism.
2. Eat a well balanced breakfast everyday.
3. Strength train to build muscle mass and boost your metabolism.
4. Eat regular meals and snacks – Do not go more than 3-4 hours between meals/snacks.
5. Include healthy fats in moderation to promote a feeling of fullness.
All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
Mini Diet Makeover
How does cholesterol cause heart disease?
Here’s a question I was recently asked:
How does high cholesterol affect your cardiovascular system?
Let me see if I can explain and keep the process easy to understand!
First the endothelium (thin inner lining of your blood vessels) becomes damaged and inflamed. This damage can be caused by a variety of factors, such as high blood pressure, high stress level, poor diet, toxic chemicals and metals, tobacco smoke, etc.
So, your inflamed endothelium becomes susceptible to attracting fatty particles like cholesterol. The cholesterol particles work their way into the lining. These deposits of cholesterol can then be damaged by free radicals to form oxidized LDL cholesterol.
The immune system responds to the inflamed site by secreting a substance to make the endothelium sticky. The process leads to the formation of macrophages whose goal is to “seek and destroy” foreign objects. However, the oxidized LDL is toxic to macrophages, causing macrophages to be immobilized and unable to return to the blood stream.
The process continues to draw white cells to the area where they too are immobilized by oxidized LDL leading to the formation of a “fatty streak” on the artery wall.
A number of steps now take place involving C-reactive protein, fibrinogen, white blood cells, elastin, and collagen that eventually form a tough, fibrous cap over the fatty steak. Under the fibrous cap, dead cells accumulate, decay, and produce pus. You now have the development of a dangerous plaque within your artery walls. Plaque can continue to grow and instigate the development of additional plaque within the arteries leading to the narrowing of your blood vessels, reduced blood flow, heart attacks, etc.
FYI – Cholesterol does not necessarily need to be elevated for the above steps to take place. It’s becoming more clear that knowing your LDL and HDL particle size gives you a better overview of your heart health than typical cholesterol levels. Particle size can be determined with lab work, such as a Lipoprotein Particle Profile.
All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
Heart Healthy Tips
Heart Healthy Tips – 3 Key Minerals to Lower Blood Pressure
1. Reduce your SODIUM intake.
Too much sodium in your diet can contribute to high blood pressure and make your blood pressure treatment less effective. Simply reducing your sodium intake to 2.3 grams (6 g table salt) daily can decrease your blood pressure.
The average American consumes 6-18 grams of table salt daily (about 3 teaspoons). The body only needs 200 mg daily. That is 30 times less than what American’s typically consume.
To be heart healthy, sodium intake should be reduced to less than 2300 mg (1 teaspoon) daily.
Quick tips to cut back on sodium:
- Don’t add salt when boiling water.
- Leave the salt shaker off the table.
- Read food labels to avoid foods high in sodium.
- Avoid foods high in sodium, such as gravies, cheese, and soy sauces.
2. Increase your POTASSIUM intake.
Potassium works to balance out the sodium in your diet. An adequate potassium intake can lower systolic pressure ~4.4 mm Hg and diastolic pressure ~2.5 mm Hg.
Good potassium sources:
Cantaloupe, bananas, dates, nuts, oranges, and green leafy vegetables
Maintaining an adequate intake of potassium is especially important if you are taking diuretics. Some diuretics increase potassium loss via the kidneys.
3. Add more MAGNESIUM to your diet.
Research has shown an inverse relationship between magnesium and blood pressure. In other words, individuals with a high magnesium intake, typically have a low blood pressure.
Good sources of magnesium include:
Peas, beans, whole grains, nuts, seeds, lima beans, squash, broccoli, spinach, and seafood
Supplemental magnesium of ~500 mg can effectively lower blood pressure. Some studies have found magnesium supplements to reduce systolic blood pressure 2.7 mm Hg and diastolic 3.4 mm Hg. Discuss all supplements with your MD!
All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
Heart Healthy Tips
