Silencing the Silent Epidemic with DASH

High blood pressure, or hypertension, is called the “silent epidemic.” That’s because so many people have it. But because it rarely shows any warning signs or symptoms, it’s easy to miss if you’re not looking out for it. According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), almost half of the adults in the U.S. have hypertension, and most don’t have it under control. In 2019, this resulted in over half a million deaths. High blood pressure can be dangerous because it increases your risk for a heart attack, stroke, kidney disease, and blindness. This is why regular blood pressure screening and incorporating a healthy diet and lifestyle are so important. This post is going to show you how.

The foods you eat affect many aspects of your health, and it’s never too late to start enjoying a more “heart-healthy” diet. One diet has been specifically designed to help with high blood pressure. That’s called the DASH diet: Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. And research says it works.

[Disclaimer: If your doctor recommends medication to help you control your blood pressure, be sure to take it as directed and go for routine monitoring or testing as required.]

What is blood pressure?

Blood pressure is how much pressure your heart needs to use to keep blood flowing through your vessels. You can think of it as water flowing through a flexible tube versus a stiff, rigid, narrow pipe. Imagine the amount of pressure you would need to push the water through the hose versus the pipe. That’s how blood pressure works. The greater the force required, the more pressure it puts on your vessels and the more damage it can do to the pump and the vessels. This is especially true when high blood pressure persists over many years.

High blood pressure usually develops over many years. It can happen due to diabetes or obesity or not getting enough physical activity. It can also sometimes occur during pregnancy.

The good news is that there are ways you can manage high blood pressure and lower your risk for heart disease (angina, heart attack, heart failure), stroke, kidney disease, and vision loss.

Healthy lifestyle for healthy blood pressure

Several healthy lifestyle habits can lower your risk for high blood pressure. The first is not to smoke because smoking is associated with many issues, including heart issues.

Another lifestyle habit for healthy blood pressure (and overall health) is getting at least 150 minutes of physical activity every week. That can be done with as little as 30 minutes per day, five days per week.

Positively managing stress is another strategy to help maintain healthy blood pressure.

Sodium and your blood pressure

Your nutrition impacts your blood pressure. Several nutrients can increase or decrease your blood pressure, depending on how much you consume. The nutrients associated with lower blood pressure include the minerals potassium, magnesium, calcium, fiber, and protein. The nutrient linked to increased blood pressure is sodium.

According to the American Heart Association, in general, the more sodium you consume, the higher your blood pressure. Sodium is one part of the salt compound, sodium chloride. One of the most significant sources of sodium in the diet is not from your kitchen salt shaker but the sodium hidden in processed and packaged foods. 

A recent study enrolled 20,995 participants with a history of stroke or high blood pressure to see if a lower-sodium salt substitute would reduce their risk of stroke, heart incidents, and death. Half of the participants continued to use regular salt over several years, while half agreed to use the salt substitute (75% sodium chloride and 25% potassium chloride). After almost five years, the participants who consumed the lower-sodium salt had fewer strokes, heart incidents, and deaths. Their risks were reduced by 12-14%, which is substantial when millions of people are at high risk from hypertension.

The DASH diet

A dietary pattern and food recommendations have been put together specifically for hypertension. The DASH diet has been deemed one of the best overall diets by U.S. News and is ranked among the top diets in the categories of heart-healthy, healthy eating, diabetes, easy-to-follow, and overall diets. Harvard Health also rated the DASH diet and says, “Research supports the use of the DASH diet as a healthy eating pattern that may help to lower blood pressure, and prevent or reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, kidney disease, and gout.” Some studies show that the blood pressure-lowering effect of the DASH diet can be similar to that of people taking medication.

The DASH diet is full of heart-healthy foods with blood-pressure-lowering nutrients. The recommendations for a 2,000-calorie-per-day intake include the following:

• whole grains (6-8 servings/day)
• fruits (4-5 servings/day)
• vegetables (4-5 servings/day)
• low-fat dairy (2-3 servings/day)
• meat, poultry, or fish (no more than two 3 oz servings/day)
• fats and oils (2-3 servings/day)
• nuts, seeds, or beans (4-5 servings/week)
• sweets and sugar-sweetened beverages (no more than five servings/week)

The DASH diet limits very few foods and nutrients such as sodium, saturated and trans fats, red meat, and sweets (including sugar-sweetened beverages).

As mentioned, the health benefits of eating a DASH diet are vast and include many of the most common diseases impacting adults.

One thing to remember when transitioning to a higher-fiber diet with more whole grains, fruits, and vegetables is to do this slowly to reduce your risk of experiencing gas and bloating. This can be accomplished by increasing these plant-based foods by one or two per week until you’re eating the recommended amounts.

Final thoughts

If you have high blood pressure or simply want to start a healthier diet to reduce your risk for a host of diseases, then the DASH diet may be for you. The DASH diet is rich in highly nutritious foods and can help you enjoy a longer life free of stroke, heart disease, kidney disease, blindness, diabetes, and gout.

The DASH diet is considered one of the easiest diets to follow and includes simple nutritional improvements like enjoying more whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.

If you want to learn more about how to get started—or continue—on your way to healthy blood pressure, consult a registered dietitian who can help.

Worried about high blood pressure? Interested in how to best implement dietary and lifestyle habits to reduce your risk of heart issues and other diseases? Want help creating a doable plan so that you can live your longest, healthiest life? Book an appointment today to see if my program can help you.

References

American Heart Association. (2016, October 31). Managing high blood pressure with a heart-healthy diet.
https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/high-blood-pressure/changes-you-can-make-to-manage-high-blood-pressure/managing-blood-pressure-with-a-heart-healthy-diet

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021, May 18). High Blood Pressure Symptoms and Causes. https://www.cdc.gov/bloodpressure/about.htm

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021, September 27). High blood pressure: Facts about hypertension.
https://www.cdc.gov/bloodpressure/facts.htm

Harvard Public Health. (n.d.). Diet review: DASH.
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-weight/diet-reviews/dash-diet/

Mandrola, J. M. and Neal, B. (2021). Will the Positive Findings From the SSaSS Trial on Salt Substitution Silence the Salt Skeptics? Medscape.
https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/957510#vp_1

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. (n.d.). DASH Eating plan.
https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health-topics/dash-eating-plan

Neal, B., Wu, Y., Feng, X., Zhang, R., Zhang, Y., Shi, J., Zhang, J., Tian, M., Huang, L., Li, Z., Yu, Y., Zhao, Y., Zhou, B., Sun, J., Liu, Y., Yin, X., Hao, Z., Yu, J., Li, K. C., Zhang, X., … Elliott, P. (2021). Effect of Salt Substitution on Cardiovascular Events and Death. The New England journal of medicine, 385(12), 1067–1077.
https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2105675
https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMoa2105675

U.S. News. (n.d.). Best diets 2021. https://health.usnews.com/best-diet

U.S. News. (n.d.). DASH diet. https://health.usnews.com/best-diet/dash-diet