Dash diet: for weight loss, hypertension, menu, for a week, what is it,

According to statistics from the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, more than 43% of Russians suffer from hypertension and have high blood pressure¹. In turn, the World Health Organization recalls that cardiovascular diseases are one of the leading causes of death in the world.

The DASH diet is a nutrition system for hypertensive patients, developed by doctors. It is based on limiting salt and saturated fats in the diet - key causes of high blood pressure. What is allowed to eat and what is forbidden? Menu by day for the week.

What is the dash diet?

DASH is actually an English acronym. It consists of the words Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, which means “Dietary approach to prevent hypertension.” I’ll tell you what it is in more detail.

Initially, it was a diet developed for hypertensive patients.

At the same time, the “side effect” of the special system is weight loss, and this is its huge advantage. After all, high blood pressure often comes as a result of gaining excess weight. The effectiveness of the diet is also expressed in the following points:

heart function improves;
the level of bad cholesterol decreases;
metabolism is activated;
the body is cleansed;
the system acts as a prevention of hypertension, which is extremely dangerous to health and life;
it also prevents diabetes, problems with blood vessels and heart muscle, kidney diseases and even cancer.

An important difference between the system and many others is that it does not force you to starve, and does not give many harsh taboos.

At the same time, it reduces blood pressure, normalizes weight, and significantly improves well-being. The nutrition system is universal and is also suitable for men of any age.

Judge for yourself how relevant this is. So, according to WHO, over the past 40 years the number of hypertensive patients has doubled. But according to statistics from the same organization for 2021, the number of people on the planet suffering from high blood pressure has crossed the 1.1 billion mark.

But that's not all. According to the most conservative estimates, by 2025 there will already be one and a half billion such sufferers! In Russia, 40% of the adult population experience problems with high blood pressure in one way or another. At the same time, hypertension is gaining momentum among children and adolescents.

To date, this disease has been found in 3.5% of the younger generation.

The right diet for hypertensive patients

If cholesterol levels in the blood increase, blood pressure increases. This is explained by the fact that the lumen of the blood vessels narrows. The first “dangerous” bell tells a person about serious problems and mistakes made. First you need to give up bad habits, switch to a healthy lifestyle and adjust your diet. Regular exercise will also help improve the functioning of the cardiovascular system. Hypertensive patients must accept that they require lifelong nutritional monitoring. A sick person cannot arrange fasting days or refuse food for a long time. A balanced menu will help reduce blood pressure and fill the body with useful elements and vitamins.

Main advantages of the system

This diet has the following important benefits:

It is accessible to everyone, as it does not include delicacies and expensive products.
Normalization of blood pressure and weight occurs without the feeling of hunger, and nutrition remains adequate;
The menu is rich in health benefits and contains all the necessary vitamins and microelements.
It is simple and convenient to use, and there is no need to count calories.
Promotes weight loss and prevents many serious ailments.
The condition of hair, dermis, and nails improves.
The result in the form of normalization of blood pressure and good health appears quite quickly.

Possible health benefits other than lowering blood pressure

Studies that were aimed at studying the complex effects of this food system on health showed that the DASH diet:

useful for the prevention of colon and breast cancer;
reduces the severity of metabolic syndrome, and, therefore, reduces the risk of developing diabetes;
protects against the blurring of severe heart diseases.

However, only the DESH diet menu, which includes a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables, has such healing properties. But not cereals and legumes, which are also allowed in the standard version. And uses only olive oil, not sunflower or corn.

Basic rules of the dash diet

Below, dear readers, you will find a list of the rules of the dasha system:

a taboo is placed on baked goods, store-bought sweets, everything smoked, fries, highly salted, as well as fast food;
salt consumption should be reduced to 1/3 teaspoon per day;
the main products in the diet are vegetables, a variety of cereals, fruits, fish, berries, any lean meat, exclusively whole grain bread, low-fat milk, legumes;
alcohol and smoking are also taboos;
There is a minimum of animal fats; they are replaced with vegetable oils.

Prohibited Products

When following the DASH diet, certain foods must be completely or categorically avoided. The following products and dishes are subject to a categorical or partial ban:

Rich meat and fish broths. It is also prohibited to prepare first courses based on them.
Complete refusal of baked goods, puff pastry, shortbread, butter dough, and wheat bread.
Confectionery products with cream, sweets, jams, ice cream, cocoa, strong tea, coffee, and chocolate are prohibited.
You cannot eat fatty meat (pork), lard, animal and cooking fats, domestic waterfowl (goose, duck), offal, smoked meats, and sausages.
Salted and smoked fish and caviar are prohibited.
You cannot eat fatty milk, cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream, or cream.
Any type of canned food is prohibited.
Bananas should not be eaten as fruits, and legumes, sorrel, radishes, spinach, radishes as vegetables. Eliminate any pickles and preserves. Mushrooms and raisins are also not allowed.
Mustard, ketchup, and mayonnaise are prohibited, as are any other ready-made sauces.
The consumption of alcohol, carbonated drinks, grapes, marinades, pickles, sugar, and salt is limited.

Dash diet for hypertension

The menu for hypertensive patients is designed in a special way that it contains a lot of food high in calcium, plant fiber, potassium, magnesium, other extremely important microelements, as well as pure protein. All this normalizes the most important processes in the body and improves the condition of everyone, not just people with high blood pressure. Actually

The dash diet is a direct dietary treatment for a disease such as hypertension. Moreover, it is affordable, effective, with a “side effect” in the form of weight loss.

Here are additional tips for patients with this problem:

limit even healthy sweets - eat them no more than 4 times a week;
eat fish or lean meat every day (2 modest servings);
also – 2 servings of milk per day;
vegetables and unsweetened fruits – 5 times a day;
cereals - every day.

Recipes

There are many recipes for preparing DASH diet meals for hypertension. Preparing healthy meals does not require a lot of time. They are simple, nutritious, original. A diet for hypertension does not imply strict adherence to a strictly prescribed menu. The compiled diet should correspond as much as possible to the individual characteristics of a hypertensive patient.

Braised salmon in spicy sauce

Cooking time: 30 min.
Number of servings: 2 persons.
Calorie content of the dish: 208 kcal per 100 g.
Purpose: for lunch.
Cuisine: Russian.
Difficulty of preparation: easy.

Interestingly prepared salmon will decorate a weekend holiday table. A hearty dish of sea fish is included in the diet. Tender salmon meat soaked in a spicy mustard sauce will please everyone. It is served as a main dish for lunch along with vegetables and brown rice. Allow the finished dish to cool slightly before serving.

Ingredients:

low-fat sour cream – 200 g;
salmon – 1 kg;
dill greens – 30 g;
green onions – 80 g;
Dijon mustard – 3 tablespoons;
lemon juice – 3 tablespoons;
black pepper – 0.5 teaspoon;
salt - to taste.

Cooking method:

Mix sour cream with chopped dill and green onions.
Add mustard and lemon juice.
Season the fish washed and cut into portions with a little salt and pepper and place on a baking sheet.
Pour the prepared sour cream sauce over the salmon.
Bake in a preheated oven at 200 degrees.

Salad “Autumn Study”

Cooking time: 10 min.
Number of servings: 2 persons.
Calorie content of the dish: 60 kcal per 100 g.
Purpose: for dinner.
Cuisine: Russian.
Difficulty of preparation: easy.

The salad uses an unusual combination of fruits, vegetables, grains and nuts. Fragrant autumn varieties of apples are suitable for it. It will adequately complement a meat or fish dish. It can be served as a snack. Seeds and nuts add a special flavor to the dish. To give them a brighter taste, you need to heat them well in a frying pan. Serve the salad immediately after preparation.

Ingredients:

apples – 2 pieces;
lemon juice – 2 tablespoons;
lettuce leaves – 250 g;
dried cranberries – 170 g;
walnuts – 70 g;
sunflower seeds – 70 g;
olive oil – 60 ml;
salt - to taste.

Cooking method:

Wash the apples, wipe dry, cut into thin slices and sprinkle with lemon juice.
Coarsely chop or tear apart the lettuce leaves with your hands.
Pour boiling water over dried cranberries, let the water drain, and add it to the apples.
Fry the seeds and nuts in a frying pan, let cool, and add to the salad.
Mix all the ingredients, add a little salt to the salad and season with olive oil.

Dash diet for weight loss

In fact, the energy value of the diet of this system is about 2000 kcal per day.

At the same time, it gives everyone who adheres to it the opportunity to lose weight correctly! That's right - this means gradually, without hunger and harm to the body.

Of course, the dash diet was not developed specifically for weight loss, and this should be taken into account by those who choose it. But losing weight is an excellent “side effect”, because the antihypertensive effect of weight loss in almost all hypertensive patients has been proven by scientists.

Moreover, there is a clear correlation between minimizing weight and a sustainable decrease in pressure, that is, the proportion is 1 kg/1 mm Hg. Art.

Dash diet in video story:

Prevention and recommendations

Prevention and treatment of hypertension have many common points. Thus, the DASH diet can also be considered an effective tool for preventing the occurrence of high blood pressure.

This effect is achieved thanks to the following recommendations:

When eating, pay more attention to vegetables.
When choosing products, study the composition and choose only those that do not contain (or contain a minimum) sodium.
minimize the consumption of fatty meat, but do not forget about fish and chicken dishes.
Think twice before drinking alcohol.
Add porridge and light soups to your main diet.

It is important to know and understand that the DASH diet is quite filling and supplies the body with all the necessary substances. As for fats, this technique will also help maintain a minimum level of these substances in the body.

Of course, when health deteriorates significantly, everyone agrees to take any action for treatment. But why allow this deterioration? There is only one conclusion: if you want to be healthy and/or lose excess weight, DASH is exactly what you need. The main thing is not to forget that when starting such healing therapy, you must consult a doctor.

Why is hypertension not treated in Russia?

Was the article helpful?

Rate the material on a five-point scale! If you have any questions or want to share your opinion or experience, write a comment below.

Sample menu for the week

Below I offer you a simple way to start sticking to the dash system - a (very approximate) menu for the week. It is made up of products that are inexpensive and quite accessible to everyone. And from dishes that are easy to prepare.

Important: portions should be small, and your meals should be from 6 to 8.

So, here is the weekly diet (as they say, “I’ll start on Monday”).

Monday

morning - oatmeal porridge with your favorite fruits, berries, dried fruits, vegetables, a glass of any citrus juice, an apple;
snack - a sandwich (rye or whole grain bread) with tomato, herbs, turkey;
lunch – a salad of your favorite vegetables with olive oil, baked fish with beans (cooked by stewing);
afternoon snack - orange or fresh juice from this fruit;
in the evening - a simple vegetable soup of your choice, with 1 slice of whole grain bread;
before bed – a glass of low-fat kefir.

Tuesday

food in the morning: low-fat cottage cheese, a slice of whole grain bread, a modest portion of cereal with low-fat milk, a glass of fresh apple juice;
snack: pear, low-fat natural yogurt;
lunch – salad of your favorite vegetables, macaroni and cheese;
afternoon snack - an ordinary apple;
dinner - boiled beef with the same potatoes;
before bed – a glass of fermented baked milk.

Wednesday

food in the morning - buckwheat porridge with butter, sandwich with cheese;
snack - a handful of nuts;
lunch – chicken breast with rice (preferably brown), stew of stewed vegetables;
afternoon snack – 2 kiwis;
dinner - vegetable salad of your choice, cottage cheese;
before bed - a glass of milk.

Thursday

food in the morning - oatmeal with dried fruits or berries, 1 orange, a glass of plum juice;
snack - a sandwich with lettuce, tomato, chicken breast;
lunch – any lean fish, baked with beans, vegetable salad;
afternoon snack - apple;
dinner - vegetable soup with 1 slice of whole grain bread;
before bed – a glass of low-fat kefir.

Friday

food in the morning: low-fat cottage cheese, whole grain flakes with low-fat milk, fresh apple juice (a glass);
snack – low-fat yogurt, grapefruit;
lunch - vegetable salad, pasta and cheese;
afternoon snack - apple;
dinner - beef stew with potatoes;
before bed – a glass of natural yogurt.

Saturday

food in the morning - buckwheat porridge with butter, a small sandwich with cheese;
snack - a handful of different nuts;
lunch - rice, boiled chicken breast, stewed vegetables;
afternoon snack – 2 kiwis;
dinner – vegetable salad, low-fat cottage cheese;
before bed – a glass of low-fat milk.

Sunday

food in the morning - regular tea, cereal with milk;
snack – grapefruit, 1 piece;
lunch – salad from your favorite vegetables, boiled beef;
afternoon snack – a glass of low-fat kefir;
dinner – seasonal vegetables, boiled or stewed, turkey (fillet) baked;
before bed - yogurt in the same volume.

Authorized Products

The diet includes a lot of tasty and healthy things. The list of permitted products is extensive and includes:

Dietary red meat (beef), chicken, rabbit, turkey. Baking or boiling in secondary broth is allowed (the first portion of water is drained after boiling). If you really want to, you can eat a little diet boiled sausage while on a diet.
Beverages. On the diet, you can drink herbal tea, green tea, weak black tea with the addition of milk and honey, coffee substitutes, berry and vegetable juices, rosehip decoction, still mineral water.
Bakery products. It is better to avoid anything that contains wheat flour during your diet. Whole grain rye bread and dry biscuits are suitable.
Fruits, berries. You can eat it fresh, make salads, jelly, compotes, jellies. Avocados, currants, oranges, gooseberries, pomegranates, apples, grapefruit, peaches, pears, nectarines, kiwis, tangerines, lemons, mangoes are well suited for the diet.
Soups with vegetable broth. You can add well-boiled cereals and herbs to them.
Cold pressed vegetable oils. Corn, sunflower, flaxseed, and olive oils are suitable.
Sea and river fish, algae, seafood. Sea kale, mussels, and squid are very useful.
Dairy products. Low-fat or with a minimum percentage. Milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, kefir are allowed.
Vegetables. They can be eaten raw, added to salads, vegetable stews, soups, baked, stewed, boiled. Greens, pumpkin, eggplant, Jerusalem artichoke, eggplant, tomatoes, zucchini, asparagus, all types of cabbage, celery, onions, beets, carrots, lettuce, cucumbers, and bell peppers are allowed.
Eggs. No more than 3 pieces per week.
Cereals. Barley, buckwheat, millet, oatmeal (and flakes) are suitable. You can choose whole grains and pasta made from durum flour, but eat them in the form of casseroles with cottage cheese or vegetables.
Sauces. Dairy and tomato in vegetable broth - for self-consumption, cream and sour cream - for cooking.
Nuts, dried fruits. Cashews, sesame, dried apricots, sunflower seeds.

Life story

For example, I just have a relative who experienced firsthand what the dash diet is. She found out about it on a special forum for hypertensive patients. Since at the age of “nearing 50” the woman began to have alarming problems with blood pressure. And she did well, not wanting to rely only on pills, she began to look for alternative methods of treatment for herself. Here's what she says:

“Undoubtedly, at first it was difficult for me to get used to the new menu: for a long time I could not eat only lightly salted food and give up sugar. After all, in my everyday life I’m used to sausages, liver, salted fish, and ham.

But I wanted to live normally, and I understood that it was time to change my diet and lose weight! As a result, after just 2 weeks I learned to add flavor to food using herbal spices: herbs, onions, garlic. Well, I quite successfully replaced my favorite sweets with dates and dried fruits.

In fact, my efforts were not in vain - after 5 months my weight returned to normal and my blood pressure leveled out. In addition, shortness of breath has gone away, because I added walking in the fresh air to the dash diet! Now I feel good, the doctor stopped me taking daily pills to stabilize my blood pressure.”

That's all! Thank you very much, my friends, for reading and rating the articles in the comments, and also sharing the materials with your friends via social networks. See you again!

Contraindications

It is believed that the diet called dash has no contraindications, since it is initially aimed at improving health. However, this is not quite true. Its goal is to lower blood pressure, so hypotension is first on the list of contraindications.

Despite the fact that it is recommended for diabetics, they cannot adhere to this nutritional system in its classic form, since it contains too many carbohydrates and sweets are allowed. The menu will have to be seriously adjusted.

During pregnancy and lactation, it is strictly forbidden to limit animal fats to such a minimum.

People who have poor eyesight, joint pain and frequent nervous disorders should also be extremely careful with this technique. A low-fat diet may worsen the condition if you have these problems.