January 12th, 2012 — Salt and the DASH Diet
What does the DASH diet say about salt and food?
The DASH diet suggests foods that don’t contain a lot of salt. Meals low in sodium will lower your blood pressure and even help you lose fats fast because the DASH diet gets you to avoid most junk foods. If your palate loves the taste of salt, there are ways to make eating more enjoyable and still cut back on the sodium.
Make it a habit as well to read food labels. A lot of us will be shocked if we actually had any proper and educated idea regarding the amount of salt in packaged food. There are tons of salt in most packaged foods!
Note: 2,300 mg of salt can be found in a tsp. of table salt
Many foods marketed as “low in fat” can contain a lot of salt so check both fat and sodium content in the food you buy.
Can I lose weight if I cut back on salt?
As previously mentioned, the DASH Diet tells you to cut down on salt. A lot of junk food like potato chips and fast food are drastically minimized or completely eliminated in this diet. These types of food also contain a lot of fats. So yes, when followed, the low-sodium DASH diet plan will help you lose weight.
How do I cut down on salt? Try these effective methods:
1. A lot of canned foods contain salt. Avoid canned foods if you can or, if you must eat canned foods sometimes, rinse the food whenever possible with water to wash off excess salt
2. Don’t add salt out of habit. Your taste buds will adapt to a less salty palate in a matter of weeks or less. What tastes bland now with less salt won’t in a few weeks after you get used to a low-sodium diet.
3. Don’t add salt when it’s not needed to food like rice or pasta.
4. Purchase food that has “no added salt” or similar displayed on the packaging.
5. Instead of sprinkling extra salt in meals, opt for pepper.
January 12th, 2012 — caffeine and the DASH Diet
DASH Diet: Can you still drink coffee and alcohol?
The high effective DASH Diet helps you lose weight and lower blood pressure. But does that mean you have to give up drinking things you love like your daily cup of coffee or wine?
A lot of alcohol isn’t good for your blood pressure as alcohol can spike up the levels. Moderation is the solution. Adult males shouldn’t drink more than two drinks a day while adult females should stop at one serving daily. Alcohol can’t help you lose fats and if fat loss is your goal, the less alcohol, the better.
Coffee on the other hand isn’t as harmful as alcohol. But, of course, there is such a thing as too much caffeine in your body. Coffee is after all a stimulant which, like all stimulants, can increase your blood pressure levels.
The good news is that coffee has no negative effect at all towards your weight loss goal. In fact, coffee can speed up your metabolism and curb your appetite which obviously can help you lose weight.
Ask your doctor about how much coffee is fine for you daily and your body’s specific nature.
January 11th, 2012 — Planning your DASH diet meals
So what do you eat under the DASH diet?
The DASH diet involves you eating plenty of healthy food specifically fruits, whole grains, low-fat dairy products and vegetables.
You should also get protein into your body through eating poultry, legumes and fish. These aforementioned food should be what you eat regularly. Small portions of sweets, fats and meat are allowed. Take note of the key phrase there however: small portions.
To help you plan your DASH diet lifestyle, here’s what your daily food intake should look like:
1. 6 or less servings a day of
- Meat that’s not high in fat
- Chicken and other poultry
- Fish
Get your protein, B vitamins, zinc and iron from these food items. These however shouldn’t be the main component of your diet as meat contains high amounts of cholesterol and fat. Most American food servings of meat should be cut to about a third of its size to be DASH diet-friendly.
Fish such as tuna and salmon are great for the DASH diet. They’re high in good fat and contain omega-3. Omega-3 fights against high cholesterol levels.
Tip: Cook your meat by poaching, grilling or boiling them. Fried food must be avoided as often as you can.
2. 6 to 8 servings a day of
Grains don’t contain a lot of food. Make sure you don’t consume them with fatty products like butter however. Go for whole grains like brown rice, whole-wheat pasta and bread. Avoid “white grains” like white rice and bread and opt for their brown whole-wheat counterparts instead.
The high fiber found in these products will do wonders for your body from lowering cholesterol to even weight loss as they get you to feel full quickly!
3. 4 to 5 servings a day of
Vegetables shouldn’t just be thought of as appetizers or something to go with your main dish. Vegetables can (and should) be served as a main dish regularly as well. There are tons of sumptuous vegetarian recipes out there.
Aim for high fiber veggies under the DASH diet such as broccoli, potatoes, spinach and carrots.
Tip: A serving of vegetables should generally be about a cup of leafy veggies served raw or a half cup of cooked vegetables like steamed broccoli.
Vegetables are so full of healthy nutrients like fiber, potassium and magnesium – exactly what the DASH diet orders!
4.Up to 3 servings daily of:
Your body needs calcium, Vitamin D and protein. Dairy is an amazing source for these and should be part of your diet plan. Take note however that dairy can easily be full of fat so be sure to choose the low-fat variety at the supermarket. If you choose fat-free dairy, that’s even better!
A good serving of dairy should be a cup of low-fat yoghurt or an ounce and a half of low-fat cheese.
It should be noted too that a lot of dairy products especially cheese contain high amounts of salt (a no-no in the DASH diet) so watch your portions strictly when consuming dairy at all times.
5. 5 servings daily of:
Fruits are such an easy and fun food to involve in the DASH diet (or any diet) because there i s very rarely any cooking involved! These natural goodies are packed with much-needed nutrients like potassium, magnesium and fiber. Most fruits also contain very low fat.
A great serving would be a medium-sized banana or apple. Frozen and canned food are allowed too – just limit the serving size to half a cup. Most of these types of fruits are high in added sugar.
There are fruits that contain a lot of fat so be wary of these. Avocado is one of them. You can consume it but it’s best to limit eating avocados and other high-fat fruits to about once a week.
6. 2 to 3 servings daily of:
You can’t shun fats completely. They actually help your body by absorbing needed nutrients and help your body fight off attacks from germs. Unfortunately, a high fat diet can also lead to diseases like diabetes and a weak heart, among many others.
Note: Less than a third of the calories you consume daily should come from fat calories.
Fatty foods are also packed with a lot of calories. If weight loss is a goal for you, limit your fat consumption everyday and you will quickly see great results.
One serving of fat source is about a tablespoon of low-fat mayo or soft margarine.
Junk foods contain some of the worst types of fat such as trans fat. Avoid junk and processed food as much as possible. If you can, completely eliminate these types of food from your diet. Examples are potato chips, packaged cookies, and fast food.
7. 5 servings weekly of:
While nuts can contain a lot of fat, the good news is that not all fats are alike. Nuts contain monounsaturated fats, a good kind of fat that is nutritious for your body. Do watch the portions of nuts though because as much as they contain “good fats”, they still pack a lot of calories.
Great choices of nuts are almonds. Legumes like kidney beans are full of anti-cancer ingredients as well and should be part of your daily meal plan.
A suggested serving size is about a third of a cup of nuts or half a cup of cooked legumes including peas.
8. 4 or less weekly of:
Ah, dessert! The best part of a meal for a lot of people. The good news is the DASH diet doesn’t tell you to stay away from all kinds of sweets. Like most things, it’s all about moderation: how big are your serving sizes and how often you eat sugary snacks.
It’s best to choose sweets that are low in fat. Great examples are jelly beans, Jell-o, low-fat sweets at the supermarket (check the labels) and sorbets instead of ice cream.
A smart serving of sweets (take note, sugar has no nutritional value!) would be a half cup of sorbet or a small order of lemonade.
January 11th, 2012 — Dash Diet Information
You are here because yo u are curious to know about the DASH diet. This amazing diet involves a diet plan that lowers your blood pressur e. It can also help you lose weight and keep the pounds off.
One of the main aspects of the dash diet is all about controlling the portion size of the food you eat.It also involves eating different kinds of food so your body gets the vitamins and minerals it needs to be healthy.
Browse this site and find out more about this extremely healthy and effective diet plan.
Why is it called the DASH diet?
DASH is an acronym for “Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension”.
What is the goal of the DASH diet?
The dieter who uses this diet is determined to make a lifelong commitment to eat healthy and avoid hypertension (aka high blood pressure).
What kind of food does this diet allow?
The DASH diet requires you to eat food with a low amount of salt (sodium). Your daily food planning should involve meals that are filled with nutrients like calcium, potassium and magnesium. These types of nutrients help lower blood pressure, helping you avoid hypertension, weight gain and a lot of illnesses associated with hypertension including heart attacks and strokes.
How long before I start to feel the results?
You should be able to see your blood pressure lower in less than two weeks. As you continue to eat food allowed by the DASH diet, you should see your blood pressure drop up to 14 points. This immediately lowers your chances of acquiring diseases like heart attacks.
You will also start to shed off pounds if you follow the DASH diet well. Since it does not involve starving yourself, the weight you lose from eating healthy with this diet plan will stay off!
What other health benefits does the DASH diet provide?
The food allowed by this diet plan are very healthy food so the health benefits are plenty. You can significantly lower your chances of cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes and more under the DASH diet.
Can I lose weight with this diet?
While the initial and main goal of the designers of this diet isn’t weight loss, you can indeed shed pounds. Food high in salt usually contain a lot of calories as well. Since the meals you plan under this diet involve healthy and “non-junk” food, you will find your eating habits improve and weight loss can definitely be a great side effect.
DASH diet: Healthy eating to lower your blood pressure
The DASH diet emphasizes portion size, eating a variety of foods and getting the right amount of nutrients. Discover how DASH can improve your health and lower your blood pressure.
