How to eat the DASH diet to save high blood pressure? One-day DASH diet, follow it to lower blood pressure

Hypertension is a common chronic disease that is gradually becoming younger and has a high prevalence rate. The "2020 Report on the Nutrition and Chronic Disease Status of Chinese Residents" shows that the prevalence of hypertension in people over 18 years old and adults in my country is as high as 27.5%.

In 2019, data from the China Cardiovascular Disease Report showed that the prevalence of hypertension among adults in my country had increased to 27.9%, reaching 245 million people. [1] This means that on average, one in every four adults may suffer from hypertension.

Many people think that hypertension is just high blood pressure, which can be solved by taking antihypertensive drugs and there is no need to worry about it. However, long-term abnormal blood pressure will not only reduce the quality of life, but also seriously damage the heart, kidneys, cerebrovascular system and other organs, leading to premature illness and death.

The occurrence of chronic diseases is closely related to living habits and eating habits. Adjusting the dietary structure is a key measure to prevent and control chronic diseases.

Research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that the DASH diet is associated with reductions in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure.

In 1997, Ap-ple et al. conducted the first study showing that an 8-week DASH dietary intervention reduced the systolic and diastolic blood pressure of hypertensive patients by 11.4 mmHg and 5.5 mmHg, respectively. A large number of studies at home and abroad have also confirmed that the DASH diet can effectively improve the blood pressure of hypertensive patients, and the longer the intervention period, the more obvious the blood pressure reduction. [2]

And in the U.S. News Best Diets rankings from 2019 to 2022, the DASH diet ranked in the top three among 40 diets.

An unreasonable diet is a major factor in the occurrence, development and death of chronic diseases. The biggest problem in the current diet of Chinese residents is the high salt intake, followed by insufficient intake of fruits, aquatic products, nuts and whole grains.

The Deshu diet is characterized by high calcium, high magnesium, high potassium, low sodium, low saturated fat and low sugar. It is not only beneficial for controlling blood pressure, but also helps reduce the risk of obesity, heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, colon cancer, etc.

This article will talk about how to eat the DASH diet. A DASH diet recipe is attached to the article. At the end of the article, it will tell you 5 points to pay attention to when measuring your blood pressure at home.

1. How to eat the DASH diet? [3-5]

① Vegetables: about 4 to 5 servings per day, 100 grams per serving, about the size of a cooked fist. This is similar to the 300 to 500 grams of vegetable intake recommended in our country's "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents". It is recommended that more than half of the vegetables should be dark-colored vegetables, and more vegetables with high potassium and magnesium content should be selected.

Vegetables with high potassium content: celery, spinach, beet leaves, carrot tops (red), edamame, kale, bamboo shoots, endive, kale, fresh peas, etc.

Vegetables with high magnesium content: green amaranth, Shanghai greens, beet leaves, endive, sweet potato leaves, celery leaves, kale, water spinach, fennel, fresh peas, Chinese cabbage, kale, okra, etc.

② Fruit: 4 to 5 servings per day. A medium-sized apple is about 1 serving, which is about 400 grams of fruit per day.

Fruits high in potassium: avocado, plantain, banana, sugar apple, guava, apricot, nectarine, etc.

Fruits with high magnesium content: sour jujube, tangerine, banana, avocado, mandarin orange, dragon fruit, etc.

③ Dairy products: 2 servings of low-fat milk or skim milk, 1 serving is about 236 ml. The amount of milk recommended in the 2022 edition of my country's Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents has increased compared to the 2016 version.

The original recommended amount of milk and dairy products in the 2016 version was 300 grams/day, while the recommended amount in the 2022 version was increased to 300~500 grams/day.

④ Protein: Meat and soy products. 2 or fewer servings of meat, 50 grams per serving, eat less red meat, such as pork, beef and mutton; choose more white meat such as chicken, duck, fish and shrimp, and remove the skin from poultry.

Eating 25 grams of soybeans every day corresponds to 72 grams of northern tofu, 140 grams of southern tofu, 40 grams of shredded tofu, and 55 grams of dried tofu, which can be adjusted flexibly.

⑤ Cereals and tubers: It is recommended to eat 6 to 8 servings of cereals and tubers every day, of which at least 2/3 should be whole grains. The 2022 edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents also emphasizes the need to increase the intake of whole grains. It is recommended to replace refined white rice and flour with 1/2 to 2/3 of whole grains at each meal.

Cereals and tubers with high potassium content: barley, buckwheat, quinoa, corn, millet, sorghum rice, black rice, red rice, sweet potato, etc.

Cereals and tubers with high magnesium content: buckwheat, barley, black rice, quinoa, sorghum rice, brown rice, rhubarb rice, millet, black barley, etc.

⑥ Nuts: 1 serving per day or 3-5 servings per week, 1 serving is about 10 grams. If you increase your intake of nuts, you can also reduce your intake of cooking oil.

If you eat 10 grams more of nuts, you can reduce 10 grams of cooking oil. If you eat macadamia nuts, pili nuts, etc. with high fat content, you can reduce 15 to 20 grams of cooking oil.

Nuts high in potassium and magnesium: hazelnuts, pine nuts, pistachios, cooked cashews, peanuts, sunflower seeds, pecans, walnuts, etc.

⑦ Cooking oil: 2 to 3 servings a day is enough, 1 serving is about 10 grams. It is recommended to choose n-3 series cooking oil. For cooking, you can choose olive oil, rapeseed oil, corn oil. For salad dressing or soup, you can choose flaxseed oil and perilla oil.

⑧ Salt and sugar: Salt intake should be controlled within 5 grams. It is best not to eat sugar. If you really have to eat it, control it to no more than 5% of total energy.

2. One-day DASH diet

Combining the DASH diet with the recommendations in my country's Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents, this diet has a total calorie content of 1,700 kcal and is designed based on 60-kg females aged 65 to 79. This diet is also suitable for females aged 50 to 64.

Quantitative diagram of some ingredients:

▲Photo: A shiitake mushroom weighs 20 grams (about 5 cm in diameter)

▲Picture: One paper-shell walnut weighs 10 grams

▲Picture: A small leaf orange 42 grams

▲Photo: 16 hazelnuts 10 grams

▲Picture: A tomato as big as a fist

Don’t think this recipe is just for one day. As long as you change the ingredients carefully, you can change the recipe for many days. You can refer to the high potassium and high magnesium ingredients in the upper part and eat them in turn.

3. How to measure blood pressure at home? [6]

When monitoring blood pressure changes at home, keep the following 5 points in mind.

① Use an upper arm home automatic electronic blood pressure monitor that has been certified by international standard programs. Wrist blood pressure monitors, finger blood pressure monitors, and mercury blood pressure monitors are not recommended for home blood pressure monitoring. Electronic blood pressure monitors should be calibrated regularly during use, at least once a year.

② Measurement plan: For patients with newly diagnosed hypertension or hypertension with unstable blood pressure, it is recommended to measure blood pressure every morning and evening, 2-3 times each time, and take the average value; measure blood pressure at home for 7 consecutive days, and take the average blood pressure of the last 6 days. For those whose blood pressure is stable and meets the standard, they can self-measure their blood pressure 1-2 days a week, once in the morning and once in the evening; it is best to self-measure sitting blood pressure at a fixed time after getting up in the morning, before taking antihypertensive drugs and breakfast, and after urination.

③ Record the date, time and all blood pressure readings of each blood pressure measurement in detail, rather than just recording the average value. Provide the doctor with a complete blood pressure record as much as possible.

④ For patients with high mental anxiety, it is not recommended to measure their blood pressure at home.

⑤ The standard for self-measurement of hypertension at home is: average systolic blood pressure ≥135mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure ≥85mmHg.

Summary: Hypertension is a chronic disease that can be prevented and treated, but it cannot be ignored and needs to be taken seriously. In addition to following the Deshu diet, it is also recommended to quit smoking, limit alcohol, control weight, and exercise regularly.

Is there anyone with high blood pressure in your family? Forward this to someone in need~

References:

[1] Hypertension Group of the Chinese Society of Cardiology, Editorial Board of the Chinese Journal of Cardiology. Expert consensus on comprehensive management of blood pressure and blood lipids in hypertensive patients in China [J]. Chinese Journal of Cardiology, 2021, 49(06):554-563.

[2] Yang Yuexin, Ge Keyou. Chinese Nutrition Science Encyclopedia 2nd Edition (Volume 2)[M]. People's Medical Publishing House. 2019

[3]https://health.usnews.com/best-diet/dash-diet

[4]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK482514/#article-38838.s6

[5]http://www2.cmu.edu.tw/~nmhls/nutritionclub33.html

[6] Guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of hypertension at the primary care level (2019)