A Diet for Lower Blood Pressure

Lower Blood Pressure

I found an interesting article on the DASH diet for lower blood pressure and I have re-published it below for your convenience.

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DASH to lower blood pressure

By Paul G. Donohue, M.D.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: Regarding your article on the DASH diet, I was very interested in it. Is there a diet sheet listing all the items pertaining to this diet? How can I get one? I think it’s a doable diet.

— I.P.

DASH, Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, is a doable, simple and good-tasting diet. People are disappointed to find out that the diet is contained on one page with straightforward directives. The sheet lists the number of servings of a particular food group, what constitutes a serving and examples of the foods in each group. That’s all there is. You can expect a drop of 8 to 14 points in blood pressure if you’re faithful to it. One of the most important diet changes is limiting sodium (salt) consumption to 1,500 grams. Here’s the diet:

GRAINS: Six to eight servings a day; whole-grain breads like wheat, cereals (both dry and cooked), brown rice and pastas are grains. A serving is one slice of bread, one cup of dry cereal and half a cup of cooked cereal.

FRUITS: Four to six daily servings, with a serving being a moderately sized whole fruit, a half-cup of frozen or canned fruit or a half-cup of fruit juice.

VEGETABLES: Four to five servings a day, with a serving being one cup of leafy green veggie, 1/2 cup cut up, raw or cooked vegetables or 1/2 cup vegetable juice.

DAIRY: Two to three servings a day of low-fat dairy products, with a serving being a cup of skim or low-fat milk, a cup of yogurt or one and a half ounces of cheese.

LEAN MEATS, POULTRY, FISH: Six or fewer servings a day. A serving is one ounce of cooked meat, skinless chicken or fish. One egg is also a serving.

NUTS, SEEDS, DRY BEANS: Four to five servings a week. One serving is a third cup of nuts, 2 tablespoons of peanut butter, a half a cup of dry beans.

FATS AND OILS: Two to three servings a day, with a serving being equal to 1 tablespoon of low-fat mayonnaise, 1 teaspoon of margarine, 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil, 2 tablespoons of salad dressing.

SWEETS: Five or less a week. A serving is a tablespoon of sugar or a teaspoon of jam or jelly.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: My doctor has me on a calcium tablet because I’m nearing the osteoporosis line. I’m 63 and never have taken any kind of medicine. I hate to break my record.

Can’t I get enough calcium from foods to reach my calcium goal? Let me know what foods, please.

— B.A.

You can get enough calcium from foods, and it’s as good a way, if not better, of getting that mineral than are tablets and pills.

Eight ounces of low-fat yogurt has 413 mg; 8 ounces of low fat milk, 300 mg; 6 ounces of calcium-fortified orange juice, 378 mg; 3 ounces of canned sardines, 324 mg; 1.5 ounces of cheddar cheese, 306 mg; 1 cup of cottage cheese, 138 to 206 mg.

A woman of your age needs about 1,200 mg of calcium a day.

Most bookstores have small books with the nutritional content of foods, and they aren’t expensive.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: Have you ever heard of this? Fifteen minutes after taking a shower, I start itching, and the itch lasts about 20 minutes. It doesn’t matter if I use hot or cold water. What is this?

— O.J.

I’m not sure. It might be aquagenic pruritus. “Pruritus” is the medical word for itchiness. Pretreatment with an antihistamine before showering can sometimes prevent the itching. Take it about an hour before you shower. I don’t know if I’m correct. Aquagenic pruritus is so rare that I never expected to hear anyone complain of it. Get this confirmed by a dermatologist.

Readers may write him or request an order form of available health newsletters at P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475.