
Those intakes also are recommended by the current Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Similar daily sodium intake levels have been established by t he Dietary Reference Intakes from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Some DASH eating plans sug gest limit ing sodium intake even further, to 1,500 mg per day, based on individual recommendations from a healthcare provider. ⁴ Specifically, the DASH diet recommends limiting sodium intake to less than 2,300 milligrams (mg) of sodium per day. Th is sodium recommendat ion is based on f ollow-up research to the original DASH clin ical trial, which found that reducing dietary sodium while following the DASH diet result ed in even greater reductions in blood pressure than adhering to the DASH diet alone. The DASH diet also advocates for reducing sodium intake. Table 1: Guidelines for the DASH Diet ³ Food groupįat-free or low-fat milk and milk products S pecific DASH diet recommendations for daily servings of food groups based on varying calorie needs are shown in Table 1. Additionally, the DASH diet encourages limiting the intake of added sugars (including sugar-sweetened beverages) as well as foods that are high in saturated fat such as fatty meats, full-fat dairy, and tropical oils like coconut oil. The DASH diet promotes the consistent intake of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fat-free or low-fat dairy, lean meats, fish, poultry, beans, nuts and vegetable oils. The DASH diet provides guidance on types of foods to include daily or weekly as well as key nutrients to incorporate or minimize. ¹ R esearch on the DASH diet remains important today g iven the high prevalence of Americans diagnosed with hyperten sion, a condition resulting from having consistent high blood pressure that increases the risk for heart disease and stroke. The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet was developed in the 1990s as a result of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding multiple research projects to examine the impact of specific dietary interventions on blood pressure. The DASH diet may also help to reduce the risk of other disease conditions, including type 2 diabetes, chronic kidney disease and certain types of cancer.Research on the DASH diet supports that this eating pattern may improve certain health markers, including blood pressure and total cholesterol.

The DASH diet also recommends limiting sodium intake and foods and beverages with added sugar (including sugar-sweetened beverages) as well as fatty meats, full-fat dairy, and tropical oils like coconut oil.The DASH diet focuses on eating foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fat-free or low-fat dairy products, fish, poultry, beans, nuts and vegetable oils.This diet is promoted by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to stop or prevent high blood pressure, otherwise known as hypertension.

