The DASH eating plan requires no special foods and instead provides daily and weekly nutritional goals. The following tips will help you ease into the DASH style of eating.
Don’t try to change your diet overnight. Give yourself a chance to adjust and make DASH part of your daily routine. You’ll get the best results if you make changes over a couple of days or weeks.
- DASH eating plan has more servings of fruits, vegetables, and whole-grain foods than you may be used to eating. These foods are high in fiber and may cause some bloating and diarrhea. To avoid these problems, gradually increase the amount of fruit, vegetables, and whole-grain foods you eat over several weeks. For example, add a serving of vegetables at lunch one day and dinner the next, and add fruit at one meal or as a snack.
- Increase your use of fat-free and low-fat milk products to three servings a day. If you have trouble digesting milk products, try taking lactase-enzyme pills (available at drug stores and groceries) with milk products. Or buy lactose-free milk, which includes the lactase enzyme.
- Limit lean meats to 6 ounces a day—3 ounces a meal, which is about the size of a deck of cards. If you usually eat large portions of meats, cut them back over a couple of days—by half or a third at each meal.
- Include two or more vegetarian-style, or meatless, meals each week.
Eating the DASH way will keep your blood pressure in check, improve bone health and lower your risk for heart disease, stroke, and the metabolic syndrome.
To personalize DASH, based on your age and activity level, click here for a copy of the DASH eating guide.