Not only can it lower blood pressure? Study: "DASH Diet" Reduces Cardiovascular Disease Biomarkers
1 in 4 people has high blood pressure! The DASH diet has many benefits for lowering blood pressure
If you love eating good food but don’t exercise enough, beware of the “hidden killer”high blood pressure and report early. Statistics from the Taiwan Ministry of Health and Welfare, Health Promotion Administration found that the prevalence rate of high blood pressure among adults over 18 years old in Taiwan is as high as 24.1%. About 1 in 4 people suffer from high blood pressure, and high blood pressure is closely related to major diseases such as heart disease and stroke. Disability and disease are closely related. In addition to active control and treatment, daily dietary adjustments are also a major key to affecting blood pressure. The most well-known dietary method for hypertension is the “DASH Diet” published in the New England Magazine in 1997.
The basis of the DASH diet is a large amount of vegetables and fruits, combined with low-fat milk, whole grains, fish, poultry, beans, nuts, and a reduction in dietary sodium (salt) intake, red meat, sugary drinks, and added sugars. The biggest feature of the DASH diet is that it is low in saturated fat and trans fat, and relatively high in potassium, magnesium, calcium, protein and dietary fiber. Past studies have mostly suggested that the DASH diet can help lower blood pressure and help prevent the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, kidney disease and even gout attacks.
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DASH diet combined with reduced sodium significantly reduces cardiovascular risk biomarkers
A recent study published in the “Journal of the American College of Cardiology” pointed out that the “DASH Diet”, which is considered to help control high blood pressure, may be more directly related to preventing heart disease. The study recruited 412 hypertensive subjects and randomly assigned them to three groups: low, medium, and high dietary sodium. After four weeks, their blood was tested for biomarkers related to cardiovascular disease (hs-cTnI, NT-proBNP, hs-CRP).
The results showed that in the group taking the DASH diet, the amount of biomarkers related to myocardial damage and inflammation in the blood dropped by 18% and 13% respectively. For subjects who took the DASH diet combined with a sodium-reduced diet, biomarkers such as myocardial damage and myocardial strain were significantly reduced by 20% and 23%.
Study author Stephen Juraschek, assistant professor at Harvard Medical School’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), pointed out that this study points out the importance of lifestyle for heart health. A DASH diet that is low in sodium, rich in fruits and vegetables, and whole grains, It does reduce heart damage that develops over time.
Professor Juraschek believes that from the biomarker amounts of cardiovascular disease, it can be found that the DASH diet combined with a low-sodium diet can reduce the risk of myocardial damage and other cardiac complications. Heart disease has a huge impact on the health of the global population, and it is recommended that countries should formulate Relevant public health policies can help reduce the number of deaths from cardiovascular diseases every year.
To prevent high blood pressure, the first priority is to “reduce salt”. Exercise 150 minutes a week to lower blood pressure and lose weight.
Taiwan Health Promotion Administration pointed out that there are six key points to prevent hypertension. First, reduce salt, regularly measure blood pressure, lose weight, quit smoking, exercise regularly, and moderate alcohol consumption. Among them, reducing salt and measuring blood pressure regularly are the two keys to controlling high blood pressure. People with a family history should pay attention to their blood pressure from a young age. When the blood pressure exceeds 140/90 mmHg, they should consult a doctor as soon as possible. In terms of dietary salt reduction, the daily sodium intake limit for adults should be less than 2.4 grams (equivalent to 6 grams of table salt). There are four major points to pay attention to in daily diet:
Eat more fresh food and less processed food.
Eat less ingredients and foods with high salt (sodium) content.
Read nutrition labels for sodium content before purchasing food.
Use more of the original flavors of ingredients when cooking and reduce salt (sodium) and additional seasonings.
Additionally, regular exercise can lower blood pressure, reduce stress, and aid weight loss. If patients with hypertension continue to exercise at moderate to high intensity, their systolic blood pressure can be reduced by about 11 mm Hg. It is recommended to do 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise per week or 75 minutes of high-intensity aerobic exercise per week. Aerobic exercise and weight training can be performed alternately. It is recommended to do weight training 2 days a week to help strengthen muscles.
Source:
Dietary study finds more produce, less salt positively impact markers of heart health
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