Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Living Well

Candace Carrie

Imagine reducing your blood pressure without cutting back on salt.

Sound too good to be true?

Recent research from the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hyper-tension) study shows that cutting back on total fat and saturated fat while eating more fruits and vegetables can lower blood pressure without restricting salt and calories.

We have known for years that cutting back on salt and alcohol and losing excess weight can reduce elevated blood pressure. We also know that vegetarians tend to have lower blood pressure.

Unfortunately, most Americans have difficulty adhering to dietary patterns that differ much from the typical American diet. Now there is good dietary news on the horizon for Americans struggling to control their blood pressure.

The DASH study tested the effects of dietary patterns on the blood pressure of 459 subjects with normal and high blood pressure at major medical centers around the country.

Subjects were put on one of three diets, none of which restricted sodium or alcohol. One group ate a typical American diet with 36 percent of calories from fat and fewer than four servings of fruits and vegetables daily (control group). The other two diets were rich in fruits and vegetables, 8 to 10 servings a day, but one was high in fat and the other low in fat. The low-fat diet also included 2 to 3 servings of low-fat dairy foods each day.

All subjects consumed the control diet for three weeks, then were randomly assigned to one of the three diets. After eight weeks, the people on the two fruit- and vegetable-rich diets had lowered their blood pressure. But, those combining the produce- rich diet with a lower fat intake reduced their blood pressure the most. This combination diet decreased both systolic (the first number in the reading) and diastolic (the second number) pressures.

In subject with high blood pressure, the DASH diet lowered blood pressure to the same extent as anti-hypertensive medication.

The study provides good news to people having difficulty giving up the salt shaker and an occasional alcoholic drink.

All threes groups took in more sodium than the upper recom-mended limit of 2,400 milligrams a day and were not told to abstain from alcohol or cut calories to lose weight. In fact, body weight was kept constant by adjusting calorie intake.

While the DASH researchers are encouraged by the effects of the flexible diet plan on hypertensive subjects, they do not recommend that people with high blood pressure stop taking their medication.

They do recommend that they discuss such dietary changes with their physician. Combining the low-fat, high-produce eating plan with other established treatments such as reducing salt and alcohol intake and weight loss, might promote even greater reductions in elevated blood pressures.

For more information on healthy eating, contact the Nevada County Extension office.