The DASH Diet Ain't DULL
If you have ever received the diagnosis that you suffer from hypertension or heart disease, most likely your doctor or health professional has recommended that you follow the “DASH Diet.”
In case you didn’t know, DASH stands for “Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension.” The concept is that followers of this diet, combined with exercise, can naturally reduce their blood pressure.
Now, that doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone who follows this diet can go from hypertension zero to normal blood pressure hero without a little help from medication. However, following DASH does have the potential to have such an effect – especially if lifestyle is the main contributor to your condition. But, even if you are like me and are genetically predisposed to have high blood pressure, following this approach is part of comprehensive, whole person hypertension treatment.
The nice thing about DASH is that it is pretty flexible. The “bad” news is that the diet’s core principles center on reduction of salt, sugar, and saturated fat – the unholy trinity of soul food.
Or, is it?
DASH Guidelines
The key provisions of the DASH diet are:
- Eating vegetables, fruits, and whole grains;
- Including fat-free or low-fat dairy products, fish, poultry, beans, nuts, and vegetable oils;
- Limiting foods that are high in saturated fat, such as fatty meats, full-fat dairy products, and tropical oils such as coconut, palm kernel, and palm oils; and
- Limiting sugar-sweetened beverages and sweets.
No more deep fried chicken. No more pork chops and gravy. No more greens or beans studded with in ham hock. (And sorry, a smoked turkey wing can be just as high in sodium as the ham hock.)
No more butter soaked lemon cake and sugar drenched pecan pie and candied yams. Right?
Yes. But it doesn’t mean that butter and sugar are out of the picture altogether. And it doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy a crispy, juicy, piece of chicken or silky greens.
The techniques and recipes are out there. I’m going to find them, work with them, test them, tweak them, and then share them with you. I’m going to lower the sodium and sugar, up the whole grains, fruits, and vegetables, and lean out the fat while maintaining the crunch, spice, silkiness, fluffiness, and sweet stickiness. But if it doesn’t taste as good as or better than the original, I’m not going to waste your time.
My food happiness depends on many things, but trying the capture the feeling of pure joy I always felt when tucking into a slice of my Granny’s peach cobbler or licking my fingers after eating a perfectly fried chicken thigh – that it what I’m going for. All while keeping it CLEAN and DASH friendly. Nothing short of that goal will do.
You in?
For more about DASH, check out:
