Lose weight and lower blood pressure - how it works with weight loss
Created: 08/25/2022, 11:17 am
By: Sophia Lother
The DASH diet can help you lose weight and lower blood pressure.
But which foods are allowed?
(Iconic photo) © Andreas Arnold/dpa
With the DASH diet, it should not only be possible to lose weight, but the nutritional method should also lower blood pressure.
An overview.
Kassel – It is often not easy to motivate yourself to go on a diet.
But if the goal is not only to lose weight, but also to lead a healthier life, then this could be a welcome incentive, reports hna.de.
According to a survey by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), almost 30 million people in Germany suffer from high blood pressure.
This affects everyone and every third person.
The DASH diet starts with nutrition and promises to lower blood pressure.
And by the way, those who want to lose weight should also lose one or two kilos.
But what is it about the diet, what do experts say?
Lose Weight and Lower Blood Pressure: What is the DASH Diet?
DASH stands for Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension.
As the Federal Center for Nutrition (BZfE) emphasizes, this is less about a diet over a certain period of time.
As, for example, with common weight loss methods such as the Mediterranean diet.
Instead, the focus here is on a sustainable change in diet.
But which foods are allowed and which are taboo?
In addition to weight loss - obesity has a major impact on high blood pressure - the DASH diet also focuses on reducing salt and thus sodium.
"Increased sodium intake - the number one source of sodium is table salt - increases blood pressure, while high-potassium foods lower it," emphasizes the BZfE.
The main sources for this include:
bread and baked goods
Meat and sausages
dairy products and cheese
ready meals
Salty snacks
Reducing Weight and Blood Pressure: How Does the DASH Diet Work?
But what should be more on the menu?
To compensate for the reduction in salt, experts recommend more fruit and vegetables.
According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, the following diet is recommended:
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food | Frequency per day (small portions) |
|---|---|
grain and grain products | 7-8 |
vegetables | 4-5 |
fruit | 4-5 |
Low fat dairy products | 2-3 |
Lean meat, poultry and fish | maximum 2 |
nuts, seeds and dry beans | 4-5 a week |
fats and oils | 2-3 |
sugar and sweets | 5 times a week |
Source: US Department of Health and Human Services |
However, portion sizes are also important.
For example, a slice of bread or half a cup of pasta counts as a portion of cereals (as a rule of thumb, around 237 milliliters are assumed for a cup).
Likewise, a teaspoon of margarine or sugar already corresponds to one serving.
The Dash diet is a huge transition for many.
Sugar reduction is not easy, especially at the beginning.
But the method has many advantages.
Lose Weight and Lower Blood Pressure: Studies on the Dash Diet
A meta-analysis of seven studies found that the Dash diet has been shown to help lower blood pressure.
In addition, researchers from North Carolina showed that the diet method could help with insulin resistance and thus diabetes.
But in addition to the health-promoting aspects, the nutritional method still seems to have room for improvement with regard to losing weight.
Although study participants from Iran lost an average of 1.42 kilograms in a period of 8 to 24 weeks, the weight loss was not as high as in another study group.
Because even within the DASH diet, a distinction can be made between a high-calorie and a low-calorie diet.
It is therefore important for people who want to use DASH to lose weight to also keep an eye on the number of calories in order to reach their dream weight faster.
(slo)
The information given in this article does not replace a visit to a doctor. Only experts can make the right diagnosis and initiate appropriate therapy. The intake of medication or dietary supplements should be discussed with a doctor beforehand.
