What is the Dash Diet?

With today's fast-paced lifestyle and on the go mentality, it is no wonder our eating habits have been affected, and often altered, to fit our daily schedules. We take great pleasure in appeasing our appetites at fast food outlets as just one stop among many when traveling from point A to point B. We know we need to eat better, but who's got time? We also know we need to fit more exercise into our daily lives for better overall health and natural weight loss, but time escapes us there too, so thank goodness for the fast food; squeezing that extra few minutes into our schedules for other necessities is a life saver. Or is it?
The Dash Diet, an acronym for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, is one of two studies conducted with an end state for lowering high blood pressure. The Dash Diet has been highly successful in documenting the lowering of blood pressure and doing so with results in as little as two weeks. Unlike other quick fix approaches for fast weight loss, the Dash Diet simply maximizes good nutrition by implementing foods with lower saturated fats, lower cholesterol and lower total fats with an emphasis on fruits and vegetables and low fat dairy foods, as well as whole grains, fish, poultry and nuts. Higher consumption of these foods combined with a lower consumption of red meats, beverages with high sugar content, and sweets is known as the Dash Diet. Adopting this kind of eating plan is a natural cure for weight loss and a sensible plan for lowering high blood pressure that directly impacts how hard your heart has to work in order to pump the nutrient rich blood throughout your body. When you adopt an eating plan like the Dash Diet, you not only lower your high blood pressure, but you decrease the risk that is placed on the arterial walls of the heart and the passageways supplying blood to your body thereby also reducing the risk of possible stroke or death. Additionally, the Dash Diet reduces your sodium intake and has been shown to reduce the risk of headaches as well.
The Dash Diet is a sensible approach to altering your eating habits that allows you to incorporate foods like salads, whole grain breads and cereals, fruits and vegetable snacks like baby carrots and celery sticks with peanut butter, and lean fish and poultry. They're easy to purchase and even easier to pack for a days outing that will find you feeling happier, healthier, and fuller while enjoying a brighter outlook on your long term health. Your palate will likely enjoy the new menu and your caloric consumption should be slowly reduced enough over time that your body should respond positively with a degree of weight loss you might not otherwise expect. Go shopping with the Dash Diet in mind and try the Dash Diet for at least two weeks; I'm certain you'll notice the benefits and your doctor will be happily surprised as well.