The Best Diets for Your New Year’s Resolution: The DASH Diet
Many of us are making New Year’s resolutions to eat healthier, lose weight or both. In fact, “Going on a diet” was the number one Resolution in 2019 – ahead of “quit smoking,” “exercise more” and “spend less.”
If this resolution is at the top of your list, be sure to choose an eating plan that works for you and your family.
While originally researched for people with high blood pressure over 20 years ago, on-going research shows the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) is ideal for good health.
Here are reasons why DASH is one of our diets of choice:
DASH is research based.
The DASH diet was developed by a National Heart Lung and Blood Institute-sponsored clinical trial in the early 1990s to understand how foods could help lower blood pressure. Since then, the DASH way of eating has become an important part of lifestyle changes recommended for helping to maintain a healthy blood pressure. Clinical research conducted over the years has found that the DASH diet can help reduced LDL-cholesterol and other risk factors for heart disease.
DASH meets the 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans as a healthy eating plan.
A DASH-style eating pattern emphasizes eating more fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy foods, whole grains, nuts and legumes and less red and processed meats, sugar-sweetened beverages and sodium. Dairy foods like low-fat or fat-free milk, yogurt and cheese are a part of DASH just as they are for all of the Dietary Guidelines’ healthy eating styles. The DASH eating plan is also recommended by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and the American Heart Association.
DASH tops best diet lists.
In 2019, a panel of health experts convened by U.S. News and World Report to evaluate and dozens of popular diets rated DASH in the top 3 Best Diets Overall. Multiple studies have shown that adults who follow a DASH eating plan lose more weight than those who follow other eating plans for weight loss.
Foods the whole family can eat.
Eating healthier is good for the whole family, not just the person trying to lose weight. The DASH diet includes foods everyone knows and loves. Do your kids like smoothies made with fruit and yogurt? They are part of DASH!
To learn how to make the DASH diet part of your lifestyle, read our handout, The Dash Eating Plan.
