Interesting Facts About The DASH Diet

Two Versions Of The DASH Diet

The DASH diet grew out of the DASH studies, in which participants were put into one of three categories. The first category acted as the control group, mimicking the typical American diet and daily sodium consumption of 3,400 milligrams. The other two were what became the standard DASH diet and the reduced sodium DASH diet, with no more than 2,300 milligrams and 1,500 milligrams a day respectively.

If a patient follows a 2,000 calorie DASH diet plan, the expected daily servings include six to seven of whole grains, four to five of vegetables and fruit, two to three of low-fat dairy, two to three of fats and oils, and six or fewer of lean meat (including poultry and fish). The diet plan also includes five weekly servings or fewer of sweets, and four to five weekly servings of nuts, seeds, and legumes. What is the main benefit of the DASH diet, thanks to reduced sodium intake? Keep reading!