DASH Diet Helps Women's Heart Health
Lower Blood Pressure Not Only Benefit For Women From Healthy Diet
May 18, 2009
Women over 45 are now at as much risk of illness and death from heart disease as their male counterparts. Heart disease is the number one killer of older women in the US, Canada and Australia.
Fortunately modifying your diet can make a big difference!
The DASH diet was developed by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute of the US Departments of Health and Human Services to help people lower their blood pressure. It advises reducing salt, sugar and fat consumption, and eating more fruits, vegetables and grains and low fat dairy products.
Now, it seems the DASH diet can help reduce heart failure.
Researchers at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, examined women following the DASH diet, and concluded that it contributed to prevention of heart failure because it effectively reduced blood pressure and low-density lipoprotein (LDL).
Their findings, 'Consistency With the DASH Diet and Incidence of Heart Failure', were published in the May 11, 2009 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Lowered Risk of Heart Failure One Benefit of DASH
Dr Emily Levitan and colleagues analyzed data from 36,019 women ages 48 to 83 without heart failure who participated in the Swedish Mammography Cohort.
The women completed a food frequency questionnaire at the beginning of the study, between 1997 and 1998, which indicated how closely their diets matched DASH guidelines. Their health status was followed up through to 2004, using Swedish databases of hospitalizations and deaths.
The women whose diets closely resembled the DASH guidelines (approximately one–quarter of the cohort), were found to have a 37 percent lower rate of heart failure after factors such as age, physical activity and smoking were considered.
Even better, the 10 per cent whose diet most accurately followed the guidelines, lowered their risk of heart failure by 50 percent.
“The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet may contribute to prevention of heart failure in some cases because it effectively reduced blood pressure and low-density lipoprotein [LDL, or “bad”] cholesterol levels in clinical trials,” the authors wrote.
“This diet features high intake of fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy products and whole grains, resulting in high potassium, magnesium, calcium and fiber consumption, moderately high protein consumption and low total and saturated fat consumption.”
DASH Diet Proven to Lower High Blood Pressure
Previously, the DASH diet had been shown highly effective in lowering hypertension (high blood pressure) in both women and men.
It has been shown in clinical studies that people consistently following the dietary guidelines were able to lower their systolic blood pressure by about 5.5mm of mercury.
DASH Diet Benefits not just For Women
The DASH diet is suitable for all members of the family, says Australian dietitian, Ms Tara Diversi.
“For women over 45, heart disease is the biggest killer, and eating according to the DASH diet can help reduce this risk, “ she says.
“Along with heart disease, this diet also helps with lowering blood pressure, lowering ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol, and may also help with other chronic diseases and weight control. Not only is it good for women, but also healthy for the whole family including the kids.”
Ms Diversi says the dietary guidelines are easy to follow. “It is not hard to eat according to the principles of the DASH diet. Skip processed food as much as possible.
“Sodium (salt) is very high in many processed foods, including some that you wouldn’t necessarily expect – like some breakfast cereals, so read the labels.
“Remember, though, that while it is important to know how to read a food label, the healthiest foods of all have no label at all!”
See Also: Eat the DASH Diet For a Healthy Heart
Turmeric Spice Benefits the Heart
Eat Green Vegetables for Health
 |
 |
