Gaining weight has become one of the major concerns for people all around the world. One of the most harmful side effects of gaining weight is high blood pressure.
All around the world, there are around 60% of people living who are suffering from high blood pressure and that is totally influenced by our dietary practices and lifestyle as well.
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What is a Dash Diet?
Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension is a diet plan which consists of all sorts of lean proteins from plants and fishes and chicken as well. this diet plan is made in order to reduce the salt intake of a high blood pressure patient.
In research, scientists saw that vegans and vegetarians are the people who have never suffered from high blood pressure issues. This is because plant-based proteins are easily digestible and do not increases the sodium level of our body also.
This is also going to be easy to follow for nonvegetarians as well since fish and chicken protein can also be consumed in a dash diet.
Breakfast Menus for Dash Diet
Salads
Be that a fruit salad or a vegetable salad anything is going to benefit you in your dash diet routine. Add some lettuce, cherry tomato, red onions, cucumbers and make a dressing of fresh coriander leaves, a little bit of lime juice and olive oil. Mix all together to make your fresh bowl of salad. For the fruit salad, you can have apples, bananas, some chopped dry fruits glazed with a little bit of honey and a sprinkle of chia seeds.
Vegan Milk Smoothies
Almond milk, soya milk are some of the best options to replace normal animal milk that we consume. A smoothie made with your favorite fruits and some almond milk with a little bit of honey for sweetness and some chia seeds to give it the perfect amount of fiber can be a great breakfast option.
Vegan Pancakes
Add a little amount of almond powder and mix it with almond milk, honey, and vanilla extract. Make the pancakes in sunflower oil or olive oil and service with a little amount of honey.
- Peanut butter toasts.
- Avocado toast with whole wheat loaves of bread.
- Yogurt with nuts and strawberries.
Lunch Menus for the Dash Diet
- For lunch, you can make almost anything and everything devoid of animal protein mostly.
- Have grilled fish with a lot of vegetables.
- Soya sausages with sautéed vegetables and a lot of salad.
- Lentil soups with whole-grain bread.
- Brown rice and lentil curry can be a good option to try if you want to have something spicy.
- You can also make sandwiches with vegetable, soy sausages, and avocado.
- You can also opt for pasta recipes containing a lot of vegetables and chicken.
- You can also go for a light chicken salad devoid of any spices and oil which will have a lot of greens and other vegetables according to your preferences.
Dinner Menu for the Dash Diet
- Brown rice with chicken curry.
- Chicken and vegetable pasta.
- Pasta in white sauce (made of soya milk only).
- Smoked salmon with herb rice.
- Green salad with lettuce, cucumbers, onions, and tomatoes.
- Chicken salad.
- Baked and Stuffed potatoes.
- Hummus with pita bread.
- Lemon garlic shrimp with zucchini.
- Zucchini pasta in red sauce.
- Creamy Fettuccine with Brussels sprouts.
- Lentil soups.
- Fresh tomato soups.
- Onion soup with garlic bread.
- Chicken curry with brown rice and salads.
Snacks Option for the Dash Diet Routine
- Peanut butter sugar-free cookies.
- Apple cinnamon pie.
- Fruit salad.
- Clementine.
- Dry fruits and berries.
- Chicken pie.
- Chicken sandwich.
- Honey glazed cinnamon pears.
- Figs.
- Whole wheat muffins.
- Tomato bruschetta.
- Granola bars.
- Potato nachos.
- Oatmeal lemon muffins.
- Hummus served with vegetables.
- Vegetable stuffed quesadillas.
- Fruit pops.
- Wonton chips.
- Veg dumplings.
- Roasted stuffed bell peppers.
Food items to eat on a Dash Diet
A dash diet is constructed in order to make our blood pressure level stable and simultaneously make us lose weight quickly also. The sodium intake in a dash diet requires to be of minimum level hence while one is following a dash diet consuming plant-based proteins become the best option. Fish also forms a good alternative and are rich sources of omega fatty acids and nutrients.
Here is a detailed list of food items you can include in your dash diet:
- Lentils.
- Brown Rice.
- Wheat.
- Dry fruits.
- Green vegetables.
- Non-starchy vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, green beans, kale, spinach, arugula, beets, onions/green onions/shallots, garlic, lima beans, sweet potatoes, squash tomatoes.
- Fruits.
- Almond milk.
- Soya milk.
- Fishes.
- Chicken.
- Plant-derived oil such as olive oil, sunflower oil.
- Quinoa.
- Whole wheat pasta.
- Peanut butter.
- Almond butter.
- Honey.
- Maple syrup.
- Agave syrup.
- Berries.
- Chia seeds.
- Flax seeds.
Food items to avoid while on the Dash Diet
Animal protein is one of the things which is totally a no in a dash diet. Also, since this diet is followed to influence our weight loss procedure as well, food items containing a high amount of fat and cholesterol is also not a great option. All fried and processed food items require to be eliminated from the diet if one plans to follow a clean dash diet.
Here is a list of food items which should definitely not be a part of your dash diet.
- Salt (above 1500 ml).
- Processed meat.
- Animal meat such as beef, mutton pork, lamb, etc.
- Alcohol.
- Starchy vegetables such as potatoes.
- Sweets.
- Beverages such as cold drinks.
- Fried food.
- Full-fat dairy products.
Following a dash diet is not a herculean task, it helps you lose weight without decreasing your body’s nutrient content as well. It is one of the most flexible diet options and if followed correctly along with practicing yoga or freehand exercises one can easily lower their blood pressure and lose weight as well.