WILLIAMS - UNDERSTANDING FULL DASH DIET:: A COMPLETE DASH DIET GUIDE FOR BEGINNERS WITH 30 DAYS MEAL PLAN TO LOWER BLOOD PRESSURE, WEIGHT LOSS, AND HEALTHY LIVING

UNDERSTANDING FULL DASH DIET

A COMPLETE DASH DIET GUIDE FOR BEGINNERS WITH 30 DAYS MEAL PLAN TO LOWER BLOOD PRESSURE, WEIGHT LOSS, AND HEALTHY LIVING

RACHEAL WILLIAMS

TABLE OF CONTENT

CHAPTER ONE

UNDERSTANDING DASH DIET

Its all about food, you are what you eat. That clause can never be over emphasized, what we consume affects our whole being. There are several basic elemental materials that make us up, all of these materials are essential and it is important to know how to consume these materials in the right proportions. D.A.S.H stands for (Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension.) The dash diet is basically a diet plan that helps to reduce the risk of having hypertension at an older age; it also helps to reduce the risk of having some other food related pathologies. DASH diet is promoted by the United States institute for the health of heart, lung and blood. For one to understand the importance and merits to be drawn for this dietary pattern one has to first understand the components of day to day food consumption.

ELEMENTS OF FOOD

The basic reason food is consumed is to provide materials that the human body generates energy from, and a source of material for proper growth, and maintenance of health. It is pertinent that the numerical values of the dietary requirements are of essence to know, so as to be able to discern the proper amounts of food that is normal to consume to reduce the risk of becoming over weight or malnourished. These elements are:

CARBS : carbohydrates are macromolecular organic compounds found in certain plant products and also in some animal products. It basically is a group of compounds that are either made of one sugar molecule, two sugar molecules, or more than two sugar molecules. Carbohydrates are very important energy giving compounds, they also are important for forming some structures in the body like glycogen, lubricating fluid in joints, and cartilages. They provide the fastest energy supply because they are the easiest and fastest to digest. They also form fats when present in large quantities, so explains why that carbohydrate rich meal leads to excessive fat formation. The required dietary allowance for men and women is on an average of; 130 grams per day. So you should access your platters rightly before daily consumption.

PROTEINS : proteins are a more complex essential macro molecule. They are the most vital molecules in the body, essential for many processes including digestion of foods you consume, building of several body structures like muscle, bone, generally all body cells of which proteins make up about 50% of. Found in food like egg, milk, meat, and fish. They are also found in smaller quantities in some plant products. They also serve as a source of energy. The required dietary allowance for this is; 0.8g/kg body wt/day. As much as proteins are essential, as an adult or adolescent you are meant to ration the amounts you consume.

FATS: most fit fam avoid such word, it brings nightmares to a lot of people trying to maintain a fit body. Truth is that no matter how slim you are there are fats lodged in different essential compartments of your body. The required dietary allowance for it is 22-35% of calorie intake per day. Fats are important for body build of certain structures and they are the greatest energy reserve in the body. In essence, fats are to be part of your diet, even though you might not like it. At the end of the day all you have to do is rationalize.

MINERALS AND VITAMINS : they are micro nutrients; the word micro shouldnt deceive you because as much as they are required in small amounts, they really pack a punch. Just like the smallest part of your brain the hypothalamus which is very important for maintaining a thermodynamic balance of your body system, these micro nutrients are important for many biochemical processes in the body. The minerals include; iron, calcium, magnesium, selenium, phosphates, potassium and so on, all are inorganic components of the body essential for life. Vitamins are far more complex organic molecule ranging from vitamins A-K including; A, B complex, C, D, E, and K. They are required in hundreds of micrograms per day. Sources include, egg, vegetables, milk, cheese, salmon and tuna.

WATER : water is simply life, water makes of 60% of your total body weight; that is incredible. The required amount of water to be consumed per day is about 6 glasses of water but there are no limitations to this, but there is a healthy range. Drink as much water per day as it helps to cleanse your body system.

CHAPTER TWO

UNDERSTANDING DASH DIET AND ITS FUNCTION

Now that these basic elements are known, the next thing in line is to fully understand the topic sentence at hand, the dash diet, and all its functions. Dash diet is not just for people suffering from several kinds of pathologies; it can also be employed for as a preventive measure against risky food related pathologies. Dash diet is a dietary pattern that can be employed by everyone and at every age, it does not limit your choices, there is actually a wide spectrum of food choices for your benefit. Depending on your region or location you can select some kinds of foods you enjoy from the list of foods I will provide later on. All the foods that will be listed are simply healthier and delicious food choices so you can enjoy eating whilst trying to stay healthy. The few unique functions of the dash diet include:

DASH DIET AND HYPERTENSION

The major aim of the dash diet is to provide servings of meals to help decrease the chances of having hypertension which is high blood pressure. Most of the meal choices are majorly made up of organic choices that ensure the meal is healthy. The more the dash diet is practiced, the stronger and healthier you become. Hypertension is an ailment that is common and mostly unique to adults, in some cases it could occur in younger people as a result of increased sympathetic activity which is a usually transient form of hyper tension. Hypertension occurs when the pressure exerted on the walls of arteries increase above normal. The normal range of values are; 110-140mmHg and 60-80mmHg. When the pressure gets higher than the upper limit of the normal ranges such a person is said to be hypertensive. When hypertension occurs in adults it is usually due to a decrease in the elasticity of blood vessels, such a condition is called arteriosclerosis. It hardly occurs in younger people. As elasticity of these blood vessels decrease, an increase in blood tension can easily occur because of the inability for the blood vessels to accommodate the flowing blood. Blood flow is a very important process in the body, improper flow of blood could lead to damage of some vital organs. For instance the kidney works constantly to regulate blood pressure, in hypertensive cases however, the kidney is over worked and this can easily lead to damage of the kidney. Resistance of blood vessels to blood flow also occurs in these conditions. Due to that, the heart rate of the individual increases to pump blood against the resistance of these vessels. This resistance occurs to reduce flow of blood to important tissue structures so as to reduce the risk of these tissues from getting damaged. Elasticity naturally decreases as one ages; this is due to the day to day stress on these blood vessels. It is very common to hear doctors prescribe low salt diets for older hypertensive patients; this is because salt contains sodium, which is an important mineral to consider when describing hypertension. Blood pressure normally increases as blood volume increases. Blood volume can increase with the higher presence of highly osmotic solutes which help for the increase in blood volume. At a younger age such increases in blood pressure is actually negligible because they are easily maintained, but for older folks, it is harder to maintain. High amount of some other compounds also leads to an increase in blood volume and hence blood pressure increases. Blood is an important tissue of the body that regulates all of the bodys processes by several modifications by special organs like the liver, kidney and most importantly the brain. Hypertensive people have the following traits: