Contents
Guide
The DASH Diet 30-MINUTE COOKBOOK
175 Quick and Easy Recipes to Help You Lower Your Blood Pressure and Lose Weight
CHRISTY ELLINGSWORTH
Avon, Massachusetts
Contents
Introduction
Are you looking for a natural way to improve your blood pressure, lower your cholesterol, and shed those extra pounds? With The DASH Diet 30-Minute Cookbook, you can achieve all your health goals with 175 scrumptious recipes that wont leave you feeling deprivedof taste or time.
The #1 diet in the United States, the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet is a balanced eating plan that is low in sodium and rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy products. It has been shown to reduce cholesterol, promote heart health, and lower blood pressureall without the use of medicationsin just fourteen days. As with many sensible eating plans, it has the added bonus of boosting weight loss and may also aid in the prevention of cancer, osteoporosis, and diabetes. In short, the DASH diet can help you live a longer, healthier life.
Developed around fresh, nourishing ingredients, the DASH diet lets you enjoy many of the same foods that youve always eaten. Yes, that even means eating mouthwatering desserts like Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Blondies! From hearty breakfasts like Brown Sugar Cinnamon Oatmeal to savory snacks like Garlic Lovers Hummus each page provides you with step-by-step instructions for crafting dishes so flavorful youll forget that theyre part of a diet plan. Every recipe also includes nutritional stats to help keep you on track and encourage you to create meal plans that work for you and your taste buds.
These delicious dishes have also been designed with your busy lifestyle in mind and can be madefrom start to finishin thirty minutes or less. So you have dozens of meals, snacks, and treats that are ready to go when you are! No more slaving away in the kitchen trying to prepare a nutritious meal after a long day at work or stopping at the drive-thru because you dont have time to cook. With these tasty recipes, youll have no excuse for not making yourself and your health a priority.
Like any diet, the DASH diet may be challenging at times, but dont give up! Remember that you have all the tools and recipes you need to quickly whip up a wholesome, mouthwatering meal whenever hunger hits. Success is just around the corner, so start building a healthier and happier lifestyle now with The DASH Diet 30-Minute Cookbook!
CHAPTER 1
The DASH Diet and How It Can Work for You
Unlike many fad diets, the DASH diet isnt a temporary fix, but a long-term solution for best health. Its an eating plan designed to heal your body by providing the nutrition you need without excess fat, sodium, and cholesterol. The DASH diet has the power to change your life dramatically, one delicious meal at a time.
What Is the DASH Diet?
DASH is an acronym for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. The DASH diet is rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy products. Its emphasis isnt on deprivation, but on adaptation. The DASH diet aims to change the way people look at food, to educate them about their bodies, and to teach them to make healthy, sustainable choices.
The DASH diet was created to change lives by changing lifestyles. Unlike more restrictive diets, the DASH diet was designed to be approachable, and to be readily incorporated into peoples lives. For the most part, you do not need to shop at special grocery stores or go through agonizing transition periods; you just need to start adjusting your food patterns, one step at a time.
The basics of the DASH diet are simple: Eat more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein, and eat less saturated fat, salt, and sweets. Its a common-sense approach to health that really works.
Show Me the Science
While other dietary plans may have little scientific support, the DASH diet has been proven through rigorous research. The National Institutes of Health, the premier governmental medical research agency of the United States, conducted two landmark trials showing that adherence to the DASH diet does indeed lower cholesterol and blood pressure. Other prestigious institutions, universities, and medical centers continue to study the positive effects of the DASH diet, offering new and exciting empirical evidence of its benefits.
The DASH diet was created to reduce hypertension in patients through diet, not drugs. Since its inception, it has been found to have many other health benefits, from decreasing the risk of cancer to reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke. Its no wonder that the DASH diet is the eating plan most often prescribed by physicians. And the news media, including U.S. News & World Report, repeatedly rank the DASH diet as the best diet overall.
Hypertension
Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is often called a silent killer because its effects are often not felt until its too late. Left unchecked, hypertension can, and often does, lead to a heart attack or stroke. These occur when plaquea substance formed in the bodybuilds up in arteries, obstructing blood vessels and stifling the flow of blood and oxygen to the heart or brain. During a heart attack, the heart is unable to pump blood to the rest of the body; during a stroke, brain function is impaired and bodily control is lost, sometimes permanently. Heart attack and stroke are two of the leading causes of death in our society. But they are preventable. By limiting the formation of plaque in your arteries, you can reduce your risk of death and disability. To reduce plaque, you need to understand its cause and how your diet contributes to its formation.
Blood pressure indicates the amount of pressure required by your heart to circulate blood throughout your body. The higher your blood pressure, the harder your heart must work to do its job properly (i.e., deliver oxygen-rich blood to your cells). As blood pressure rises, so does the pressure within the blood vessels. This increase in pressure causes damage and, in combination with poor diet, leads to the formation of a sticky substance called plaque. Like plaster on walls, plaque accumulates and hardens along the lining of blood vessels, causing them to narrow. These narrowed vessels in turn make it harder for the heart to do its job. Blood pressure rises further. More damage is done. And if the diet remains poor, more plaque forms, eventually clogging arteries and causing heart attack or stroke. Its a vicious cycle, but its preventable! By changing your diet, you can changeeven saveyour life. And its never too late to start.
How Is Blood Pressure Measured?
Blood pressure is measured in millimeters of mercury, or mmHg, and is given in the form of one number over another, for example: 100/70 mmHg. The first number, systolic blood pressure, represents the pressure exerted by your heart and blood when it is actively pumping. The second measurement, or diastolic blood pressure, represents the pressure between heartbeats when your heart is at rest. Blood pressure measurements are displayed by showing the systolic blood pressure over the diastolic blood pressure. People whose blood pressure measures between 90/60 mmHg and 140/90 mmHg have normal blood pressure; those above 140/90 mmHg have