September 15, 2025 • 33 mins
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The DASH diet offers a powerful, evidence-based approach to lowering blood pressure through nutritional changes rather than medication.
• Stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension
• Focuses on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and low-fat dairy
• Limits sodium, saturated fat, added sugars, and processed meats
• Can lower systolic blood pressure by 5-6 points and diastolic by 3 points
• Recommends 4-5 servings each of fruits and vegetables daily
• Suggests 6-8 servings of whole grains per day
• Advises limiting sodium to 1,500mg daily for those with hypertension
• Provides numerous meal ideas including oatmeal with berries, turkey sandwiches, and grilled salmon
• Encourages using herbs and spices instead of salt for flavoring
• Benefits extend beyond blood pressure to include improved cholesterol and weight management
For more information about hypertension management, check out our previous episodes: episode 4 (explaining hypertension), episode 5 (lifestyle changes), episode 14 (common medications), and episode 33 (measuring blood pressure at home).
References
1. Diets. Yannakoulia M, Scarmeas N. The New England Journal of Medicine. 2024;390(22):2098-2106. doi:10.1056/NEJMra2211889.
2. Treatment of Hypertension: A Review. Carey RM, Moran AE, Whelton PK. JAMA. 2022;328(18):1849-1861. doi:10.1001/jama.2022.19590.
3. DASH Dietary Pattern and Cardiometabolic Outcomes: An Umbrella Review of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. Chiavaroli L, Viguiliouk E, Nishi SK, et al. Nutrients. 2019;11(2):E338. doi:10.3390/nu11020338.
4. Primary Prevention of ASCVD and T2DM in Patients at Metabolic Risk: An Endocrine Society* Clinical Practice Guideline. Rosenzweig JL, Bakris GL, Berglund LF, et al. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. 2019;104(9):3939-3985. doi:10.1210/jc.2019-01338.
5. Recommended Dietary Pattern to Achieve Adherence to the American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology (AHA/ACC) Guidelines: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association. Van Horn L, Carson JA, Appel LJ, et al. Circulation. 2016;134(22):e505-e529. doi:10.1161/CIR.0000000000000462.
6. Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) for the Primary and Secondary Prevention of Cardiovascular Diseases. Bensaaud A, Seery S, Gibson I, et al. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2025;5:CD013729. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD013729.pub2.
7. Popular Dietary Patterns: Alignment With American Heart Association 2021 Dietary Guidance: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association. Gardner CD, Vadiveloo MK, Petersen KS, et al. Circulation. 2023;147(22):1715-1730. doi:10.1161/CIR.0000000000001146.
8. Dietary Approaches to Prevent and Treat Hypertension: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association. Appel LJ, Brands MW, Daniels SR, et al. Hypertension (Dallas, Tex. : 1979). 2006;47(2):296-308. doi:10.1161/01.HYP.0000202568.01167.B6.
9. Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH): Potential Mechanisms of Action Against Risk Factors of the Metabolic Syndrome. Akhlaghi M. Nutrition Research Reviews. 2020;33(1):1-18. doi:10.1017/S0954422419000155.
10. The Effects of the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) Diet on Metabolic Risk Factors in Patients With Chronic Disease:
Production and Content: Edward Delesky, MD & Nicole Aruffo, RN
Artwork: Olivia Pawlowski
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hi, welcome to your checkup.
We are the patient educationpodcast, where we bring
conversations from the doctor'soffice to your ears.
On this podcast, we try tobring medicine closer to its
patients.
I'm Ed Dolesky, a familymedicine doctor in the
Philadelphia area.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
And I'm Nicole Rufo.
I'm a nurse.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
And we are so excited you were able to join us here
again today.
You've got an experience, astory, something about New
Jersey that you need to say, ohmy gosh.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Yeah, we need to talk about the highways in New
Jersey, I guess.
I was recently the other dayhad to drive in New Jersey twice
, unfortunately, and every othertime, if we are ever in New
Jersey, you are driving, becausedriving is a boy job.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
Sure Blue job.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
And like otherwise I'm really just going to the
beach.
So I just hop on the ACexpressway and like don't think
anything about it.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Sure.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
And we were.
I've been talking to your niecewho like recently started
driving more she's 18 and shewould tell us like how nervous
she was to drive on the highways.
And like this one time sheaccidentally got on the highway
and she was like really stressedout about it and so I like got
it and I was, you know, kind ofthinking like yeah, I guess when
(01:21):
I was 18, like I didn't lovegetting on 95.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Right.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
Cause that's like the highway I was mostly on and
then I was driving in New Jerseyand I was like, oh, and then it
clicked to me why she was sostressed out driving on the
highways, Because I've beendriving for a lot longer than
she has been and I was stressedout and it's like it's.
(01:47):
It's absolute anarchy, to behonest.
Like people like to clown onNew Jersey drivers and honestly
like that's why, cause it's likeyou're in survival mode out
there.
It's crazy.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
Every person for the speed limit 65.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
So everyone's going 80.
And then it's like on a sixlane highway that divides into
two more six lane highways, oryou like.
Think you're getting off thehighway but then you just get on
to another big, giant widehighway and it's this like it's
oh, my god yeah, I can't believethat like people in new jersey,
(02:21):
just like do that every day,yeah.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
Yeah, that's the nature of South Jersey.
I think that, uh, thatcongested type of like
amalgamation of highways.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
I've never experienced anything like that
in my life.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
Right, I mean, well, you're, like you know, passenger
princess.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
maybe you're not so like on my phone, or like
reading, or I'm just like notpaying attention to the driving
conditions.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
No, paying attention to the driving conditions.
No, this stuff is, it's intenseand then, like you're merging
at like 50, 60, maybe more milesper hour into different lanes.
Yeah, there are certain lanes,like there are some going from
like different parts of southjersey that connect to camden
and philly, that, like you couldunknowingly be in like the
leftmost lane.
The signs are really confusing.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
Like this site, it'll be like this sign for this exit
and then it lists all thesetowns like you could unknowingly
be in, like the leftmost lane,the signs are really confusing,
like the sign it'll be like thissign for this exit and then it
lists all these towns that itgets off.
But like, if you don't get off,if you're not in that one lane,
you're just to get onto anotherhighway.
You're like you missed it andnow you just have to stay on
this gigantic highway.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
You may even have to pay a toll.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
Probably have to pay a toll with no end in sight,
right?
No, it's a lot.
No, I get it.
Jill, if you're listening tothis, I empathize with you.
More than ever, that was nuts,you know how people, if you live
in this like part of thecountry, have Wawa and people
are like if you can like drivein a Wawa parking lot, you can
(03:43):
drive anywhere.
No, I think if you can drive inNew Jersey, you can drive
anywhere.
You know this is big vindication, but then the Jersey people
come over here to our normalhighway and we're like what are
these crazy lunatics doing?
Speaker 1 (03:57):
That's why Well, that's why Dan called it.
I remember years ago we weredriving in Philly and I was in
the back seat and dan is drivingand he's like I forgot what
type of car, but he's like, ohyeah, I'm in the right lane,
gotta get in the left time to dothe jersey shuffle, and he like
crosses three or four lanes.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
Yeah, well, that's how, in a moment you're not just
switching a lane, you're likegoing over the entire thing.
I'm like are you guys okay?
Like who did this?
Someone is responsible for,like I don't know what that job
role is of like designinghighways and civil engineering
yeah, well, they're like crazy,they need help.
They need professional helpbecause, like, I don't know what
(04:41):
happened to them, that theywere hurt so badly that they
decided to do this and make usdrive like this.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
It is a six lane highway.
It's crazy.
The 42.
I guess I know they're allnumbers and like it doesn't
really ring any bells, but no,it's crazy, especially Ollie
thinks it's crazy too.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
He agrees.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
I'm getting a delivery, I think I might be
getting a package oh, I'm notdecent to look in the package.
Yeah, so it was a package.
Um, he doesn't normally getjust excited for for anything
it's exciting when we getdeliveries.
It's like christmas, but everyday yeah every day.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
Okay, I have a collection of like things for
our honeymoon.
Have our 100 deep bug spray sowe don't get malaria or japanese
encephalitis that'd be a bummerneck pillows neck pillows.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
No, it's great.
You are a wonder when it comesto acquiring items that we need
for.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
The Amazon ferry comes.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
The Amazon ferry.
So you know all right.
Well, I think it's a naturaltransition to our next pre-show,
banter.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
What else have we got ?
Speaker 1 (06:08):
Well, I'm just thinking and maybe this has been
said before.
I think there is a timeline.
No, there's an equation outthere somewhere of travel time
that it takes to a venue orlocation and time spent at the
venue for it to be worth it.
(06:29):
Say you have to drive an hourand 20 minutes somewhere and an
hour and 20 minutes back.
Make it an hour and 30, saythree hours in the car.
To make it worth it, you haveto spend.
I know that simple math wouldbe.
It's a one-to-one.
You have to spend more thanthree hours at this event.
Do you see it differently?
Speaker 2 (06:52):
No, I agree.
So if you're spending more timein the car than you are, I
guess, like I don't know, Iguess it depends, like what it
is.
You know there are otherfactors, but I think, broadly at
least, we sometimes can'tjustify if we would be spending
more time in the car than wewould at you know the actual
(07:15):
event or whatever it was yeah,gathering it is tough, and it's
tough because of the parking.
Um, you know, parking in centercity has gotten rough again yeah
, that is a huge um, I don'teven know what word to use
annoyance, not even annoyance.
Annoyance is a lightweight, alight term, it's very light to
(07:37):
use.
It's just especially like onsundays, like if we're coming
back from the beach or, like youknow, do whatever on a sunday
yeah or I mean on a saturday, itdoesn't matter what day it is.
When we come back from somewhere, especially if it's like we're
not in the city, we have todrive here.
Say, we have to drive 30 45minutes to get back home, then
(07:59):
eight times out of ten we spendanother 30 to 45 minutes driving
in circles looking for a spotto park the car which is good
for two hours that's anotherordeal.
It's not just like when weleave somewhere, like, like if
we're leaving my parents surejust for example, because
they're like about a half houraway.
Even if we leave there at likeeight, which doesn't seem that
(08:22):
late, okay, get home at 8 30,but then we're driving in
circles until like nine, nine,15.
And then we have to walk backbecause God knows where we had
to park the car.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
It's like a whole to do.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
It is a whole to do.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
It's really annoying.
Speaker 1 (08:34):
Yeah, it's bad the way.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
I just want to drive home and pull into a driveway.
I cannot explain it.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
No, no, I and I well, so they can just be at my house
.
It was a moment that I I didn'tlike initially, where they put
like every quarter of a block atthe edges was dedicated to a
loading zone, and some of theseloading zones, like started at
six, ended at 6 pm.
So then it was parking that wasavailable for overnight parking
at starting at 6 pm, which wasgreat for people who commute and
come back from work, but nowthey're gone again because
(09:07):
someone didn't like it and itwas the people in another
neighborhood nearby, and so nowit's back to two-hour parking
all over the place and the onlytime you can park for two-hour
parking and have overnight is 8pm, because then from 8 to 10
you're good, and then after it'sovernight parking, which
doesn't count.
So I really I think this, yeah,this stuff has been happening
(09:32):
in center city and we keepgetting inertia of like it's
time maybe to move on yeah whereit's not so comfortable.
But that's my thought abouttravel time.
I don't know.
It came up this week and I justthink maybe it's relatable.
Hit us up in the fan mail ifyou find that relatable at all.
Um, what are we watching thisweek?
Speaker 2 (09:55):
oh, what are?
You watching, and now I'mwatching well, we're watching
season three of the summer.
I turn pretty.
I watched season.
Actually, the first season cameout kind of like when we first
started talking and then Iwatched the second season, like
this year, so I could watch thethird season.
The second season was like hardto get through, it wasn't the
(10:16):
best, but the third season it'sgood.
But it's also like makes me likehate all of these characters
that's good though which I guessmeans that they're acting, is
good I think they're so good atacting yeah you thought that
this was the line for me I didwell because I I was watching.
(10:38):
I would be watching season two.
Initially I wanted to watchseason two so that I could
download and just like, have allof season three for our
honeymoon flights.
But then I was like but thenpeople were like talking about
it and I was like I'll justwatch it, Like there's plenty of
content to download for aflight and I would watch it on
(10:58):
nights that Eddie would worklate.
And then you kind of were like,oh, what's this Like, what are
you watching?
And then he got hooked.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
That's how it usually happens.
Yeah, I'm in.
That's how it usually happens.
Yeah, I'm in there.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
So we're watching that, which apparently the
season goes off script from thebooks, which will be refreshing.
That's another thing.
We were recently talking aboutall these shows that are coming
out that are already books, andthen it's like you know what
happens, Like you know what thetwist is.
(11:31):
Like they're making.
The house made the movie or ashow.
I already know what that twistis.
Apparently they're makingVerity a movie Already.
Know what that is, causewhatever.
And then there was somethingelse that they said.
They were recently making ashow or a movie.
I'm like, and it's not going tobe as good as the book, it's
(11:52):
too much for you, but I'mobviously going to watch it For
sure, but you already know whathappens.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
Yeah, yeah, well, I don't.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
I can't read Like can people just be like original,
write something new that isn'talready a book?
Speaker 1 (12:06):
No, no original write something new that isn't
already a book?
No, no, I don't think so.
No, it's.
It's um great show.
I um definitely thought.
Speaker 2 (12:21):
You thought that that was the line and it wasn't no
clearly.
Well, now we're gonna have towatch the bachelorette, because
the girl from mormon wives isthe bachelorette that's crazy, I
haven't I haven't watched thatshow, I think probably since
like 2018 ish.
Speaker 1 (12:33):
No, I don't think I've ever seen a whole season of
it now we're gonna I understandthe premise.
I think everyone understandsthe premise, but this time, no,
we're gonna watch I wonder whenit comes out I don't know.
I thought that stuff was likealways on, it's like I know it
does feel like that yeah, Idon't know.
(12:53):
So, yeah, that's what we got,yeah, so what are we going to
talk about today, nick?
today we're talking about thedash diet yeah, this was a
selfish pick, because I thinkthis is going to be incredibly
helpful for a person who isthinking about having high blood
(13:14):
pressure.
They're sitting at home andthey're like, oh man, they told
me I have hypertension and I'mnot in love with medications and
, believe me, there is a room,there is a place for medications
but they're thinking like, whatcan I do?
(13:34):
And it's a hand-waving momentthat happens in the doctor's
office that says you should trythe DASH diet and that's about
it.
Maybe you get a handout, maybeyou're lucky enough where you
have like a whole visit withsomeone and they talk to you
about the DASH diet.
I haven't seen it yet.
So that's the point of thisepisode is to talk to you about
the DASH diet.
The following episode isgrounded in high quality
(13:56):
evidence from randomizedcontrolled trials, systematic
reviews and major clinicalguidelines.
The literature consistentlysupports the DASH diet as an
effective, evidence-basedapproach for lowering blood
pressure and improvingcardiometabolic health, as
recommended by the AmericanHeart Association and other
leading organizations.
That sounded like a disclaimer,but I really wanted to include
it in there.
All right, nikki, can you tellus?
(14:19):
It's an acronym?
It's like SCUBA, it's likelaser.
Yeah, check it out if youdidn't know, those were acronyms
Wait an acronym?
yes, it is good question, Idon't know off the dome I knew
scuba was.
I forget what it is, though um,oh, there's like probably a
bunch of people at home who arelike it's this, it's this you
(14:40):
guys are dumb.
You guys are dumb all right,what is it?
Uh, laser, uh vamping, vamping,looking up, looking up, there
we go, okay.
Light amplification bystimulated emission of radiation
really yeah that makes senselaser.
(15:01):
It's one of the better ones.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
Yeah, yeah what is scuba again?
Speaker 1 (15:08):
self-contained underwater breathing apparatus
oh yeah yeah, that one lockedand loaded scuba's a good one.
Yeah, let us know your favoriteacronym.
My favorite acronym is dashnikki.
Can you tell us what, as in thedash diet, it is?
Um, can you tell us what thedash diet stands for?
Speaker 2 (15:26):
yes, yes, it stands for the Dietary Approaches to
Stop Hypertension.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
Yep, it is an eating plan designed to help you lower
your blood pressure and, frankly, improve your heart health.
It really focuses on fruits andvegetables, whole grains, lean
proteins and low-fat dairy wholegrains, lean proteins and
low-fat dairy and really payingspecial, special attention to
(15:52):
foods high in salt, otherwisecalled sodium, saturated fat,
added sugars, which is somethingwe've talked about previously,
and red or processed meat.
And we've got loads ofreferences as one, two, three,
four I mean I think there's 10there supporting these claims.
So why don't we go through andtalk about the key features in a
(16:16):
practical way of the DASH diet?
Because something we know isthat it works, but practically,
what can we do?
So let's go back and forth here.
I'll start the fruits.
What does the diet look like?
Four to five servings per day.
What does that look like?
One medium apple, a half a cupof fresh fruit and a fourth of a
(16:40):
cup of dried fruit.
Four to five servings of fruita day, nikki.
What about those vegetables?
Speaker 2 (16:48):
So vegetables are similar.
We're also wanting about fourto five servings of fruit a day,
nikki.
What about those vegetables?
So vegetables are similar.
We're also wanting about fourto five servings a day.
Examples would be about one cupof raw leafy vegetables, so
like a salad, perhaps Base of asalad, or a half a cup of cooked
vegetables there we go, that'sone serving which, like isn't a
lot.
Speaker 1 (17:07):
Not a lot, nope.
The next one will be wholegrains.
In this diet, we're thinkingabout six to eight servings per
day, examples of this being oneslice of whole grain bread and
half a cup of cooked rice orpasta, cooked rice and raw rice.
(17:28):
Most of the population probablyalready knew this.
They are different, especiallywhen you're cooking, so be
careful to look at that whenyou're eating or preparing food.
What's next, nikki?
Speaker 2 (17:42):
Next is either low fat or fat-free dairy to have
two to three servings per day.
So we're talking about one cupof milk or yogurt or about 1.5
ounces of cheese.
Speaker 1 (17:55):
Problematic for us because we love so much cheese.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
So much manchego.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
Oh my gosh.
Next would be lean meats,poultry or fish.
This includes up to six ouncesper day, and the idea is to
choose fish or skinless poultrymore often than others.
We'll dive right into the nextone.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
Nikki, tell us what's next nuts, seeds and our
favorite legumes thank god, youhad to say it not me um having
about four to five servings perweek, not per day per week um.
So an example of a servingwould be about one third cup of
nuts, two tablespoons of seedsor a half a cup of cooked beans
(18:41):
yeah, probably way less than Iconsume.
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
Nuts by the fistful.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
Yeah, they're high on the fat side.
Speaker 1 (18:53):
They are high on the fat side.
Something to think about Nextis fats and oils.
The Dash Diet suggests two tothree servings per day.
We see this as an opportunityto include your extra virgin
olive oil, if you will, as we'vealluded to on several other
episodes.
And nikki, tell us about thosesweet treats oh, I love a sweet
(19:14):
treat.
Speaker 2 (19:16):
The dash diet suggests to limit sweet treats
to five or fewer servings perweek.
Um, they have jelly or jamlisted as a sweet treat I guess
I mean who's.
Speaker 1 (19:28):
I mean, I love a lame excuse for a sweet treat.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
If you're asking me, the spoon sandwich is okay.
Yeah, we do love a spoonsandwich, so there's an
opportunity.
That's true.
Um the examples they listedwere one tablespoon of sugar,
jelly or jam.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
Yeah, so here's the real meat of the DASH diet.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
What's the meat?
Tell us about the meat.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
It's it's the salt, it's the sodium.
This is the big recommendationfrom the DASH diet, so let's
talk about it a little.
More Sodium Most people shouldprobably aim for less than 2,300
milligrams of sodium per day.
That's not a recommendation,it's just a thought of what most
(20:17):
people probably should thinkabout doing.
So for those with high bloodpressure or who are at higher
risk, you could think about lessthan 1,500 milligrams per day,
and that's based in evidence.
That is the recommendation fromthe DASH diet.
This is based a lot in peoplecounting calories using that
(20:40):
mechanism, but to count sodium,I call it a sodium log.
Speaker 2 (20:45):
Yeah, and if you're using any kind of calorie
counter there are a bunch ofapps they also typically will
include other likemicronutrients and then like
salt or sodium.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
Yep.
So it's readily available onyour nutrition facts the
nutrition label on the back.
So I think it's a reasonablething.
I don't think you need to.
Well, maybe you don't need tocount your sodium every single
day for the rest of your life,but maybe it's a decent idea to
figure out how much sodium isgoing into your body.
Because take this what if,every day, you're intaking 4,000
(21:19):
milligrams of sodium and youhave no idea?
Yeah yeah, and you went to thedoctor and they're like, oh my
god, you have hypertension.
This is the lightest lift.
I'm not the lightest lift, butit's something that is within
your home, something that youput into your body every day and
it's just become a part of youthat you don't recognize that
(21:39):
maybe it's a problem.
Maybe it's something, anopportunity to improve for your
health.
Maybe you don't need thatmedicine because maybe you just
take a look at what you'reeating, you find that you're
having four 5,000 milligrams ofsodium.
Hopefully it's not that high,oh my God.
But maybe and then you reflecton that Maybe you make that
(21:59):
change.
Maybe you don't take as manyibuprofen, maybe you stop
smoking, maybe you drink lessalcohol, maybe you lose a couple
pounds.
All that together and maybe youmake a lot of headway on
managing your blood pressure.
It's possible.
It's right there for you.
So just to review those numbers, we find that most people
should aim for less than 2,300milligrams per day for sodium,
(22:22):
but people really thinking aboutthe DASH diet maybe think about
1,500 milligrams per day orless, all right.
So we said that in like broadswaths that the DASH diet is
helpful for your heart and it'shelpful for managing blood
pressure.
Nikki, let's get a little moregranular when it comes to
(22:46):
lowering blood pressure.
What do those figures actuallylook like, based on the
literature we have?
Speaker 2 (22:54):
The clinical trials have shown that the DASH diet
can lower the systolic number sothe number on the top by about
five to six and the diastolicnumber so the number on the
bottom by about three, and thatthose numbers were even greater
in people with hypertension.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
Yeah, amazing stuff, truly, all with things at home
that you can think about.
Following the DASH diet hasalso been shown to improve
cholesterol and weight.
It can help lower LDL, or thecomplicated or bad cholesterol,
and support healthy weight lossor bad cholesterol and support
healthy weight loss and overallit gets you eating better.
(23:35):
So the diet itself is high infiber, high in nutrients and
minerals that you need potassium, magnesium, calcium all of that
being important for yourmetabolic health.
So, honestly, dash diet, hugewin.
If there was a collab albumbetween dash and mediterranean,
it would be a huge win.
(23:55):
The dead atterranean diet,which wouldn't be a good name,
because no one wants to be deadatterranean definitely don't
want to be dead atterranean themash diet maybe you're onto
something deluski mediterraneanapproaches to stop hypertension.
(24:16):
Stop, I don't know, we'll see.
We'll work on the branding um.
All right, so let's do.
In this next segment, we'regoing to talk about sample meals
and tips for success.
Nikki, let's go back and forth,these are.
So we're going to do simpleone-line tips, rattle them off
for success on the DASH diet.
Speaker 2 (24:37):
Okay, the first one is to choose.
Fresh or frozen is always anoption.
Fruits and veggies.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
We also encourage with the DASH diet to use herbs
and spices instead of salt toflavor food.
Speaker 2 (24:52):
Next reading the labels to check for the sodium
content.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
Herbs and spices are delicious.
There's no substitute for agood parsley.
Speaker 2 (25:04):
You're obsessed with parsley.
I don't know why.
Speaker 1 (25:06):
Oh my God, so much hate on parsley.
Speaker 2 (25:08):
You're obsessed with dried parsley.
Speaker 1 (25:11):
What is your?
This is like this.
Hate is just unwarranted.
First it started with oregano,then it went to the parsley.
Which italian seasoning am Iallowed to use?
Basil?
Speaker 2 (25:23):
that's because you put oregano on my spaghetti
meatballs and it was almost animmediate divorce that literally
I can't believe I didn't packmy bags and leave One time.
Never again.
Speaker 1 (25:38):
A force of habit.
Herbs and spices are great, soyou can use plenty of options to
flavor your food instead ofjust salt.
You should read food labels forthe sodium content Actually see
what sodium is going in yourbody.
When you're thinking aboutgrain products, select a whole
(26:00):
grain product and look forsomething that says 100% whole
grain on the label.
Choose low-fat or fat-freedairy products.
That's a step in the rightdirection, and we have talked ad
nauseum about these.
Limit processed and fast foods.
Oftentimes, very, very oftenthey often have high sodium and
(26:20):
unhealthy fats.
So those are just a couplesimple, quick tips.
But what we want to do for younow because this was done by
popular demand from ourfollowers on threads is some
sample meal ideas.
Nikki, can you tell us a littlebit more about sample meal
ideas for breakfast in the DASHdiet?
Speaker 2 (26:42):
For breakfast we could do some oatmeal with fresh
berries and a sprinkle ofchopped nuts or some low-fat
yogurt with fruit, maybe abanana, maybe some berries and
some whole grain toast.
Speaker 1 (26:56):
Great breakfast, yeah , I love that idea.
For lunch, we're thinkingturkey and vegetable sandwich
with whole grain bread, perhapsa side of carrot sticks no, it
doesn't sound sexy and maybe anapple Not sexy, but healthy.
You can have sexy and healthythough.
Think about a mixed green saladwith chickpeas, big chickpea
(27:19):
family, cherry tomatoes,cucumbers and a vinaigrette
dressing.
You can make your own dressingat home.
I would encourage you to golisten to the Mediterranean diet
, because I'm going save nikkifrom a diatribe here about extra
virgin olive oil my personalvendetta about store-bought
salad dressing.
Yeah, because I've had a lot ofpeople reach out to me about
(27:40):
this and like really yeah,you've struck fear into many
people and they might not good.
No, I know, yeah, we've hadlike like old patients of mine,
really, yeah, old patients ofmine who we've connected with
and who now we just commune asfriends online, like terrified
of, and they're like you're intheir head.
(28:01):
Rent free.
Speaker 2 (28:02):
Good, I should be Sounds like a horror movie.
Speaker 1 (28:08):
My parents.
They tell me all the tips thatthey get from you and I'm like
that's all the stuff she says.
And they're like, yeah, we wereat the store and we turned over
the label and we saw it camefrom one place and we were like,
yep, we're going to get thatolive oil.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
Are they making their own dressing with their single
origin extra virgin olive oilnow?
Speaker 1 (28:25):
We'll have to ask them.
We'll have to ask them.
Speaker 2 (28:29):
But you are in people's heads.
Wishbone is like they're gonnacome after you it's not that
this is the idea.
Speaker 1 (28:36):
Wishbone's gonna come after you, though.
Is that that's a?
Is that a brand of?
Speaker 2 (28:44):
of salad dressing.
Salad dressing maybe?
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (28:47):
I don't ever buy salad dressing you wouldn't know
, because you're just against it, big anti-salad dressing gal.
So, yeah, that could be areally great lunch.
It could be sexy.
If you want it to be, nikki,tell us.
Tell us, please.
Dash Diet Dinners what do yougot?
Speaker 2 (29:05):
Well, this is probably my favorite dinner
Grilled salmon, brown rice andsteamed broccoli.
Yeah, yeah I do prefer abrussel over broccoli, though,
but you know, for the sake ofthe the example yeah, that's
good.
Speaker 1 (29:18):
I do love a brussel.
I love a brussel and a broccoli.
Um, we don't do this a lot, butyou could try stir-fried tofu
with mixed vegetables and quinoaquinoa should eat more quinoa.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
We should eat more quinoa.
Speaker 1 (29:29):
We should eat more quinoa.
That could go into the rotation.
Yeah, yeah, I agree.
And the thing that peoplealways wonder about are snacks.
Like what the heck can you grabwhen you're on the go?
You need a little, something,something.
What can you do with snacks?
I'll start us off.
We've got three ideas for youhere.
A sliced bell pepper withhummus.
The hummus is great, you can'tgo wrong.
(29:54):
It's the vehicle.
If you get a lot of chips orthose crackers and you're eating
those, you might rack up acouple calories, you might rack
up a lot of sodium, but the bellpepper I mean.
Speaker 2 (30:03):
Bell pepper.
It's basically negativecalories.
Speaker 1 (30:05):
It's basically negative.
You're going to burn morecalories working through that
food and chewing it than youwill by eating it.
So try a bell pepper with somehummus.
Now.
What's another snack that wecan have?
Speaker 2 (30:18):
another favorite a low-fat string cheese and an
orange you do love a stringcheese.
I love string cheese you love astring cheese.
Yeah, also love a sumo orangein the winter.
Oh, big only good part aboutthe dead of winter totally sumo
(30:39):
oranges.
Speaker 1 (30:40):
I know, I remember, I don't care I don't care that
they're 250 each my scavenge togo get sumo oranges to make you
happy on like a, a day whereit's dark out at 4 pm.
There's nothing like it.
And the last one I'll say isunsalted almonds or walnuts.
I'll say it again Unsaltedalmonds or walnuts.
(31:01):
I know it tastes better, I do.
I know it does, but your heartdoesn't.
Sometimes you have to fly closeto the sun.
Speaker 2 (31:08):
I get it.
Unsalted cashews aren't thatbad.
Speaker 1 (31:09):
What do you mean?
The unsalted?
Speaker 2 (31:12):
cashews aren't that bad.
What do you mean?
The unsalted cashews aren'tthat bad.
Speaker 1 (31:15):
Like taste-wise or health-wise.
Speaker 2 (31:17):
Taste-wise, oh no, like we've had them a lot.
Nona gives us like vats ofunsalted cashews sometimes.
She does, she does.
Speaker 1 (31:26):
But still I'm like they're good.
They're good, but like by thefistful and I'm just like, oh my
God, I keep eating them.
So in reasonable quantities,like this would be a good one.
Like measure out what an actualserving Like weigh out yeah.
I remember I weighed out thecashews for your lunch and you
were like this is all I get, allright.
(31:47):
So in a fun, lively episodeabout the DASH diet, we hope you
give a serious thought about it, especially if you're thinking
like what can I do to work on myhypertension?
That isn't medicine and trulymaking a gradual change.
Planning meals ahead can helpincorporate the DASH diet and
make it a part of, like youroverall healthier lifestyle.
So if you really want moreadvice, you should go to your
(32:10):
own doctor.
We're happy that you came tolisten today and hopefully
you'll learn something foryourself, a loved one or a
neighbor with hypertension.
And if you're looking for moreinformation about hypertension
from our podcast, you can checkout episode four, explaining
what hypertension is, episodefive, the lifestyle changes to
(32:31):
treat hypertension, episode 14,common hypertension medications
explained.
And episode 33, how to takeyour blood pressure well at home
, but, most importantly, stayhealthy.
My friends, until next time.
I'm Ed Dolesky, I'm Nicole Rufo.
Thank you and goodbye.
Speaker 2 (32:49):
Bye.
Speaker 1 (32:51):
This information may provide a brief overview of
diagnosis, treatment and goodbyeBye.
This information may provide abrief overview of diagnosis,
treatment and medications.
It's not exhaustive and is atool to help you understand
potential options about yourhealth.
It doesn't cover all detailsabout conditions, treatments or
medications for a specificperson.
This is not medical advice oran attempt to substitute medical
advice.
You should contact a healthcareprovider for personalized
guidance based on your uniquecircumstances.
(33:13):
We explicitly disclaim anyliability relating to the
information given or its use.
This content doesn't endorseany treatments or medications
for a specific patient.
Always talk to your healthcareprovider for complete
information tailored to you.
In short, I'm not your doctor,I am not your nurse, and make
sure you go get your own checkupwith your own personal doctor.
I am not your nurse and makesure you go get your own checkup
(33:43):
with your own personal doctor.
Hi, welcome to your checkup.
We are the patient educationpodcast, where we bring
conversations from the doctor'soffice to your ears.
On this podcast, we try tobring medicine closer to its
patients.
I'm Ed Dolesky, a familymedicine doctor in the
Philadelphia area.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
And I'm Nicole Rufo.
I'm a nurse.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
And we are so excited you were able to join us here
again today.
You've got an experience, astory, something about New
Jersey that you need to say, ohmy gosh.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Yeah, we need to talk about the highways in New
Jersey, I guess.
I was recently the other dayhad to drive in New Jersey twice
, unfortunately, and every othertime, if we are ever in New
Jersey, you are driving, becausedriving is a boy job.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
Sure Blue job.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
And like otherwise I'm really just going to the
beach.
So I just hop on the ACexpressway and like don't think
anything about it.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Sure.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
And we were.
I've been talking to your niecewho like recently started
driving more she's 18 and shewould tell us like how nervous
she was to drive on the highways.
And like this one time sheaccidentally got on the highway
and she was like really stressedout about it and so I like got
it and I was, you know, kind ofthinking like yeah, I guess when
(01:21):
I was 18, like I didn't lovegetting on 95.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Right.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
Cause that's like the highway I was mostly on and
then I was driving in New Jerseyand I was like, oh, and then it
clicked to me why she was sostressed out driving on the
highways, Because I've beendriving for a lot longer than
she has been and I was stressedout and it's like it's.
(01:47):
It's absolute anarchy, to behonest.
Like people like to clown onNew Jersey drivers and honestly
like that's why, cause it's likeyou're in survival mode out
there.
It's crazy.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
Every person for the speed limit 65.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
So everyone's going 80.
And then it's like on a sixlane highway that divides into
two more six lane highways, oryou like.
Think you're getting off thehighway but then you just get on
to another big, giant widehighway and it's this like it's
oh, my god yeah, I can't believethat like people in new jersey,
(02:21):
just like do that every day,yeah.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
Yeah, that's the nature of South Jersey.
I think that, uh, thatcongested type of like
amalgamation of highways.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
I've never experienced anything like that
in my life.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
Right, I mean, well, you're, like you know, passenger
princess.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
maybe you're not so like on my phone, or like
reading, or I'm just like notpaying attention to the driving
conditions.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
No, paying attention to the driving conditions.
No, this stuff is, it's intenseand then, like you're merging
at like 50, 60, maybe more milesper hour into different lanes.
Yeah, there are certain lanes,like there are some going from
like different parts of southjersey that connect to camden
and philly, that, like you couldunknowingly be in like the
leftmost lane.
The signs are really confusing.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
Like this site, it'll be like this sign for this exit
and then it lists all thesetowns like you could unknowingly
be in, like the leftmost lane,the signs are really confusing,
like the sign it'll be like thissign for this exit and then it
lists all these towns that itgets off.
But like, if you don't get off,if you're not in that one lane,
you're just to get onto anotherhighway.
You're like you missed it andnow you just have to stay on
this gigantic highway.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
You may even have to pay a toll.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
Probably have to pay a toll with no end in sight,
right?
No, it's a lot.
No, I get it.
Jill, if you're listening tothis, I empathize with you.
More than ever, that was nuts,you know how people, if you live
in this like part of thecountry, have Wawa and people
are like if you can like drivein a Wawa parking lot, you can
(03:43):
drive anywhere.
No, I think if you can drive inNew Jersey, you can drive
anywhere.
You know this is big vindication, but then the Jersey people
come over here to our normalhighway and we're like what are
these crazy lunatics doing?
Speaker 1 (03:57):
That's why Well, that's why Dan called it.
I remember years ago we weredriving in Philly and I was in
the back seat and dan is drivingand he's like I forgot what
type of car, but he's like, ohyeah, I'm in the right lane,
gotta get in the left time to dothe jersey shuffle, and he like
crosses three or four lanes.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
Yeah, well, that's how, in a moment you're not just
switching a lane, you're likegoing over the entire thing.
I'm like are you guys okay?
Like who did this?
Someone is responsible for,like I don't know what that job
role is of like designinghighways and civil engineering
yeah, well, they're like crazy,they need help.
They need professional helpbecause, like, I don't know what
(04:41):
happened to them, that theywere hurt so badly that they
decided to do this and make usdrive like this.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
It is a six lane highway.
It's crazy.
The 42.
I guess I know they're allnumbers and like it doesn't
really ring any bells, but no,it's crazy, especially Ollie
thinks it's crazy too.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
He agrees.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
I'm getting a delivery, I think I might be
getting a package oh, I'm notdecent to look in the package.
Yeah, so it was a package.
Um, he doesn't normally getjust excited for for anything
it's exciting when we getdeliveries.
It's like christmas, but everyday yeah every day.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
Okay, I have a collection of like things for
our honeymoon.
Have our 100 deep bug spray sowe don't get malaria or japanese
encephalitis that'd be a bummerneck pillows neck pillows.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
No, it's great.
You are a wonder when it comesto acquiring items that we need
for.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
The Amazon ferry comes.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
The Amazon ferry.
So you know all right.
Well, I think it's a naturaltransition to our next pre-show,
banter.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
What else have we got ?
Speaker 1 (06:08):
Well, I'm just thinking and maybe this has been
said before.
I think there is a timeline.
No, there's an equation outthere somewhere of travel time
that it takes to a venue orlocation and time spent at the
venue for it to be worth it.
(06:29):
Say you have to drive an hourand 20 minutes somewhere and an
hour and 20 minutes back.
Make it an hour and 30, saythree hours in the car.
To make it worth it, you haveto spend.
I know that simple math wouldbe.
It's a one-to-one.
You have to spend more thanthree hours at this event.
Do you see it differently?
Speaker 2 (06:52):
No, I agree.
So if you're spending more timein the car than you are, I
guess, like I don't know, Iguess it depends, like what it
is.
You know there are otherfactors, but I think, broadly at
least, we sometimes can'tjustify if we would be spending
more time in the car than wewould at you know the actual
(07:15):
event or whatever it was yeah,gathering it is tough, and it's
tough because of the parking.
Um, you know, parking in centercity has gotten rough again yeah
, that is a huge um, I don'teven know what word to use
annoyance, not even annoyance.
Annoyance is a lightweight, alight term, it's very light to
(07:37):
use.
It's just especially like onsundays, like if we're coming
back from the beach or, like youknow, do whatever on a sunday
yeah or I mean on a saturday, itdoesn't matter what day it is.
When we come back from somewhere, especially if it's like we're
not in the city, we have todrive here.
Say, we have to drive 30 45minutes to get back home, then
(07:59):
eight times out of ten we spendanother 30 to 45 minutes driving
in circles looking for a spotto park the car which is good
for two hours that's anotherordeal.
It's not just like when weleave somewhere, like, like if
we're leaving my parents surejust for example, because
they're like about a half houraway.
Even if we leave there at likeeight, which doesn't seem that
(08:22):
late, okay, get home at 8 30,but then we're driving in
circles until like nine, nine,15.
And then we have to walk backbecause God knows where we had
to park the car.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
It's like a whole to do.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
It is a whole to do.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
It's really annoying.
Speaker 1 (08:34):
Yeah, it's bad the way.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
I just want to drive home and pull into a driveway.
I cannot explain it.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
No, no, I and I well, so they can just be at my house
.
It was a moment that I I didn'tlike initially, where they put
like every quarter of a block atthe edges was dedicated to a
loading zone, and some of theseloading zones, like started at
six, ended at 6 pm.
So then it was parking that wasavailable for overnight parking
at starting at 6 pm, which wasgreat for people who commute and
come back from work, but nowthey're gone again because
(09:07):
someone didn't like it and itwas the people in another
neighborhood nearby, and so nowit's back to two-hour parking
all over the place and the onlytime you can park for two-hour
parking and have overnight is 8pm, because then from 8 to 10
you're good, and then after it'sovernight parking, which
doesn't count.
So I really I think this, yeah,this stuff has been happening
(09:32):
in center city and we keepgetting inertia of like it's
time maybe to move on yeah whereit's not so comfortable.
But that's my thought abouttravel time.
I don't know.
It came up this week and I justthink maybe it's relatable.
Hit us up in the fan mail ifyou find that relatable at all.
Um, what are we watching thisweek?
Speaker 2 (09:55):
oh, what are?
You watching, and now I'mwatching well, we're watching
season three of the summer.
I turn pretty.
I watched season.
Actually, the first season cameout kind of like when we first
started talking and then Iwatched the second season, like
this year, so I could watch thethird season.
The second season was like hardto get through, it wasn't the
(10:16):
best, but the third season it'sgood.
But it's also like makes me likehate all of these characters
that's good though which I guessmeans that they're acting, is
good I think they're so good atacting yeah you thought that
this was the line for me I didwell because I I was watching.
(10:38):
I would be watching season two.
Initially I wanted to watchseason two so that I could
download and just like, have allof season three for our
honeymoon flights.
But then I was like but thenpeople were like talking about
it and I was like I'll justwatch it, Like there's plenty of
content to download for aflight and I would watch it on
(10:58):
nights that Eddie would worklate.
And then you kind of were like,oh, what's this Like, what are
you watching?
And then he got hooked.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
That's how it usually happens.
Yeah, I'm in.
That's how it usually happens.
Yeah, I'm in there.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
So we're watching that, which apparently the
season goes off script from thebooks, which will be refreshing.
That's another thing.
We were recently talking aboutall these shows that are coming
out that are already books, andthen it's like you know what
happens, Like you know what thetwist is.
(11:31):
Like they're making.
The house made the movie or ashow.
I already know what that twistis.
Apparently they're makingVerity a movie Already.
Know what that is, causewhatever.
And then there was somethingelse that they said.
They were recently making ashow or a movie.
I'm like, and it's not going tobe as good as the book, it's
(11:52):
too much for you, but I'mobviously going to watch it For
sure, but you already know whathappens.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
Yeah, yeah, well, I don't.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
I can't read Like can people just be like original,
write something new that isn'talready a book?
Speaker 1 (12:06):
No, no original write something new that isn't
already a book?
No, no, I don't think so.
No, it's.
It's um great show.
I um definitely thought.
Speaker 2 (12:21):
You thought that that was the line and it wasn't no
clearly.
Well, now we're gonna have towatch the bachelorette, because
the girl from mormon wives isthe bachelorette that's crazy, I
haven't I haven't watched thatshow, I think probably since
like 2018 ish.
Speaker 1 (12:33):
No, I don't think I've ever seen a whole season of
it now we're gonna I understandthe premise.
I think everyone understandsthe premise, but this time, no,
we're gonna watch I wonder whenit comes out I don't know.
I thought that stuff was likealways on, it's like I know it
does feel like that yeah, Idon't know.
(12:53):
So, yeah, that's what we got,yeah, so what are we going to
talk about today, nick?
today we're talking about thedash diet yeah, this was a
selfish pick, because I thinkthis is going to be incredibly
helpful for a person who isthinking about having high blood
(13:14):
pressure.
They're sitting at home andthey're like, oh man, they told
me I have hypertension and I'mnot in love with medications and
, believe me, there is a room,there is a place for medications
but they're thinking like, whatcan I do?
(13:34):
And it's a hand-waving momentthat happens in the doctor's
office that says you should trythe DASH diet and that's about
it.
Maybe you get a handout, maybeyou're lucky enough where you
have like a whole visit withsomeone and they talk to you
about the DASH diet.
I haven't seen it yet.
So that's the point of thisepisode is to talk to you about
the DASH diet.
The following episode isgrounded in high quality
(13:56):
evidence from randomizedcontrolled trials, systematic
reviews and major clinicalguidelines.
The literature consistentlysupports the DASH diet as an
effective, evidence-basedapproach for lowering blood
pressure and improvingcardiometabolic health, as
recommended by the AmericanHeart Association and other
leading organizations.
That sounded like a disclaimer,but I really wanted to include
it in there.
All right, nikki, can you tellus?
(14:19):
It's an acronym?
It's like SCUBA, it's likelaser.
Yeah, check it out if youdidn't know, those were acronyms
Wait an acronym?
yes, it is good question, Idon't know off the dome I knew
scuba was.
I forget what it is, though um,oh, there's like probably a
bunch of people at home who arelike it's this, it's this you
(14:40):
guys are dumb.
You guys are dumb all right,what is it?
Uh, laser, uh vamping, vamping,looking up, looking up, there
we go, okay.
Light amplification bystimulated emission of radiation
really yeah that makes senselaser.
(15:01):
It's one of the better ones.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
Yeah, yeah what is scuba again?
Speaker 1 (15:08):
self-contained underwater breathing apparatus
oh yeah yeah, that one lockedand loaded scuba's a good one.
Yeah, let us know your favoriteacronym.
My favorite acronym is dashnikki.
Can you tell us what, as in thedash diet, it is?
Um, can you tell us what thedash diet stands for?
Speaker 2 (15:26):
yes, yes, it stands for the Dietary Approaches to
Stop Hypertension.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
Yep, it is an eating plan designed to help you lower
your blood pressure and, frankly, improve your heart health.
It really focuses on fruits andvegetables, whole grains, lean
proteins and low-fat dairy wholegrains, lean proteins and
low-fat dairy and really payingspecial, special attention to
(15:52):
foods high in salt, otherwisecalled sodium, saturated fat,
added sugars, which is somethingwe've talked about previously,
and red or processed meat.
And we've got loads ofreferences as one, two, three,
four I mean I think there's 10there supporting these claims.
So why don't we go through andtalk about the key features in a
(16:16):
practical way of the DASH diet?
Because something we know isthat it works, but practically,
what can we do?
So let's go back and forth here.
I'll start the fruits.
What does the diet look like?
Four to five servings per day.
What does that look like?
One medium apple, a half a cupof fresh fruit and a fourth of a
(16:40):
cup of dried fruit.
Four to five servings of fruita day, nikki.
What about those vegetables?
Speaker 2 (16:48):
So vegetables are similar.
We're also wanting about fourto five servings of fruit a day,
nikki.
What about those vegetables?
So vegetables are similar.
We're also wanting about fourto five servings a day.
Examples would be about one cupof raw leafy vegetables, so
like a salad, perhaps Base of asalad, or a half a cup of cooked
vegetables there we go, that'sone serving which, like isn't a
lot.
Speaker 1 (17:07):
Not a lot, nope.
The next one will be wholegrains.
In this diet, we're thinkingabout six to eight servings per
day, examples of this being oneslice of whole grain bread and
half a cup of cooked rice orpasta, cooked rice and raw rice.
(17:28):
Most of the population probablyalready knew this.
They are different, especiallywhen you're cooking, so be
careful to look at that whenyou're eating or preparing food.
What's next, nikki?
Speaker 2 (17:42):
Next is either low fat or fat-free dairy to have
two to three servings per day.
So we're talking about one cupof milk or yogurt or about 1.5
ounces of cheese.
Speaker 1 (17:55):
Problematic for us because we love so much cheese.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
So much manchego.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
Oh my gosh.
Next would be lean meats,poultry or fish.
This includes up to six ouncesper day, and the idea is to
choose fish or skinless poultrymore often than others.
We'll dive right into the nextone.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
Nikki, tell us what's next nuts, seeds and our
favorite legumes thank god, youhad to say it not me um having
about four to five servings perweek, not per day per week um.
So an example of a servingwould be about one third cup of
nuts, two tablespoons of seedsor a half a cup of cooked beans
(18:41):
yeah, probably way less than Iconsume.
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
Nuts by the fistful.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
Yeah, they're high on the fat side.
Speaker 1 (18:53):
They are high on the fat side.
Something to think about Nextis fats and oils.
The Dash Diet suggests two tothree servings per day.
We see this as an opportunityto include your extra virgin
olive oil, if you will, as we'vealluded to on several other
episodes.
And nikki, tell us about thosesweet treats oh, I love a sweet
(19:14):
treat.
Speaker 2 (19:16):
The dash diet suggests to limit sweet treats
to five or fewer servings perweek.
Um, they have jelly or jamlisted as a sweet treat I guess
I mean who's.
Speaker 1 (19:28):
I mean, I love a lame excuse for a sweet treat.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
If you're asking me, the spoon sandwich is okay.
Yeah, we do love a spoonsandwich, so there's an
opportunity.
That's true.
Um the examples they listedwere one tablespoon of sugar,
jelly or jam.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
Yeah, so here's the real meat of the DASH diet.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
What's the meat?
Tell us about the meat.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
It's it's the salt, it's the sodium.
This is the big recommendationfrom the DASH diet, so let's
talk about it a little.
More Sodium Most people shouldprobably aim for less than 2,300
milligrams of sodium per day.
That's not a recommendation,it's just a thought of what most
(20:17):
people probably should thinkabout doing.
So for those with high bloodpressure or who are at higher
risk, you could think about lessthan 1,500 milligrams per day,
and that's based in evidence.
That is the recommendation fromthe DASH diet.
This is based a lot in peoplecounting calories using that
(20:40):
mechanism, but to count sodium,I call it a sodium log.
Speaker 2 (20:45):
Yeah, and if you're using any kind of calorie
counter there are a bunch ofapps they also typically will
include other likemicronutrients and then like
salt or sodium.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
Yep.
So it's readily available onyour nutrition facts the
nutrition label on the back.
So I think it's a reasonablething.
I don't think you need to.
Well, maybe you don't need tocount your sodium every single
day for the rest of your life,but maybe it's a decent idea to
figure out how much sodium isgoing into your body.
Because take this what if,every day, you're intaking 4,000
(21:19):
milligrams of sodium and youhave no idea?
Yeah yeah, and you went to thedoctor and they're like, oh my
god, you have hypertension.
This is the lightest lift.
I'm not the lightest lift, butit's something that is within
your home, something that youput into your body every day and
it's just become a part of youthat you don't recognize that
(21:39):
maybe it's a problem.
Maybe it's something, anopportunity to improve for your
health.
Maybe you don't need thatmedicine because maybe you just
take a look at what you'reeating, you find that you're
having four 5,000 milligrams ofsodium.
Hopefully it's not that high,oh my God.
But maybe and then you reflecton that Maybe you make that
(21:59):
change.
Maybe you don't take as manyibuprofen, maybe you stop
smoking, maybe you drink lessalcohol, maybe you lose a couple
pounds.
All that together and maybe youmake a lot of headway on
managing your blood pressure.
It's possible.
It's right there for you.
So just to review those numbers, we find that most people
should aim for less than 2,300milligrams per day for sodium,
(22:22):
but people really thinking aboutthe DASH diet maybe think about
1,500 milligrams per day orless, all right.
So we said that in like broadswaths that the DASH diet is
helpful for your heart and it'shelpful for managing blood
pressure.
Nikki, let's get a little moregranular when it comes to
(22:46):
lowering blood pressure.
What do those figures actuallylook like, based on the
literature we have?
Speaker 2 (22:54):
The clinical trials have shown that the DASH diet
can lower the systolic number sothe number on the top by about
five to six and the diastolicnumber so the number on the
bottom by about three, and thatthose numbers were even greater
in people with hypertension.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
Yeah, amazing stuff, truly, all with things at home
that you can think about.
Following the DASH diet hasalso been shown to improve
cholesterol and weight.
It can help lower LDL, or thecomplicated or bad cholesterol,
and support healthy weight lossor bad cholesterol and support
healthy weight loss and overallit gets you eating better.
(23:35):
So the diet itself is high infiber, high in nutrients and
minerals that you need potassium, magnesium, calcium all of that
being important for yourmetabolic health.
So, honestly, dash diet, hugewin.
If there was a collab albumbetween dash and mediterranean,
it would be a huge win.
(23:55):
The dead atterranean diet,which wouldn't be a good name,
because no one wants to be deadatterranean definitely don't
want to be dead atterranean themash diet maybe you're onto
something deluski mediterraneanapproaches to stop hypertension.
(24:16):
Stop, I don't know, we'll see.
We'll work on the branding um.
All right, so let's do.
In this next segment, we'regoing to talk about sample meals
and tips for success.
Nikki, let's go back and forth,these are.
So we're going to do simpleone-line tips, rattle them off
for success on the DASH diet.
Speaker 2 (24:37):
Okay, the first one is to choose.
Fresh or frozen is always anoption.
Fruits and veggies.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
We also encourage with the DASH diet to use herbs
and spices instead of salt toflavor food.
Speaker 2 (24:52):
Next reading the labels to check for the sodium
content.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
Herbs and spices are delicious.
There's no substitute for agood parsley.
Speaker 2 (25:04):
You're obsessed with parsley.
I don't know why.
Speaker 1 (25:06):
Oh my God, so much hate on parsley.
Speaker 2 (25:08):
You're obsessed with dried parsley.
Speaker 1 (25:11):
What is your?
This is like this.
Hate is just unwarranted.
First it started with oregano,then it went to the parsley.
Which italian seasoning am Iallowed to use?
Basil?
Speaker 2 (25:23):
that's because you put oregano on my spaghetti
meatballs and it was almost animmediate divorce that literally
I can't believe I didn't packmy bags and leave One time.
Never again.
Speaker 1 (25:38):
A force of habit.
Herbs and spices are great, soyou can use plenty of options to
flavor your food instead ofjust salt.
You should read food labels forthe sodium content Actually see
what sodium is going in yourbody.
When you're thinking aboutgrain products, select a whole
(26:00):
grain product and look forsomething that says 100% whole
grain on the label.
Choose low-fat or fat-freedairy products.
That's a step in the rightdirection, and we have talked ad
nauseum about these.
Limit processed and fast foods.
Oftentimes, very, very oftenthey often have high sodium and
(26:20):
unhealthy fats.
So those are just a couplesimple, quick tips.
But what we want to do for younow because this was done by
popular demand from ourfollowers on threads is some
sample meal ideas.
Nikki, can you tell us a littlebit more about sample meal
ideas for breakfast in the DASHdiet?
Speaker 2 (26:42):
For breakfast we could do some oatmeal with fresh
berries and a sprinkle ofchopped nuts or some low-fat
yogurt with fruit, maybe abanana, maybe some berries and
some whole grain toast.
Speaker 1 (26:56):
Great breakfast, yeah , I love that idea.
For lunch, we're thinkingturkey and vegetable sandwich
with whole grain bread, perhapsa side of carrot sticks no, it
doesn't sound sexy and maybe anapple Not sexy, but healthy.
You can have sexy and healthythough.
Think about a mixed green saladwith chickpeas, big chickpea
(27:19):
family, cherry tomatoes,cucumbers and a vinaigrette
dressing.
You can make your own dressingat home.
I would encourage you to golisten to the Mediterranean diet
, because I'm going save nikkifrom a diatribe here about extra
virgin olive oil my personalvendetta about store-bought
salad dressing.
Yeah, because I've had a lot ofpeople reach out to me about
(27:40):
this and like really yeah,you've struck fear into many
people and they might not good.
No, I know, yeah, we've hadlike like old patients of mine,
really, yeah, old patients ofmine who we've connected with
and who now we just commune asfriends online, like terrified
of, and they're like you're intheir head.
(28:01):
Rent free.
Speaker 2 (28:02):
Good, I should be Sounds like a horror movie.
Speaker 1 (28:08):
My parents.
They tell me all the tips thatthey get from you and I'm like
that's all the stuff she says.
And they're like, yeah, we wereat the store and we turned over
the label and we saw it camefrom one place and we were like,
yep, we're going to get thatolive oil.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
Are they making their own dressing with their single
origin extra virgin olive oilnow?
Speaker 1 (28:25):
We'll have to ask them.
We'll have to ask them.
Speaker 2 (28:29):
But you are in people's heads.
Wishbone is like they're gonnacome after you it's not that
this is the idea.
Speaker 1 (28:36):
Wishbone's gonna come after you, though.
Is that that's a?
Is that a brand of?
Speaker 2 (28:44):
of salad dressing.
Salad dressing maybe?
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (28:47):
I don't ever buy salad dressing you wouldn't know
, because you're just against it, big anti-salad dressing gal.
So, yeah, that could be areally great lunch.
It could be sexy.
If you want it to be, nikki,tell us.
Tell us, please.
Dash Diet Dinners what do yougot?
Speaker 2 (29:05):
Well, this is probably my favorite dinner
Grilled salmon, brown rice andsteamed broccoli.
Yeah, yeah I do prefer abrussel over broccoli, though,
but you know, for the sake ofthe the example yeah, that's
good.
Speaker 1 (29:18):
I do love a brussel.
I love a brussel and a broccoli.
Um, we don't do this a lot, butyou could try stir-fried tofu
with mixed vegetables and quinoaquinoa should eat more quinoa.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
We should eat more quinoa.
Speaker 1 (29:29):
We should eat more quinoa.
That could go into the rotation.
Yeah, yeah, I agree.
And the thing that peoplealways wonder about are snacks.
Like what the heck can you grabwhen you're on the go?
You need a little, something,something.
What can you do with snacks?
I'll start us off.
We've got three ideas for youhere.
A sliced bell pepper withhummus.
The hummus is great, you can'tgo wrong.
(29:54):
It's the vehicle.
If you get a lot of chips orthose crackers and you're eating
those, you might rack up acouple calories, you might rack
up a lot of sodium, but the bellpepper I mean.
Speaker 2 (30:03):
Bell pepper.
It's basically negativecalories.
Speaker 1 (30:05):
It's basically negative.
You're going to burn morecalories working through that
food and chewing it than youwill by eating it.
So try a bell pepper with somehummus.
Now.
What's another snack that wecan have?
Speaker 2 (30:18):
another favorite a low-fat string cheese and an
orange you do love a stringcheese.
I love string cheese you love astring cheese.
Yeah, also love a sumo orangein the winter.
Oh, big only good part aboutthe dead of winter totally sumo
(30:39):
oranges.
Speaker 1 (30:40):
I know, I remember, I don't care I don't care that
they're 250 each my scavenge togo get sumo oranges to make you
happy on like a, a day whereit's dark out at 4 pm.
There's nothing like it.
And the last one I'll say isunsalted almonds or walnuts.
I'll say it again Unsaltedalmonds or walnuts.
(31:01):
I know it tastes better, I do.
I know it does, but your heartdoesn't.
Sometimes you have to fly closeto the sun.
Speaker 2 (31:08):
I get it.
Unsalted cashews aren't thatbad.
Speaker 1 (31:09):
What do you mean?
The unsalted?
Speaker 2 (31:12):
cashews aren't that bad.
What do you mean?
The unsalted cashews aren'tthat bad.
Speaker 1 (31:15):
Like taste-wise or health-wise.
Speaker 2 (31:17):
Taste-wise, oh no, like we've had them a lot.
Nona gives us like vats ofunsalted cashews sometimes.
She does, she does.
Speaker 1 (31:26):
But still I'm like they're good.
They're good, but like by thefistful and I'm just like, oh my
God, I keep eating them.
So in reasonable quantities,like this would be a good one.
Like measure out what an actualserving Like weigh out yeah.
I remember I weighed out thecashews for your lunch and you
were like this is all I get, allright.
(31:47):
So in a fun, lively episodeabout the DASH diet, we hope you
give a serious thought about it, especially if you're thinking
like what can I do to work on myhypertension?
That isn't medicine and trulymaking a gradual change.
Planning meals ahead can helpincorporate the DASH diet and
make it a part of, like youroverall healthier lifestyle.
So if you really want moreadvice, you should go to your
(32:10):
own doctor.
We're happy that you came tolisten today and hopefully
you'll learn something foryourself, a loved one or a
neighbor with hypertension.
And if you're looking for moreinformation about hypertension
from our podcast, you can checkout episode four, explaining
what hypertension is, episodefive, the lifestyle changes to
(32:31):
treat hypertension, episode 14,common hypertension medications
explained.
And episode 33, how to takeyour blood pressure well at home
, but, most importantly, stayhealthy.
My friends, until next time.
I'm Ed Dolesky, I'm Nicole Rufo.
Thank you and goodbye.
Speaker 2 (32:49):
Bye.
Speaker 1 (32:51):
This information may provide a brief overview of
diagnosis, treatment and goodbyeBye.
This information may provide abrief overview of diagnosis,
treatment and medications.
It's not exhaustive and is atool to help you understand
potential options about yourhealth.
It doesn't cover all detailsabout conditions, treatments or
medications for a specificperson.
This is not medical advice oran attempt to substitute medical
advice.
You should contact a healthcareprovider for personalized
guidance based on your uniquecircumstances.
(33:13):
We explicitly disclaim anyliability relating to the
information given or its use.
This content doesn't endorseany treatments or medications
for a specific patient.
Always talk to your healthcareprovider for complete
information tailored to you.
In short, I'm not your doctor,I am not your nurse, and make
sure you go get your own checkupwith your own personal doctor.
I am not your nurse and makesure you go get your own checkup
(33:43):
with your own personal doctor.
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