DASH Diet for Lowering Sodium Intake and Treating High Blood Pressure

The DASH diet is a low sodium diet. It is recommended for people with high blood pressure and heart disease. Following the Canada food guide and eliminating packaged and processed foods will achieve the same result.

Even people with impaired kidney function may benefit from following this low sodium diet.

D-A-S-H stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (or high blood pressure)

The DASH diet is an eating plan that is rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low fat dairy foods. It is also low in saturated fat and total fat. Fruits and vegetables are good sources of potassium and of course dairy products are good sources of calcium.

Research has shown that foods high in potassium and calcium help reduce blood pressure.

Teach patients to follow the Canada Food Guide and eat fresh foods instead of packaged ones. This will automatically create a low sodium diet.

Teaching patients to avoid pre-packaged foods and to read food labels is a nursing responsibility in overall health promotion.

The dietary approaches to stop hypertension, food label know how, and the Canada Food Guide all contribute to the body of knowledge that is used by a registered nurse in health promotion in Canada.

---

More information about Canadian food

Distinctive Canadian food

Information about the Canadian Food Label

Go to the list of high potassium foods

Read about a low sodium diet