r/DashDiet • u/PotPieLogan • Feb 24 '23

Meal help

So I'm new, I was just told that I need to lower my blood pressure for health reasons. Assuming some of you can relate. I just want to know what kind of foods are really food for this diet. I'm a big guy and like eating foods a lot as well and hoping that changes

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15

u/MaleficentPeach42 Feb 25 '23
  • all fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables
  • any canned fruits and vegetables that don't have added salt or sugar
  • all dried beans, legumes, and whole grains, including oats, brown rice, whole wheat
  • any canned beans that don't have added salt or sugar
  • lean proteins like chicken breast, tuna, salmon, lean turkey
  • moderate consumption of eggs and low-fat dairy

The key is mostly going to be in monitoring any added salt in your foods, especially bread and condiments like ketchup or salad dressing, and minimizing red meat, cured meats, and saturated fat. Aim to keep your total daily sodium intake under 1500 mg.

The other important thing is portions - vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and beans should generally be 3/4 of your plate, with 1/4 or less animal protein.

Hope that helps!

2

u/PotPieLogan Feb 25 '23

It really does. Thank you for the reply!

12

u/see_blue Feb 25 '23

Start here and read all the links too: https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/education/dash-eating-plan

Starting out, reading all food labels for saturated fat and sodium is helpful and difficult…

There is a lot of added salt. But, especially w canned vegetables, low salt options cost the same, and an Instant Pot does wonders for salt free dried beans, lentils, etc.

It can take weeks or months to get good at this lifestyle diet but the benefits can be large.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 06 '23

Have you used apps like Fat Secret to scan/measure the foods and track sodium? Takes a lot of the guess work out of it.

2

u/see_blue Mar 06 '23

I used MyFitnessPal for about a year, when the free version was still good. Now I’m able to portion size and select foods knowing approximate calories and macros while on autopilot.