DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension.¹ First introduced in 1997, it is a diet promoted by the National Institute of Health’s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHBLI) for reducing blood pressure. Since its introduction, it has shown promise in multiple studies. In fact, U.S. News & World Report has ranked it as one of the “Best Diets Overall.” This tool is designed to help you understand what exactly a DASH diet looks like, research findings related to it, and where you can go to find more information about it.

What is a Dash Diet? 

Ultimately, eating according to the DASH Diet means eating a variety of foods and food groups that research has shown can be beneficial to heart health, while avoiding others, that have been found to be harmful. Key components include the following^2,3:

1. Fruits and vegetables
2. Whole grains
3. Nuts, seeds, and legumes
4. Lean protein—fish and poultry are emphasized, while red and processed meat consumption is limited
5. Low-fat or fat-free dairy
6. Avoidance of sugar-sweetened beverages
7. Low sodium—when kept under 2,300 mg daily the diet is even more helpful with blood pressure, which can drop even lower with less than 1,500 mg daily sodium intake⁴
8. Higher levels of dietary nutrients like potassium, magnesium, calcium, and fiber
9. Lower levels of saturated fats, trans fats, and cholesterol

For full details about these different categories, review the Resources section, far below. Note that the diet does not feature specific recommendations about alcohol intake. 

Does the DASH Diet Work?

The short answer is that, yes, the DASH diet has shown a number of benefits. It lowers blood pressure (systolic and diastolic) for people with hypertension, and also for people who have blood pressures in the normal range, whether or not they lower their sodium intake.^5-7 Reductions in pressures occur within one week and keep dropping if sodium restriction is ongoing.⁸