The Dash Diet Weight Loss Solution: 2 Weeks to Drop Pounds, Boost Metabolism, and Get Healthy (A DASH Diet Book) (12 page)

though they do contain calcium, because of the very poor absorption of the minerals in those foods. It doesn’t mean that these are bad foods; it just means that they aren’t going contribute to your calcium needs.

Calcium-Rich Foods

Dairy
: milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, cheese

Vegetables
: broccoli, kale, bok choi

Beans
: soybeans, tofu

Seafood
: sardines and other fish with bones

Potassium-Rich Foods

Vegetables
: asparagus, artichoke, avocado, bamboo shoot, beans, beet,

broccoli, Brussels sprouts, carrot, cauliflower, celery, kale, mushroom, okra,

potato, pumpkin, seaweed, spinach, squash (winter), sweet potato, tomato,

turnip greens

Fruits
: apple, apricot, avocado, banana, cantaloupe, date, dried fruit,

grapefruit, honeydew, kiwifruit, orange, peach, pear, prune, strawberry,

tangerine

Nuts
: almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, chestnuts, filberts, hazelnuts, peanuts,

pecans, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, walnuts

Cereals and breads
: bran cereals, Mueslix, pumpernickel bread

Meat and poultry:
pork and, at lower amounts, beef, poultry

Seafood:
halibut, salmon, cod, clams, tuna, rockfish, rainbow trout, lobster,

crab

Dairy:
milk, yogurt

Miscellaneous
: coffee, molasses, tea, tofu

Magnesium-Rich Foods

Fruits and vegetables
: avocado, banana, beans, beet greens, black-eyed

peas, cassava, fig, lentils, okra, potato with skin, raisins, seaweed, spinach,

Swiss chard, wax beans

Whole grains
: amaranth, barley, bran, brown rice, buckwheat, bulgur,

granola, millet, oats, rye, triticale, whole wheat, wild rice

Dairy:
milk, yogurt

Nuts
: almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, flaxseeds, hazel nuts, macadamia nuts,

peanuts, pecans, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, soybeans,

sunflower seeds, walnuts

Seafood:
salmon, tuna, lobster, halibut, cod

Drinking to Your Health

In addition to all these nutrients, of course, we all need to get sufficient fluid every day.

There are many ways to accomplish this, and most are absolutely great with the DASH

diet. And everyone wants to know what to drink when following this plan. The good

news is that you have lots of options. My best advice is to drink when you are thirsty.

Avoid sugar-laden beverages. The following are some myths that may surprise you.

Fluid Myths

1. We all need at least 8 glasses of water each day.

False.
Depending on how much we sweat, most of us need 6–8 (8-ounce) glasses of fluid each day. This includes the water that comes from food, such as fruits and

vegetables.

2. Caffeinated beverages don’t count as water since they are dehydrating.

False.
You will excrete a tiny amount of extra water with caffeinated beverages, but they still contribute to your total daily intake of water.

3. Drink water with your meals to feel fuller.

False.
Research shows that drinking water with meals does almost nothing to quench hunger. However, eating foods that are high in water content, including (low-sodium)

soups, fruits, and vegetables, does help you avoid overeating.

Beverages

Recommended?

Suggestions

Add skim milk.

Make it a latte and it becomes another

Coffee

Yes

dairy serving.

Use only noncaloric sweeteners.

Add skim milk.

Tea

Yes

Use only noncaloric sweeteners.

Soda, with

No

sugar

Soda, sugar-

Yes

free

Packaged

Yes, artificially

powder

sweetened only

beverages

Make hot chocolate with skim milk,

Milk

Skim, or nonfat

cocoa powder, and noncaloric

sweetener.

Red wine is best.

Yes, but not in the first

Limit to 3½ ounces for women, double

Wine

14 days

that for men.

Each glass replaces one fruit serving.

Each regular beer replaces 2 grain

Beer

Okay, but not in the first servings.

14 days

A light beer replaces 1 grain.

Other alcoholic Okay, but not in the first 1 shot replaces one grain.

beverages

14 days

Occasionally okay, but

Smoothies

Count as your dairy and fruit servings
.*

not in the first 14 days

In some areas, it can be a significant

Water

Yes

source of calcium.

PART III

The Healthiest Diet, How It Keeps
You
Healthier

CHAPTER 11

Taking It to Heart, with the DASH Diet

Heart disease is the number one killer of women and men, with stroke being the third.

In 2010, cardiovascular disease (CVD) cost the United States about $444 billion. About 83 million adult Americans (33%) have some kind of heart disease. Each year, about

735,000 people have heart attacks. Another 795,000 have strokes. There are 68 million who have high blood pressure (hypertension), while another 25% of adults have

prehypertension.

Heart disease clearly is a significant problem for large numbers of Americans. Some

people may think that they have a strong family history of early heart disease so there is not much they can do about it. Others think that if it is inevitable, they would rather not make any changes in their lifestyle that might diminish their quality of life. However, very few people would like to suffer the lingering effects of a debilitating stroke or live with heart failure. Unfortunately, we don’t get a choice about how our own personal

heart disease might play out. So perhaps we should do something now to have better

heart health.

The most obvious risks for heart disease include high blood pressure and high

cholesterol. Of course, there are additional risks, which we can divide into those that you can and those that you cannot control.

Heart Disease Risks

Not Under Your Control

Under Your Control

Family history of early heart disease

Hypertension

Age 45+ for men and 55+ for women

High cholesterol and triglycerides

Low HDL

Obesity

Smoking

Diabetes

Sedentary lifestyle

Since most of the aspects of heart disease risk are under our control, we may as well do something about them. We all want to stay healthy as we get older and to live long, active lives. If you have a family history of early heart disease, then you are probably also at elevated risk. You will want to pay special attention to the risks that you can control. It can be easy to blame heredity for health issues, but just because nature gave you a loaded gun, it doesn’t mean you have to pull the trigger by having a poor lifestyle.

For most of us, our choices will impact whether we have heart disease and how early it will strike.

If we have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high triglycerides, low HDL, and/or diabetes, we need to be complying with our doctor’s recommendations for medication

and lifestyle changes. If we are overweight or obese, we can take actions to work on

losing weight. We can give up smoking and become more physically active.

Of course, one of the most important things that we can do is to follow the DASH

diet. DASH was originally developed specifically to lower blood pressure without

medication. The research studies were entitled “Dietary Approaches to Stop

Hypertension.” And that it does. It also helps people respond better to their blood

pressure medication, if they aren’t able to eliminate it entirely. Many people have told us that their doctors were unable to get their blood pressure under control until they started the DASH diet.

Fortunately, the DASH diet also lowers total cholesterol. Evidence shows that lower-

carb diets will help raise the good cholesterol, while helping to lower triglycerides. The DASH diet has also been shown to help reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Cutting out the junk carbs of highly processed starchy foods, along with including all of the core DASH foods, will slow the progression of the disease for many people, and will please most endocrinologists. After all, type 2 diabetes is a consequence of not

responding well to insulin, which eventually exhausts the body’s ability to produce

enough insulin. Consuming less starch, as you do with the DASH Diet Weight Loss

Solution, will help avoid overtaxing the body’s insulin-producing cells. Losing weight helps many people respond better to insulin, further helping to stave off diabetes or making it easier to control.

Food Sources of Bad or Good Cholesterol?

I am often asked which foods have bad cholesterol, so that it can be

avoided. Foods contain plain cholesterol. The good and bad refer to how

the cholesterol is packaged in our blood.

Smoking cessation is a challenge for many people. While changes in public policy

have made it more difficult to smoke in public and have significantly raised the cost of smoking, about 20% of the adult U.S. population still smoke. It is more prevalent in

younger adults than older ones. Even in young people, smoking just one cigarette can

increase artery stiffness by 25% with physical activity. This can lead to higher blood pressure and arteries that are more prone to clog with cholesterol. Additionally, the blood of smokers carries less oxygen, is more prone to clot, and forces the heart to work

harder. The risk of an ischemic stroke (one where a clot prevents blood flow to part of the brain, resulting in death of brain cells) is almost doubled in smokers.

Fortunately, the benefits of smoking cessation occur very quickly. Within 12 hours,

your blood pressure and pulse rate will return to normal, as will your blood oxygen

levels. Within 2 days, your senses of taste and smell start returning. After 1 year, your risk of having a heart attack or stroke has been cut in half compared to smokers. Within 5

years, the risk of a fatal heart attack has decreased 61%, while the risk of a fatal stroke is reduced 42%. After about 15 years, your risk of heart attack and stroke is the same as for someone who has never smoked.

Losing weight, if you are overweight or obese, will help to reduce your risk of heart disease. Being overweight means that you are more likely to have high cholesterol, high triglycerides, and low HDL. You are more likely to have high blood pressure and to

respond less well to insulin. Independent of these risks, even small increases in weight can significantly raise your risk of having a heart attack. Middle-aged women who have BMIs between 23 and 25 (which is still in the healthy range) are 50% more likely to have coronary heart disease, while men whose BMI is 25 to 29 (overweight status) have a

72% increased risk.

Heart Health Targets

Many people know their heart health numbers. Do you? Let’s review them here.

Blood Pressure

Systolic Blood Pressure

Diastolic Blood Pressure

Healthy blood

Less than 120 and greater

Less than 80 and higher

pressure

than 90

than 60

Prehypertension

120 to 139

80 to 89

Hypertension, stage 140 to 159

90 to 99

1

Hypertension, stage 160 or higher

100 or higher

2

The top number in blood pressure is the systolic blood pressure (SBP) and is the

pressure when your heart beats (pumps); the bottom number is the diastolic blood

pressure (DBP) and is the pressure when your heart rests between beats. Healthy blood pressure is related to having relatively elastic blood vessels that are able to flex when the heart beats. Stiffer vessels are associated with increased blood pressure. Less flexible arteries can continue to worsen, leading to hardening of the arteries. Stiffer arteries and veins are more likely to become clogged with cholesterol buildup, which can impair

blood flow to all parts of the body, including the kidneys, brain, arms, and legs. High blood pressure can lead to kidney failure, heart failure, strokes, aneurysms, angina, reduced cognitive function, eye damage, impotence, and peripheral vascular disease.

Unfortunately, only half of the people with high blood pressure have it under control.

Causes of poor control include not having been diagnosed, failure to take prescribed

medication, and noncompliance with recommended lifestyle changes. The diet and

exercise guidance in this book will support improving your blood pressure.

Lipids

Lipids
is the scientific name for fats, and in this case we are referring specifically to the fats in your blood. The two most important types of fat include cholesterol and

triglycerides. Cholesterol is further broken down into low-density cholesterol (LDL), high-density cholesterol (HDL), and very-low-density cholesterol (VLDL), which is not commonly reported on your lab reports. LDL is considered the “bad” cholesterol, since it tends to deposit cholesterol along the linings of your blood vessels. HDL is the “good”

cholesterol, because it cleans up the deposits. Having high HDL means that these

particles are carrying lots of cholesterol away from your arteries, and sending it to the liver for removal.

Classifications of Blood Lipid Levels

Total Cholesterol

Desirable: <200

Borderline high: 200–239

High: 240+