When we talk about the best diet, the DASH diet ranks for the eighth consecutive year as the top one and this diet has been widely recommended by the National Institute of Health. The DASH diet aims to stop hypertension and has been specifically designed to keep the blood pressure regulated. This diet strategy is ideally a low sodium one and is intended to create long-term lifestyle changes.

The idea of this diet is to include as many fruits, vegetables, milk with low fat, wholesome grains, nuts, fish and meat in a much-regulated portion. You can choose a variety of food items but ensure that these have enough magnesium, iron, calcium, protein and fiber nutrients that are necessary for a healthy heart to function. You have the option to choose calories intake of 1,600, 2,000, and 2,600 on an everyday basis with a number of servings, yet condition to certain factors. This is not any fad diet and so one has to keep the sodium intake at par to the bare minimum. Keep sugars, red meat, and fatty food out of the context while practicing the DASH diet and ensure that you eat frequently but in small portions.

You can also try lean meal diets that include food items such as sweet potatoes, quinoa, turkey, herbed brown rice and many more. To start with, you can create a 7-day diet sampler that fits well within the DASH diet category on a trial basis. Let’s say you can start your day with whole wheat bread with eggs cooked in olive oil and a pinch of salt and then you can have a pear as a light snack. For lunch, you can try a lean sandwich followed by any berry as an evening snack and then you can finally end your day with a wholesome platter of salmon or cauliflower steaks with brown rice. Again, there are several DASH diet plans which include the standard American diet, Mediterranean DASH diet plan and the ones recommended by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. No matter which DASH diet plan you follow, you must include a number of food servings by calorie level and they should be divided into several food groups including grains, vegetables, fruits, fat-free or low-fat dairy products, lean meats, nuts, seeds and legumes, fats and oils, sweet and added sugars and sodium intake. Junk food and processed food is a big no when it comes to following the DASH diet. This diet ensures a very regulated and organized healthy eating environment which one needs to follow. For instance, a 2,000 calorie intake per day would involve 6-8 servings of grains, 4-5 servings of vegetables, 4-5 servings of fruit, 2-3 servings of oil and 2-3 servings of low dairy fat.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends the DASH diet as the model diet strategy to promote healthy eating, healthy heart function, and regulated blood pressure. Essentially this diet can be a lot more exciting if you have colorful fruits and vegetables on your plate, fruit-based desserts, and flavourful vegetables and meat dishes.