A Diet That Does Double Duty

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A Diet That Does Double Duty

When my formerly very low blood pressure started to climb a bit too high (just as my mother's did when she was in her 50s), my doctor recommended The DASH Diet. Now, this healthy diet has been found to also ward off another health risk.

When my formerly very low blood pressure started to climb a bit too high (just as my mother's did when she was in her 50s), my doctor recommended The DASH Diet. Now, this healthy diet has been found to also ward off another health risk.

That risk? Heart failure.

By reducing blood pressure and LDL ("bad") cholesterol in clinical trials, the diet was successful in halving the rate of heart failure among Swedish women who completed a questionnaire about their eating habits; those whose diets were most like the DASH diet had a lower rate of heart failure.

The DASH diet includes high intakes of things like fruits, veggies, low-fat dairy products and whole grains. I, for one, can't complain much about eating any of these things; how about you?

Click here for more information on this healthy food diet.

And for more information on additional ways to reduce high blood pressure, here are some helpful tips.

Sheryl Kraft's avatar

Sheryl Kraft

Sheryl Kraft, a freelance writer and breast cancer survivor, was born in Long Beach, New York. She currently lives in Connecticut with her husband Alan and dog Chloe, where her nest is empty of her two sons Jonathan. Sheryl writes articles and essays on breast cancer and contributes to a variety of publications and websites where she writes on general health and wellness issues. She earned her MFA in writing from Sarah Lawrence College in 2005.

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