The DASH Diet for Hypertension. . - In Brief - book review

Natural Health, Jan-Feb, 2002 by David Maloof

The DASH Diet for Hypertension BY THOMAS MOORE, M.D.; LAURA SVETKEY, M.D.; PAO-HWA LIN, PH.D.; AND NJERI KARANJA, PH.D.; WITH MARK JENKINS SIMON & SCHUSTER SOURCE; $25

The DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet has been proven to lower high blood pressure after only two weeks. A whole-foods plan, it was designed by scientists whose affiliations include Harvard and Johns Hopkins and is based on a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Their impressive credentials make the fluff in the book seem all the more odd. For example, the authors explain "food safety basics" in great detail, and--stop me if you've heard this one--they advise you to never shop for food on an empty stomach. Nonetheless, the 61 low-fat, reduced-salt recipes offer a variety of choices, and two weeks of menus (during which, the book asserts, high blood pressure readings should drop an average of 12 points) provide an organized way to follow the plan.