Adherence To DASH Diet For Lowering Blood Pressure Less Likely In African Americans (402 hits)
The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet, which promotes consumption of more fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy products, and whole grain, and less meats and sweets, is a proven effective treatment for hypertension. For some individuals, adherence to the diet can be just as effective in lowering blood pressure as taking antihypertensive medication. A new study has found that greater adherence to the diet can lead to significant reductions in blood pressure, but that African Americans are less likely to adopt the diet compared to whites. The study is published online in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
"After DASH dietary counseling, African Americans increased their consumption of DASH foods, but continued to lag behind whites in overall adherence to the DASH eating plan, consuming considerably more meat, sweets, and fat, and less fruit," reports lead investigator James A. Blumenthal, PhD, Professor of Behavioral Medicine in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, NC.
