DASH Diet
DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) is a dietary pattern developed and validated in clinical trials to lower blood pressure without medication. It has since been extended as a general healthy-eating guideline.
Core Principles
- Emphasises: Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy, nuts and legumes, lean protein
- Restricts: Sodium (key feature), saturated fat, added sugars, sweetened beverages, red and processed meat
- Distinguishing feature: Explicit sodium restriction target (≤2,300 mg/day) and emphasis on potassium-rich foods to counteract sodium’s blood pressure effects
DASH Scoring
Research uses an 8-component DASH score (range 8–40). Each component is scored 1–5 based on intake quintiles. Higher score = closer adherence.
Evidence for Healthy Aging
In Tessier et al. (2025), the DASH diet was associated with a significant OR for healthy-aging (OR ~1.5–1.6 highest vs. lowest quintile) over 30 years in 105,015 participants. The DASH diet showed particularly strong associations for staying free of chronic diseases, consistent with its origins in cardiovascular risk reduction.