DASH Diet Decreases Heart Attacks and Strokes in Women

Women who follow the healthy "DASH diet" have fewer heart attacks and strokes, a study has found. The research used 25 years of data on 88,000 women. All were part of the Nurses' Health Study. The DASH diet is a plan designed to reduce blood pressure. It includes twice as many fruits, vegetables and grains as the average American diet. About 15,000 women in the study ate in a way similar to the DASH diet. Their heart attack rate was 24% lower than the rate for women in the study who ate typical American diets. Their stroke rate was 18% lower. The study was published in the April 14^th issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

What Is the Doctor's Reaction?

I love this kind of study. Teresa Fung, M.D., and her colleagues at Simmons University didn't just look at some prescribed diet that no one in real life actually follows. Rather, they designed a study that looks at what people actually eat.

This study is part of the much larger Nurses Health Study, which began in 1976. In 1980, the original researchers began collecting survey data on the diets of more than 88,000 female nurses. The nurses were 34 to 59 years old then. At the start of the study, only nurses without any history of cardiovascular disease or diabetes were included.

From time to time, the researchers asked the nurses for details about their diet, lifestyles and medical information. Researchers also reviewed medical records if permitted to do so. The study lasted 24 years.

The researchers used the diet details to calculate a DASH score. DASH stands for the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension diet. The DASH diet can lower blood pressure. For many people who follow it, the diet is enough to keep blood pressure in the normal range without medicine.

The results of this study went beyond just lowering blood pressure. They showed that the DASH diet can substantially decrease the risk of future heart disease and stroke.

What Changes Can I Make Now?

Almost everyone can benefit from following the principles of the DASH diet.

Keeping it simple, you should eat:

• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Whole grain foods
• Legumes (examples include beans, lentils and peas)
• Nuts (in moderation since they can be high in calories)

And you should limit:

• High-fat dairy products (but you can have moderate amounts of low-fat dairy foods and beverages)
• Red meats
• Processed meats
• Sweetened beverages
• Salt (sodium)

While this study only included women, the diet should be at least as effective in men.

What Can I Expect Looking to the Future?

Personally, I would like to see this type of DASH scoring system be put into everyday use. Here's how it might work. You write down what you eat over several days and send it in to get scored. You get back advice on what to add and subtract from your diet to improve your score. You repeat this periodically, perhaps every six months. 

More From MSN Health & Fitness:

• Doing the DASH: Taking the Guesswork Out of Healthy Eating
• Sample Menus For the DASH Eating Plan
• Shake the Salt: Building a Low-Sodium Diet