Hale Handbook

DASH Diet: Built to Lower Blood Pressure

Designed by researchers to treat hypertension, and it works in as little as two weeks. It's also a solid general eating plan.

2 min readUpdated November 2026Not reviewed by a doctor

The short version

  • DASH can lower blood pressure in about two weeks, sometimes as much as a medication.
  • It's built around vegetables, fruit, whole grains, low-fat dairy, lean protein, beans and nuts, with less sodium.
  • It's not a weight-loss diet by design, but it works for that if you follow the lower-calorie serving plan.
In a sentence
A servings-based plan rich in produce and low in sodium.
How restrictive
Counting needed?
Servings, not calories
Quality of evidence
Strong
Typical cost
Moderate
Main drawback
Takes some planning, and low-sodium eating out is hard

See how this compares with every other diet →

What it is

DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. Unlike most diets, it came out of clinical trials funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Here's the guide for about 2,000 calories a day:

Food groupServings
Vegetables4 to 5 a day
Fruit4 to 5 a day
Grains, mostly whole6 to 8 a day
Low-fat or fat-free dairy2 to 3 a day
Lean meat, poultry, fish6 oz or less a day
Nuts, seeds, beans4 to 5 a week
Fats and oils2 to 3 a day
Sweets5 or fewer a week
Sodium2,300 mg a day, with 1,500 mg a lower target

For weight loss, use NHLBI's lower-calorie versions of the same plan.

What the evidence says

Blood pressure. In the original trial, DASH lowered blood pressure within two weeks, without changing weight or sodium. In people with high blood pressure, the drop averaged about 11 mmHg in systolic pressure (the top number). Adding a sodium reduction helped further.

Cholesterol. It tends to lower LDL ("bad") cholesterol too.

Weight. It isn't designed for this. With the calorie-adjusted serving plan, its high fiber and protein make for a filling deficit.

How to start

Change gradually, because jumping straight to this much fiber can cause gas and bloating:

  • Add a vegetable to lunch and dinner.
  • Have fruit for dessert or a snack.
  • Swap to whole grains one meal at a time.
  • Use herbs, citrus and vinegar in place of some salt.
  • Check labels on bread, canned soup, sauces and deli meat, which often have the most sodium. See sodium.

A sample day

  • Breakfast: Oatmeal with banana and low-fat milk
  • Lunch: Turkey and avocado on whole-grain bread, carrot sticks, an apple
  • Snack: Plain yogurt with berries
  • Dinner: Roasted chicken, sweet potato, broccoli and a side salad

Pros and cons

Good: Strong evidence, family-friendly, nutritionally complete and backed by plenty of free materials from the NIH.

Harder: Takes some learning at first, restaurant meals tend to be high in sodium, and the servings can feel like a lot to keep track of.

Sources

  1. NHLBI: DASH Eating Plan
  2. Appel et al., NEJM (1997): A clinical trial of dietary patterns on blood pressure
  3. Sacks et al., NEJM (2001): Effects of reduced sodium and the DASH diet
  4. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health: Diet Review: DASH

This guide is general information, not medical advice. Please check with a clinician before making big changes, especially if you have a health condition, take medication, or are pregnant. Read the full disclaimer.

Keep reading