What is the DASH Diet?

You’ve declared some lofty weight-loss resolutions for 2014. Besides the gym, one of your most valuable weapons will be an easy-to-follow, effective nutrition plan. But with the host of popular diets available, is one actually better than the next? U.S. News & World Report seems to think so. They released rankings of 32 diets—including Atkins (#29), Jenny Craig (#8), Vegetarian (#11), and Paleo (#32)—this week. The leader of the pack: the DASH diet.

So what is the DASH diet? The not-so-sexy acronym stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. This plan was first developed by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) in the 1990s as a way to fight high blood pressure, but secondary benefits have become apparent after 20 years. “The DASH diet is so popular because it’s probably the most robustly researched diet out there, specifically when it comes to heart health,” says Mike Roussell, Ph.D., a Men’s Health nutrition advisor.

Here’s the typical menu: fruits and vegetables, low-fat dairy, whole grains, and protein from lean meats, beans, and nuts. Your goal with DASH is to minimize your sodium intake to under 2,300 milligrams a day, and restrict added sugars and saturated fats—mostly from red meats.

One study in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that a combination of the DASH Diet and regular exercise can help hypertensive patients lower systolic blood pressure by up to 16 points in 4 months. Research also shows that the diet can help lower your LDL cholesterol.

While DASH doesn’t claim to provide rapid weight loss, research has shown you can, in fact, shed pounds. That same Archives of Internal Medicine study found that people lost on average 19 pounds when they added exercise to a DASH diet—while people following the diet but without working out lost less than a pound. Another University of Rhode Island study found that a reduced-calorie DASH diet paired with resistance training can help you lose 7 pounds in 10 weeks, gain muscle, and decrease body fat by 11 percent.

So should you try it? “The DASH diet can be effective, but if you're trying to lose a ton of weight there might be better solutions,” says Roussell. One downfall may be its preference for high carbs—about 55 percent of your daily calories—and consuming that volume of fiber from a combination of the whole grains and fruits and vegetables can be difficult, says Roussell. “If you have a lot of weight to lose—say 20-plus pounds—it might be better if you took a more carb-restricted approach,” he says.

Keep in mind, that the U.S. News & World Report rankings appear to emphasize lower fat diets, which were considered the gold standard for “healthy” diets back in the 1990s. But more recent research suggests that low-carbohydrate diets can also be very effective not only for weight loss, but for reducing risk of heart disease. Research from the University of Connecticut shows that a 12-week low-carb diet, such as the Atkins Diet, can significantly reduce triglycerides, blood sugar, insulin, inflammation, and small, dense LDL cholesterol—the most harmful form of cholesterol.

The upshot: Ranking diets is a little bit like ranking workouts. Someone who enjoys powerlifting may not like Zumba, but in the big picture, both have health benefits. The real secret is finding a diet that allows you to enjoy your meals, consume a wide-variety of healthful nutrients, and feel good—all while not overeating. That approach can be different for everyone, and it’s far more important than the actual composition of your diet.

One way you can’t go wrong: If you’re active healthy person, stick to a whole-foods diet that’s rich in produce—whether it’s the Paleo Diet, the Atkins Diet, or the DASH Diet. The rest is just details.

If you’re looking for more information, check out the NHLBI’s website for a free guide.

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