Also called: DASH Diet · Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension
Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About DASH Eating Plan
DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. It is an eating plan that is based on research studies sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). These studies showed that DASH lowers high blood pressure and improves levels of cholesterol. This reduces your risk of getting heart disease.
The DASH eating plan:
- Emphasizes vegetables, fruits, and whole-grains
- Includes fat-free or low-fat dairy products, fish, poultry, beans, nuts, and vegetable oils
- Limits foods that are high in saturated fat. These foods include fatty meats, full-fat dairy products, and tropical oils such as coconut, palm kernel, and palm oils.
- Limits sugar-sweetened beverages and sweets
Along with DASH, other lifestyle changes can help lower your blood pressure. They include staying at a healthy weight, exercising, and not smoking.
It sits within Blood, Heart and Circulation and Food and Nutrition.
The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on DASH Eating Plan
2 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research already completed
- Effects of the DASH Diet and Lifestyle Modification on Blood Pressure in Adults With PrehypertensionAntalya Bilim University
- Nourish: A Digital Health Program to Promote the DASH Eating Plan Among Adults With High Blood PressureDuke University
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Learn More
- Can Whole-Grain Foods Lower Blood Pressure?Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
- DASH Diet for High Blood PressureNemours Foundation
- DASH diet to lower high blood pressureMedical Encyclopedia
- DASH Diet: Healthy Eating to Lower Your Blood PressureMayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
- DASH Eating PlanNational Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
- DASH Eating Plan: Reducing Blood Pressure through Diet and LifestyleAcademy of Nutrition and Dietetics
- Getting Started on DASHNational Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
- Healthy Recipes: Low SodiumNational Library of Medicine
- Healthy Recipes: Low-fatNational Library of Medicine
- Tips to Reduce Salt and SodiumNational Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
- Understanding the DASH dietMedical Encyclopedia
- Why the DASH Eating Plan WorksNational Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
- Your Guide To Lowering Your Blood Pressure with DASHNational Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
Genetics
- Hypertension: MedlinePlus GeneticsNational Library of Medicine
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: DASH DietNational Institutes of Health
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Dietary Approaches To Stop Hypertension. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for DASH Eating Plan, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.