On the DASH diet you eat vegetables, fruits, whole grains, low-fat dairy, fish, poultry, beans and nuts, and you keep sodium to 2,300 mg a day, or 1,500 mg for a bigger drop in blood pressure. At 2,000 calories, that works out to 6-8 servings of grains, 4-5 of vegetables, 4-5 of fruit and 2-3 of low-fat dairy a day, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI).
DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. It needs no special foods, and it's one of the most tested eating patterns for blood pressure: in the original trial it lowered systolic pressure by 11.4 mm Hg in people with hypertension.
This guide is general information, not medical advice. If you have high blood pressure or take medication for it, talk to your doctor before changing your diet.
Key takeaways
- Eat more: vegetables, fruit, whole grains, low-fat dairy, beans, nuts, fish and poultry.
- Limit: fatty meats, full-fat dairy, coconut and palm oils, sweets, sugary drinks and salty foods.
- Sodium: 2,300 mg a day standard, 1,500 mg for the larger effect. One teaspoon of salt has about 2,325 mg.
- Results: DASH at the lowest sodium level lowered systolic pressure by 11.5 mm Hg in trial participants with hypertension, compared with a typical American diet high in sodium.
- Potassium: the plan aims for about 4,700 mg a day, mostly from fruits, vegetables, beans and dairy.
What is the DASH diet?
DASH is an eating plan developed from NHLBI-funded trials in the 1990s. Instead of a list of banned foods, it sets daily and weekly servings for each food group and a sodium ceiling. NHLBI's guidance is to pick foods that are rich in potassium, calcium, magnesium, fiber and protein, and lower in saturated fat, added sugars and sodium.
The diet in the original study got about 27% of its calories from fat, so it's not a low-fat diet in the strict sense. NHLBI's sample menus run at about 6% of calories from saturated fat.
DASH diet servings by calorie level
Your servings depend on how many calories you need. NHLBI's table:
| Food group | 1,600 cal | 1,800 cal | 2,000 cal | 2,600 cal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grains (mostly whole) | 6 a day | 6 a day | 6-8 a day | 10-11 a day |
| Vegetables | 3-4 a day | 4-5 a day | 4-5 a day | 5-6 a day |
| Fruits | 4 a day | 4-5 a day | 4-5 a day | 5-6 a day |
| Fat-free or low-fat dairy | 2-3 a day | 2-3 a day | 2-3 a day | 3 a day |
| Lean meat, poultry, fish | 3-4 or less a day | 6 or less a day | 6 or less a day | 6 or less a day |
| Nuts, seeds, legumes | 3-4 a week | 4 a week | 4-5 a week | 1 a day |
| Fats and oils | 2 a day | 2-3 a day | 2-3 a day | 3 a day |
| Sweets and added sugars | 3 or less a week | 5 or less a week | 5 or less a week | 2 or less a day |
| Sodium, maximum | 2,300 mg | 2,300 mg | 2,300 mg | 2,300 mg |
What counts as one serving:
| Food group | One serving |
|---|---|
| Grains | 1 slice bread, 1 oz (28 g) dry cereal, or 1/2 cup cooked rice, pasta or cereal |
| Vegetables | 1 cup raw leafy greens, or 1/2 cup cut raw or cooked vegetables or vegetable juice |
| Fruits | 1 medium fruit, 1/4 cup dried fruit, or 1/2 cup fresh, frozen or canned fruit or juice |
| Dairy | 1 cup (8 fl oz) milk or yogurt, or 1 1/2 oz (42 g) cheese |
| Meat, poultry, fish | 1 oz (28 g) cooked, or 1 egg |
| Nuts, seeds, legumes | 1/3 cup or 1 1/2 oz (42 g) nuts, 2 tbsp peanut butter, 2 tbsp seeds, or 1/2 cup cooked beans |
| Fats and oils | 1 tsp oil or soft margarine, 1 tbsp mayonnaise, or 2 tbsp salad dressing |
| Sweets | 1 tbsp sugar or jam, 1/2 cup sorbet, or 1 cup lemonade |
For reference, NHLBI estimates that a sedentary woman aged 31-50 needs about 1,800 calories a day and a sedentary man of the same age about 2,200.
DASH diet foods to eat
- Grains: whole-wheat bread and pasta, oatmeal, brown rice, English muffins, unsalted popcorn and pretzels. Our oatmeal nutrition guide covers one of the easiest DASH breakfasts.
- Vegetables: broccoli, carrots, collards, green beans, peas, kale, potatoes, spinach, squash, sweet potatoes, tomatoes.
- Fruits: apples, apricots, bananas, dates, grapes, oranges, grapefruit, mangoes, melons, peaches, pineapple, raisins, strawberries.
- Dairy: fat-free or low-fat milk, buttermilk, yogurt and reduced-fat cheese.
- Protein: fish, skinless poultry and lean meats, broiled, roasted or poached. Fatty fish like salmon counts here.
- Nuts, seeds and legumes: almonds, peanuts, walnuts, sunflower seeds, peanut butter, kidney beans, lentils, split peas. See nuts ranked by calories and protein for portion sizes.
- Fats: vegetable oils such as canola, corn, olive or safflower, soft margarine, low-fat mayonnaise.
Potassium is one of the reasons DASH works, and the plan targets about 4,700 mg a day. These common DASH foods are good sources, per serving in USDA data:
| Food | Serving | Potassium (mg) |
|---|---|---|
| Baked potato with skin | 1 medium (173 g) | 926 |
| White beans, canned | 1/2 cup (131 g) | 595 |
| Sweet potato, baked | 1 medium (114 g) | 542 |
| Low-fat plain yogurt | 8 oz (227 g) | 531 |
| Cantaloupe | 1 cup cubes (160 g) | 427 |
| Banana | 1 medium (118 g) | 422 |
| Spinach, cooked | 1/2 cup (90 g) | 419 |
| Dried apricots | 1/4 cup (33 g) | 378 |
| Lentils, cooked | 1/2 cup (99 g) | 365 |
| Salmon, cooked | 3 oz (85 g) | 326 |
| Orange | 1 medium (131 g) | 237 |
| Broccoli, cooked | 1/2 cup (78 g) | 229 |
| Almonds | 1 oz (28 g) | 208 |
If you have kidney disease or take medicines that raise potassium, ask your doctor before increasing it.
Foods to limit on the DASH diet
- Saturated fat: fatty meats, full-fat dairy, and tropical oils like coconut, palm kernel and palm oil.
- Sugar: sugar-sweetened drinks and sweets, kept to 5 or fewer servings a week at 2,000 calories.
- Sodium: cured meats like bacon and ham, pickles, olives, sauerkraut, instant or flavored rice and pasta, and dishes made with soy sauce or broth.
NHLBI points out that most of the sodium Americans eat comes from processed and prepared foods such as bread, cold cuts, pizza, soups, sandwiches, cheese and salty snacks. Its own DASH menus show how quickly everyday foods add up:
| Food in NHLBI's DASH menus | Sodium (mg) |
|---|---|
| 2 slices whole wheat bread | 299 |
| 1 tbsp Dijon mustard | 373 |
| 3 tbsp Parmesan cheese | 287 |
| 1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese | 459 |
| 2 oz low-fat, low-sodium ham | 549 |
Restaurant meals are often the hardest part. A full order of many Chinese takeout dishes carries more than a day's sodium; our Chinese food calories guide lists the numbers dish by dish.
How much the DASH diet lowers blood pressure
| Trial | Who | What was tested | Result (systolic) |
|---|---|---|---|
| DASH, Appel et al., NEJM 1997 | 459 adults, 8 weeks, sodium and weight held steady | DASH vs typical American diet | -5.5 mm Hg overall; -11.4 in the 133 with hypertension; -3.5 in those without |
| DASH-Sodium, Sacks et al., NEJM 2001 | 412 adults, 30 days at each sodium level | DASH or control diet at high, medium and low sodium | Low-sodium DASH vs high-sodium control: -7.1 without hypertension, -11.5 with hypertension |
| DASH-Sodium reanalysis, Juraschek et al., JACC 2017 | Same 412 adults, by starting blood pressure | Low-sodium DASH vs high-sodium control | -5.3 if starting below 130; -20.8 if starting at 150 or higher |
The effect was largest in people who started with the highest readings, and cutting sodium added to the diet's effect: in DASH-Sodium, blood pressure fell with each step down in sodium on both diets, and the low-sodium DASH diet beat the typical American diet at every sodium level.
Later NHLBI-funded trials built on this. In OmniHeart (164 adults), swapping 10% of daily calories from carbohydrate to protein or unsaturated fat lowered blood pressure and blood lipids more than the original DASH diet. In PREMIER (810 adults, 6 months), people who got counseling and followed DASH had the largest blood pressure drops.
DASH diet sodium: 2,300 vs 1,500 mg
The standard DASH plan caps sodium at 2,300 mg a day, which is what you get from about one teaspoon of table salt (2,325 mg). The lower 1,500 mg level is about two-thirds of a teaspoon. For context, the FDA says the average American eats about 3,400 mg a day.
NHLBI's menus show the 1,500 mg version is mostly a matter of swaps:
- Shredded wheat instead of bran flakes saves about 219 mg.
- Regular mustard instead of Dijon saves about 198 mg per tablespoon.
- Low-sodium cheese instead of reduced-fat cheddar saves about 198 mg per slice.
- Chicken salad made without salt saves about 59 mg per serving.
Other NHLBI tips: rinse canned beans and vegetables, don't salt the water for rice and pasta, season with herbs, spices, lemon or lime, and ask restaurants to cook without added salt.
7-day DASH diet meal plan
This is NHLBI's own week of DASH menus at 2,000 calories and the 2,300 mg sodium level. The menus are built around the DASH food groups, though single days run under or over a target (Day 4 has 4 grain servings against 6-8).
| Day | Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner | Snacks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bran flakes with banana and low-fat milk, whole wheat toast, orange juice | Chicken salad sandwich on whole wheat, cucumber and tomato salad, fruit cocktail | Roast beef (eye of round), green beans, small baked potato with fat-free sour cream, whole wheat roll, apple, milk | Unsalted almonds, raisins, fat-free yogurt |
| 2 | Instant oatmeal, mini whole wheat bagel with peanut butter, banana, low-fat milk | Chicken breast sandwich with reduced-fat cheddar, cantaloupe, apple juice | Spaghetti with vegetarian sauce and Parmesan, spinach salad, corn, canned pears | Unsalted almonds, dried apricots, fat-free yogurt |
| 3 | Bran flakes with banana and low-fat milk, whole wheat toast, orange juice | Roast beef barbecue sandwich with reduced-fat cheddar, new potato salad, orange | Cod with lemon, brown rice, spinach sauteed with almonds, cornbread muffin | Fat-free yogurt, sunflower seeds, graham crackers with peanut butter |
| 4 | Whole wheat toast, fat-free yogurt, peach, grape juice | Low-sodium ham and cheese sandwich, carrot sticks | Chicken and Spanish rice, green peas, cantaloupe, low-fat milk | Unsalted almonds, apricots, apple juice, low-fat milk |
| 5 | Whole grain oat cereal with banana and low-fat milk, raisin bagel with peanut butter, orange juice | Tuna salad plate, cucumber salad, low-fat cottage cheese with pineapple | Turkey meatloaf, small baked potato, collard greens, whole wheat roll, peach | Fat-free yogurt, unsalted sunflower seeds |
| 6 | Low-fat granola bar, banana, fat-free yogurt, orange juice, low-fat milk | Turkey breast sandwich, steamed broccoli, orange | Spicy baked fish, scallion rice, spinach with almonds, carrots, whole wheat roll, small cookie | Unsalted peanuts, low-fat milk, dried apricots |
| 7 | Whole grain oat cereal with banana and low-fat milk, fat-free yogurt | Tuna salad sandwich, apple, low-fat milk | Zucchini lasagna, spinach and tomato salad, whole wheat roll, grape juice | Unsalted almonds, dried apricots, whole wheat crackers |
NHLBI's published totals for each day:
| Day | Calories | Sodium (mg) | Potassium (mg) | Fiber (g) | Protein (g) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2,062 | 2,101 | 4,909 | 37 | 114 |
| 2 | 2,027 | 2,035 | 4,715 | 34 | 99 |
| 3 | 1,997 | 2,114 | 4,676 | 34 | 103 |
| 4 | 2,024 | 2,312 | 4,575 | 35 | 110 |
| 5 | 1,976 | 2,373 | 4,769 | 30 | 111 |
| 6 | 1,939 | 1,671 | 4,710 | 36 | 105 |
| 7 | 1,993 | 2,069 | 4,693 | 32 | 93 |
Two days run a little over 2,300 mg. NHLBI's advice is not to worry if some days are off target and to keep the average of several days close to the recommended servings and sodium. If you need fewer calories, shrink the portions and use the 1,600 or 1,800 calorie servings above.
DASH diet for weight loss
DASH wasn't designed as a weight-loss diet. In the DASH and DASH-Sodium trials, weight was held steady on purpose, so the blood pressure results came from the food, not weight loss. NHLBI says you can use the plan to lose weight by choosing a lower calorie level and cutting calories gradually, for example by eating less meat and more vegetables, fruit, whole grains and beans, and drinking water instead of soda or juice.
PREMIER showed that combining DASH with counseling and more physical activity produced both weight loss and the biggest blood pressure drops. To set a calorie level, use the calorie deficit calculator. If you're choosing between eating patterns, our Mediterranean diet guide covers how that one compares.
Getting started
- Change one thing at a time. Add a vegetable to lunch and dinner first, then a fruit to breakfast, then switch to low-fat dairy.
- Read labels for sodium. Compare bread, cheese, soup and condiments, which add up faster than the salt shaker.
- Track for a week or two. Writing down food groups and sodium shows where you are against the targets. Nutrify, the app we make, logs a meal from a photo or a typed description; it has a 7-day free trial, then a paid subscription.
- Keep checking your blood pressure and share the readings with your doctor, especially if you take medication.
Sources
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, DASH Eating Plan, Following the DASH Eating Plan (servings by calorie level, serving sizes, calorie needs), Health Benefits of the DASH Eating Plan (DASH, DASH-Sodium, OmniHeart, PREMIER), Living with the DASH Eating Plan (sodium tips, potassium target), A Week With the DASH Eating Plan (7-day menus and totals).
- Appel LJ, et al. A clinical trial of the effects of dietary patterns on blood pressure. N Engl J Med. 1997;336(16):1117-24.
- Sacks FM, et al. Effects on blood pressure of reduced dietary sodium and the DASH diet. N Engl J Med. 2001;344(1):3-10.
- Juraschek SP, et al. Effects of sodium reduction and the DASH diet in relation to baseline blood pressure. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2017;70(23):2841-48.
- USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy: baked potato, FDC 170093, white beans, canned, FDC 175204, sweet potato, FDC 168483, low-fat yogurt, FDC 170886, cantaloupe, FDC 169092, banana, FDC 173944, spinach, cooked, FDC 168463, dried apricots, FDC 173941, lentils, FDC 172421, salmon, cooked, FDC 175168, orange, FDC 169097, broccoli, cooked, FDC 169967, almonds, FDC 170567, table salt, FDC 173468.
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Sodium in Your Diet.
