Review
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Hypertens. Nov 23, 2015; 5(4): 119-128
Published online Nov 23, 2015. doi: 10.5494/wjh.v5.i4.119
Dashing away hypertension: Evaluating the efficacy of the dietary approaches to stop hypertension diet in controlling high blood pressure
Preeya T Shah, Kyle D Maxwell, Joseph I Shapiro
Preeya T Shah, Kyle D Maxwell, Joseph I Shapiro, Department of Medicine, Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine Marshall University, Huntington, WV 25701-3655, United States
Author contributions: Shah PT and Maxwell KD both contributed equally to reviewing the research presented in the paper as well as writing and editing this review; Shapiro JI acted as corresponding author, and edited each draft of the manuscript for submission.
Supported by The Huntington Foundation as well as Brickstreet Insurance, HL109015, HL105649 and HL 071556.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors report no conflict of interest for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Joseph I Shapiro, MD, Dean, Department of Medicine, Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine Marshall University, 1600 Medical Center Dr, Huntington, WV 25701-3655, United States. shapiroj@marshall.edu
Telephone: +1-304-6911700 Fax: +1-304-6911726
Received: May 28, 2015
Peer-review started: June 1, 2015
First decision: July 3, 2015
Revised: September 17, 2015
Accepted: October 20, 2015
Article in press: October 27, 2015
Published online: November 23, 2015
Processing time: 175 Days and 9.7 Hours
Abstract

The dietary approaches to stop hypertension (DASH) diet has been developed and popularized as a non-pharmaceutical intervention for high blood pressure reduction since 1995. However, to date, a comprehensive description of the biochemical rationale behind the diet’s principal guidelines has yet to be compiled. With rising interest for healthy and reliable life-style modifications to combat cardiovascular disease, this review aims to compile the most recent and relevant studies on this topic and make an informed assessment as to the efficacy of and underlying mechanisms operant in the DASH diet. Specifically, the merits of lowering dietary intake of sodium and saturated fat, as well as increasing the intake of fruits, vegetables, fiber, and dairy, have been shown to attenuate hypertension individually. Upon review of this evidence, we conclude that the combination of dietary patterns proposed in the DASH diet is effective in attenuating high blood pressure. We also suggest that efforts to more widely implement adoption of the DASH diet would be beneficial to public health.

Keywords: Dietary approaches to stop hypertension diet; Hypertension; Salt restriction; Oxidative stress; Biochemistry

Core tip: As a non-pharmaceutical intervention for hypertension, the dietary approaches to stop hypertension (DASH) diet have emerged as the most prevalent choice. Based on the principles of salt restrictions, lowering fat and sugar intake, increasing fruit, vegetable, and fiber intake, this program serves great promise for patients diagnosed with high blood pressure. This review aimed to assess the biochemical rational behind the diet’s principle guidelines to evaluate the efficacy of the DASH diet in the treatment of hypertension. We conclude that the combined tenets of the DASH diet are effective in lowering blood pressure.