(Editor's Note: Marla Heller offers some healthy tips to good eating as we start the new year. Based on the DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension), these tips can be helpful to anyone who is trying to improve their diet.
DASH for it!
By Marla Heller, MS, RD
Way back when the DASH
(Dietary Approaches
to Stop Hypertension) diet
was considered to be only for the research setting, I decided to make it easy
for anyone to follow. DASH was too important to health; it couldn't just sit on
the shelf. So I created an actionable plan that almost anyone can put into
action in their real life.
Ready for your 8 simple
resolutions to get you on the DASH diet path?
1. Have 3 meals and 2 -- 3 snacks every
day. Deprivation doesn’t lead to lasting weight loss.
2. Make colorful veggies the center of
your meal. They are bulky, filling, and healthy, while low in
calories.
3. Add lean protein-rich foods to make a
meal that satisfies and won’t leave you hungry an hour later.
4. Choose 2 – 3 dairy foods that are
low-fat or nonfat, every day. Dairy boosts protein and helps quench
hunger.
5. Add fresh fruits to satisfy your sweet
tooth the healthy way.
6. Nuts, beans, and seeds make fun snacks
that love your heart and help you lose weight.
7. When you have grains, choose whole
grains.
8. Watch your waistline shrink. You are
improving your health as you lose weight, with these healthy
resolutions.
DASH for it!
Marla Heller, MS, RD is the author
of the best-selling books, The DASH Diet Action
Plan, The DASH Diet Weight Loss
Solution, and The Everyday DASH
Diet Cookbook. Marla's specialty is in making complex nutrition
easy to understand.
