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Healthy Home Economist / Archives / Weight Loss / Think Twice Before Dashing into the DASH DIET

Think Twice Before Dashing into the DASH DIET

by John Moody / Affiliate Links ✔

Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
  • What is the DASH Diet?+−
    • DASH Diet Meal Planning
  • Don't Dash into DASH
  • More DASH Omissions
  • Calorie Restriction Risks and Rewards
  • So What is the DASH Diet REALLY?
  • Run Away from DASH

The conundrum of the DASH Diet that consistently ranks as one of the best diets despite the reality that it isn’t healthy over the long term.

DASH diet

Every year, US News releases a ranked list of the best and worst diets. Dozens of news outlets and websites immediately pick up and share the list with millions of readers. What diet consistently wins the number one slot? Which is hailed as the “best overall diet” for human health? The DASH diet.

How consistently? The DASH diet ranked as the number one best overall diet for seven straight years! That makes Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls streak look lame.

So what is the DASH diet? Is it actually good for you? And how does it stack up against traditional and real food protocols like the Harcombe Diet and the 21 Day Bone Broth Diet?

What is the DASH Diet?

DASH stands for “Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension.” In short, it is a modern diet trying to solve modern diseases. Thus, it comes right out of the “cholesterol is bad and saturated fat will give you heart disease” playbook. The diet claims to aim to reduce sodium intake while increasing the consumption of foods that are rich in nutrients like potassium, calcium, and magnesium.

DASH Diet Meal Planning

The DASH diet is rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy foods; includes meat, fish, poultry, nuts, and beans; and is limited in sugar-sweetened foods and beverages, red meat, and added fats. (1)

A virtual Who’s Who of conventional medicine promotes the DASH diet:

  • The National Institutes for Health
  • The US Department of Agriculture
  • The Mayo clinic
  • The American Heart Association
  • The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
  • Many others…

Note, some of these groups such as the American Heart Association spearheaded the unjustified smear attacks on coconut oil and other healthy fats. In addition, they heavily promote dietary or pharmaceutical guidelines (like statins) that do immense harm to millions upon millions of people. Drug-induced dementia anyone?

Shockingly, this diet receives high endorsements even though advocates admit that its recommendations are outdated.

The original DASH diet research was not originally designed for weight loss, and was relatively high in refined grains and starchy foods, since it was based on the prevailing nutrition “wisdom” of the mid-90s. (1)

Is the nutritional “wisdom” of the new century any better though? In my view, not really.

Don’t Dash into DASH

So what are some of the problems with DASH? And why does it appear to help people in various studies and trials?

First, it doesn’t consider the quality of the foods consumed. As noted above, they once happily recommended highly processed grains. Now, they instead encourage MASSIVE amounts of modern whole grains, with no attention given to the preparation of growing conditions. Sure, let’s trade hypertension for hyper-indigestion and a host of other problems like metabolic syndrome and more! And … toss in a healthy dose of gut destroying glyphosate for good measure!

The fruit and vegetable recommendations are overall okay, except they make no mention of the kinds of fruits and vegetables or the quality. Some people don’t tolerate certain vegetables like nightshades very well. Also, the importance of consuming local, organic, or similar quality fruits and veggies is unmentioned. This despite the fact that they are far more nutritious and don’t promote overall toxicity levels. In addition, the diet makes no mention of which raw vegetables should be cooked before consuming to avoid thyroid problems or kidney stones. These include such favorites as broccoli and spinach to name a few.

Low-fat dairy. Argh. Let’s just ignore this DASH silliness, since we already know that numerous studies show full-fat dairy is better for weight loss, fertility and overall health. (2, 3)

The anti-fat/cholesterol comes to the full show with the DASH recommendation for lean meats only, especially fish and poultry. No mention of the huge health benefits of Vitamin K2, organ meats and homemade bone broth when nose to tail eating is pursued as practiced by all healthy traditional cultures.

More DASH Omissions

DASH demonizes all salt, refined or not with no mention that the whole form of mineral-rich sea salt offers many proven health benefits.

Nuts and seeds get a good nod, but no word about proper preparation to maximize nutrient absorption and prevent reactions.

What do these some good, mostly bad DASH dietary recommendations mean for calorie intake and meal planning?

Calorie Restriction Risks and Rewards

Part of the reason diets like DASH, especially the weight loss version, can produce decent short term results is because of the calorie restriction components. (4)

Unfortunately, calorie restriction is a mixed bag when it comes to long term weight loss. As Stephen Guyunet explores in his excellent book, The Hungry Brain, maintaining a healthy weight involves far more than merely consuming a particular number of calories. There are complex biological controls involved. If a weight loss protocol does not address them properly, short term weight loss can transform into long term, even more recalcitrant, weight gain.

So What is the DASH Diet REALLY?

At the end of the day, the DASH diet is little more than another anti-meat, anti-fat diet that continues the failed food pyramid approach, where grains are the most important food group followed by vegetables. In essence, DASH sets you up for weight loss failure.

A good friend of mine ate a diet very similar to DASH for years and still gained immense amounts of weight. About a year ago, he switched to a more Paleo type diet and is now down 60 pounds and counting. Along with the weight loss, almost all his blood and other biological markers improved significantly. His story is not unique. Low carb, high fat (even the carnivore diet) dashes DASH every time.

Now, the DASH diet is WORLDS better than the SAD (Standard American Diet). This probably is why for those who do actually manage to stick with some to all its recommendations, positive results follow. When you start reducing consumption of processed foods – loaded with low-quality salts, fats, and sugars – you are most likely going to see good things happen at least in the short term.

The diet, because it is so high in grains, is also high in omega-6 fatty acids. This is something that is already a scourge in the American diet. Interestingly, given all its “low sodium” lauding, the DASH diet clocks in with a far higher sodium intake than a standard Paleo type approach! Nutritionist Diana Rodgers also notes that the DASH diet is Metabolic Syndrome waiting to happen. Remember, you can be at a so-called healthy weight yet be super unhealthy (skinny fat) in terms of blood sugar (insulin levels), triglycerides, and so many other markers of wellness. (5)

Run Away from DASH

Even conventional sources can’t seem to decide about the DASH Diet. For example, the Washington Post ran an article about how America ruined breakfast with the introduction of cereal grains, especially refined ones. (3)

Then, this same newspaper did an about-face and dished up a pro-Dash article as well (4).

Remember, the original DASH diet recommended the same refined cereals WaPo originally dissed!

Lesson being: Diets built around modern research change faster than a newborn baby’s diapers!

What was breakfast like before the introduction and enshrinement of grains and other processed foods as the go-to? Bacon. Eggs (including the yolks). Lard. Other meats, including seafood and fat. Seasonal fruit. Some freshly ground whole grains like pancakes or waffles, sometimes properly prepared.

When were we healthier? Before or after the health authorities and government told us to turn to grains and ditch what my Grandpa lived on well into his 80s? And … he lived this long even though he was a heavy smoker!

Like many diets, the DASH Diet offers a dash here and a dash there of good information. But before you dash in, realize, you may well DASH yourself on the rocks of outdated and harmful modern nutritional advice!

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Category: Weight Loss
John Moody

John W. Moody is an author, speaker, farmer, homesteader, and Real Food activist. Most importantly, he is the husband of an amazing wife and father to five awesome kids.

John speaks nationally at a wide range of events, along with writing for numerous publications and consulting for farmers, homesteaders, and food businesses.

He is the author of three books: The Frugal Homesteader, The Elderberry Book, and DIY Sourdough: A Beginner’s Guide.

johnwmoody.com/

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Reader Interactions

Comments (13)

  1. Paula

    Feb 15, 2023 at 10:05 pm

    I’ve read that sea salt is now considered not so good due to all the plastics in the ocean. What about pink Himalayan salt or Redmond (Utah) seal salt?
    I have borderline high blood pressure and cholesterol which I believe may be hereditary. Calcium score can back as zero, so that is good. My doctor told me to follow the dash diet, except to completely eliminate ALL SALT. She says we can get all the natural sodium we need from whole foods. Does this sound correct?

    Reply
    • Sarah Pope

      Feb 15, 2023 at 10:11 pm

      If a doctor tells you to eliminate all salt, I would suggest finding another doctor. Low salt diets are deadly. https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/studies-suggest-low-salt-diets-are-deadly/

  2. Sara

    Oct 10, 2021 at 2:16 am

    I noticed my joints hurt on low fat aspect of the dash diet, so I went back to full fat dairy. I’m down 30 pounds on the DASH diet. Blood pressure is way down and in the normal range now, so I’m not on any meds for my BP. ? You can eat salt you just need to know how much your eating. 5% or less you can indulge. Sea salt is fine. I even can have one salted caramel it’s under 5%. What I noticed living this way for the last 9 months is I’m so much more conscious of what I’m putting on my plate and in my mouth. Chips or an apple? Do I really need croutons in my salad when celery is crunchy? I converted my whole family to red rice yum very tasty. We as a society use far to much salt, and eat way to many processed boxed food. You really can’t eat many cereals on the dash diet only a few have 5% salt. Unless it’s homemade oatmeal. I could tell it had some low fat high grain issues, so I adjusted it to my life. Think about it if the person on it eats fast food regularly it certainly is a step in the right direction. No burgers or KFC when one small seeing of French fries will use up 1/2 your salt intake for the day. ?

    Reply
  3. Alex

    Jun 8, 2018 at 2:33 pm

    With all due respect, I completely disagree with this article. The DASH diet is 100% based on numerous and repeatable scientific studies and was designed by the NIH. I know my personal testimony is anecdotal, but I was diagnosed with pre-hypertension and high cholesterol, and I was considered slightly obese. 6 months after following the DASH diet, I was pleasantly surprised to find my blood pressure read 103/74, my cholesterol levels were back to normal, and I lost 20 lbs. And the best part of the diet is that it’s sustainable; I never had to deprive myself of the foods that I loved and just had to make small changes to see massive results. Another great thing about this diet is that it’s totally flexible. It may not be for everybody, but this diet has been life changing for me and has helped me live a much healthier lifestyle.

    Reply
    • Anita Long

      Jan 15, 2020 at 11:15 am

      I agree with your comment. I am starting this diet and it is totally doable for me. I think some people go overboard with trying to overthink the diet. Like salt. The DASH diet says to use salt. In the book, The DASH Diet, Weight Loss Solution, it states on page 25 number 4 to not be overly restrictive with salt and get plenty of fluids. Allowing a moderate amount of salty foods will help prevent too much fluid loss. We need salt, just not what is in processed foods and definitely not from over shaking the salt shaker.

    • Mike O

      Aug 17, 2022 at 4:20 pm

      There is likely a genetic component to this, in other words, it might work for you and not for others. There are also plenty of studies that show plant based diets are BAD for a lot of people. Glad it worked for you, but we don’t know your genetics or what it was that you were eating before you started your diet. Your benefits likely came from cutting out processed foods, which for the most part are all poison… for the same old reasons.. stripped of nutrients, filled with PUFAs and by dint of being processed are absorbed rapidly into the system playing havoc with your insulin and glycogen levels. SEED OILS ARE POISON, ALL OF THEM..canola/rapeseed, soy, corn..its. a long list.

  4. Rosemarie Kuhl

    Dec 20, 2017 at 8:43 pm

    Sarah i appreciate your knowledge on healthy nutrition.Read your article on clay pots very in formative.I grow up in Germany and we used a clay roaster all the time whit out knowing all the healthy benefits you just made me aware off r

    Reply
  5. Ellen

    Dec 20, 2017 at 9:38 am

    LOL! I thought you were going to recommend the DASH diet from how it read in the e-mail so I HAD to see if you believed that. From what I’ve read from you, I’d have been very surprised if you had believed that the diet had value. I looked at this travesty a few years ago and discarded it immediately for its conventional claptrap.

    I really enjoy what you share with your readers, Sarah.

    Reply
    • Sarah

      Dec 20, 2017 at 10:47 am

      Thank you 🙂 I think it’s important to point out that a 7 years running #1 diet like DASH recommended by many conventional doctors is actually an utter disaster for health longterm. No wonder so many people are confused and having health issues despite sincerely trying to eat better. They are led astray by modern dietary propaganda which has no historical basis when you study what healthy ancestral societies actually ate!

  6. Ana Larson

    Dec 11, 2017 at 9:50 pm

    Loved the article, I am a victim of bad diets I thought were good, destroyed, gut, hair, skin, immune system and so much. Went paleo much happier and cured my cavities and our dd at age 16. She has not one filling even with one stupid tooth that has flourosis. Going natural helps so much.

    Reply
  7. Ana Larson

    Dec 11, 2017 at 9:50 pm

    Loved the article, I am a victim of bad diets I thought were good, destroyed, gut, hair, skin, immune system and so much. Went paleo much happier and cured my cavities and our dd at age 16. She has not one filling even with one stupid tooth that has flourosis. Going natural helps so much.

    Reply
  8. Megan

    Dec 11, 2017 at 9:12 pm

    I have some family who follow the DASH diet. For its being so popular, I’d never heard of it until they mentioned it, and never thought about it again, until I saw it mentioned here! I once made dinner for them while we were staying with them, and knowing how conscious they were of their salt intake, I tried to be very careful and judicious with my sea salt use. However, just simply roasting broccoli in olive oil and sea salt, and seasoning the chicken I sautéed with sea salt had them really enjoying my meal! I feel like they miss out on so much flavor because they are so scared of salt and “sodium intake,” like salt is the worst thing ever. (Of course, I used the good kind.)

    Reply
    • Sarah

      Dec 12, 2017 at 11:17 am

      Yes, so sad isn’t it? While refined salt is to be avoided and a good suggestion for the DASH Diet, it is a complete FAIL that the diet doesn’t extol the virtues of unrefined sea salt!

      My kids hate veggies at restaurants because they are so tasteless, but love the ones I roast at home in a healthy fat and sea salt.

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