The DASH diet, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, was originally intended to help people lower their blood pressure. A new study from Duke University found that hypertensive patients who used the diet and lost weight also had improvement in their mental abilities.

DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. It is a low-sodium, high-potassium diet that is rich in fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy products. In addition to lowering blood pressure, the diet also helped those with weight loss, lowering cholesterol, and reducing insulin resistance.

Patrick J. Smith of Duke University randomly assigned 124 overweight or obese hypertensive patients to three groups. The first consumed the DASH diet and participated in an active weight management program that included exercise for 30 minutes a day, three times a week, and calorie restriction. The second group only followed the DASH diet. The third group served as controls and followed their usual diet. The study lasted four months. The average age of the participants was 52, and most had mild to moderate high blood pressure. About 60 percent were Caucasian.

Those who followed the comprehensive diet and exercise program showed improved neurocognition, comprised of memory, attention, and the ability to learn new material. They also reduced systolic blood pressure (the top number) by 16 mmHg and diastolic pressure (the bottom number) by 10 mmHg. They also lost an average of 19 pounds and improved cardiovascular fitness.

One of the tools used by the diet-and-exercise group included an approach called “Appetite Awareness Training.” This is a self-monitoring strategy where participants learn to identify moderate hunger and fullness and use these as an internal cue to guide their eating behavior similar to the “Hunger Scale”.

Calorie needs are based on the individual, but in general, the DASH diet encourages the following meal plan each day:

• Grains: 7-8 daily servings
• Vegetables: 4-5 daily servings
• Fruits: 4-5 daily servings
• Low-fat or fat-free dairy products: 2-3 daily servings
• Meat, poultry and fish: 2 or less daily servings
• Nuts, seeds, and dry beans: 4-5 servings per week
• Fats and oils: 2-3 daily servings
• Sweets: try to limit to less than 5 servings per week

Sodium is limited at first to 2,400 milligrams a day, ultimately reaching 1500 milligrams. This is mostly achieved by eating fresh foods and avoiding processed, packaged, and restaurant foods. Because this is often difficult to achieve, it is recommended to make small changes to the diet to gradually reach your goal. WebMD also offers these tips for getting started on the DASH diet:

• Add a serving of vegetables at lunch and at dinner.
• Add a serving of fruit to your meals or as a snack. Canned and dried fruits are easy to use.
• Use only half the butter, margarine, or salad dressing, and use low-fat or fat-free condiments.
• Drink low-fat or skim dairy products three times a day.
• Limit meat to six ounces a day. Try eating some vegetarian meals.
• Add more vegetables, rice, pasta, and dry beans to your diet.
• Instead of typical snacks (chips, etc.), eat unsalted pretzels or nuts, raisins, graham crackers, low-fat and fat-free yogurt and frozen yogurt; unsalted plain popcorn with no butter, and raw vegetables.
• Read food labels carefully to choose products that are lower in sodium.

The Mayo Clinic offers many recipes on their website.