This Podcast Is... Uncalled For - Thoughts on Healthier Eating (The DASH Diet)

Episode Date: September 9, 2022

Our intrepid host has high blood pressure and was placed on a heart healthy diet called the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) Diet.  Mike reads some articles and shares his thoughts on this new way of eating.

Welcome to this podcast is Uncalled for. Is the name of this podcast is stuff uncalled for? This podcast is uncalled. All right. What's on called for about it? What are we doing, T. Wong? You're like, what did you do, son? That's a bit of a slap in the face and insults.

And they're not to fake you back from. Oh, that's going to be great for the football charge. Yeah, it's kind of, what's that character from Gardens, the Galaxy, takes everything lettering. Because it always happens. It always happened. That is uncalled for, Michael. Welcome to the podcast, everybody. So today we're going to talk about eating healthy and diets. So as I made everyone aware at the beginning of the season,

was in the hospital for a couple days because of what turns to be high blood pressure goes by high cholesterol well I had a similar attack during a spring break 22 this time however did not have to spend time in the hospital but I did have to go went to an emergency room, the same emergency room I went to, by the way, and just had my blood pressure checked. The full story is I felt the symptoms this time coursing throughout my body, not just across the face, and called my primary care doctor. He wasn't available in the nurse that took the call.

said, go to the emergency room. You could go to urgent care, but they're going to send you to the emergency room, and that's exactly what happened. So I go in. So I go to the emergency room. They take my blood pressure. It's high. The ER doctor suggests getting a blood pressure cuff, which I did.

And the ER nurse suggests, well, you might be dehydrated, so drink some water. Drink some electrolytes. Believe it, there is something stronger than Gatorade out there. So, that was interesting to learn. And, as a result, I had to schedule a follow-up with my

primary care doctor. So, it's a good thing I have one now. Anyway, the day I'm recording this is actually the day after I saw my doctor and they took my blood pressure again

when I got there and he said yeah you still have had blood pressure so I'm going to give you in addition to the meds you're already taking I give you a blood pressure medication which I'll have to take once a day

and we're putting on a diet we want you to try something called the dash diets absolutely no relation to DoorDash the DoorDash diet of course

is you just order a bunch of food on DoorDash which is going to cost you a pretty penny and as a DoorDass driver

I greatly appreciate it. So you all need a tip better or at all. FYI. But that's not what this diet is about. So it's called the Dash Dietz, standing for dietary approaches to stop hypertension. The Dash Diet and I'm now reading

this from the Mayo Clinic website. the dash diet is a healthy eating plan designed to help treat or prevent high blood pressure the dash diet includes foods that are rich in potassium calcium and magnesium these nutrients help control blood pressure the diet limits foods that are high in sodium saturated fats and added sugars studies have shown that the dash diet can lower blood pressure as little is two weeks. Keep in mind, this was just yesterday at the time

of this recording. The diet can also lower low-density lipoprotein LDL or bad cholesterol levels in the blood. High blood pressure and high LDL cholesterol levels are two major risks for

heart disease and stroke. And give about this in addition to medication. And yes, I do need to exercise more. We'll touch on that near the end. But continue with this article. The dash diet is lower in sodium than a typical American diets, which can include a whopping 3,400 milligrams of sodium or more a day.

The standards-diet limits sodium to 2,300 mills a day. It meets the recommendation from the dietary guidelines for Americans to keep daily sodium intake to less than $2,300. That's roughly the amount of sodium in one teaspoon of table. salt with which of course not that much but said it does have a point there uh i watch a lot of uh youtube videos on cooking and they universally say uh we're going to look a lot of uh salts depends on what's being cooked but they like putting in a lot of salt in there In the food.

A lower sodium version of dash restricts sodium to 1,500 milligrams a day. You can choose the version of the diet that meets your health needs. If you aren't sure what sodium level is right for you, talk to your doctor. Okay. And what to eat? the dash is a flexible and balanced eating plan

so that's why he put me on this the flexibility and nuts going 100% vegan which I absolutely cannot do but I'm just going to finish reading is a flexible and balanced

eating plan that helps create a heart healthy eating style for life it's easy to follow using foods found at your grocery store. The dash diet is rich in vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. It includes fat-free or low-fat dairy products, fish, poultry, beans, and nuts. I'm not fan of beans, so no. No, that part's, no, no. And nuts, I'm barely a fan of nuts. The only nuts I can really stand are peanuts. So,

So, yeah. It limits foods that are high and saturated fats, such as fatty meats. So I have given up most beef and most pork for that reason. And full fat dairy products. When following dash, it's important to choose foods that are rich in potassium, calcium, magnesium, fiber, and protein. low in saturated fat, low in sodium. It goes to recommend servings, and this gets me to another trinathon,

which I'll share after I do all this. So the DASH diets provides daily and weekly nutritional goals. The number of servings you choose you should have depends on your daily calorie needs. so here's a look at the recommended servings from each food group for 2,000 calorie a day dash diet grains

6 to 8 servings a day one serving is one sliced bread 1 outstrize cereal or 1 half cup cooked cereal, rice, or pasta okay those are all enjoyable foods so there you vegetables four to five

servings a day one serving is one cup raw leafy green vegetables one half cup cut up raw or cooked vegetables or one half cup vegetable juice

I don't have the taste buds for vegetable juices but uh we'll see and i have been eating a lot more salads of uh like fruits four to five servings a day one surfing is one medium fruits one half cup frozen fresh or canned fruits or one half cup fruit juice okay i've been uh i've been my fruit intake of like two. There you go. Fat-free or low-fat dairy products, two to three servings a day.

One serving is one cup milk or yogurt. Disgusting, by the way, yogurt. Or one-a-half ounces of cheese. Okay, so I'm living to two or three a day. Lean meats, poultry, and fish. six one ounce servings or fewer a day which is not much is not much at all that one serving is one ounce cooked meat poultry or fish or one egg nuts seeds and legumes

four to five servings a week one serving is a third cup nuts two tablespoons peanut butter two tablespoon seeds or half cup cooked legumes fats and oils

two to three a day one serving is one teaspoon soft margarine one teaspoon vegetable oil one teaspoon mayonnaise or two tablespoons salad dressing I'm really not a fan of eating oils and certainly no mayonnaise so stuff I tend to avoid if if there happens to be salad dressing yeah begrudgingly eat it's depending on depending on what it is

then sweets and add sugars five servings or fewer a week one serving is one tablespoon sugar jelly or jam half cup sorbet or one cup lemonade which is kind of a bummer because

strawberry lemonade has essentially become my coke replaced and I have not had a single well I had one coke since the hospital but glad I can't right now and to learn that I can't

I'm not supposed to be drinking the replacement yeah it's good but oh well oh well I'm flexible do when it's to be done take aim at sodium so this is the next part

the foods at the center of the dash diets are naturally low in sodium so just by following the dash diet you're likely to limit your intake of sodium you can further reduce sodium by using sodium free

spices or flavorings instead of salt all right not adding salts to cooking rice pasta or hot cereal I hope you internet chefs are listening

I want to see salt free recipes from you guys choosing plain fresh frozen or cans of vegetables choosing fresh or frozen skinless poultry fish and

lean cuts meat reading food labels and choosing low sodium or no salt added options as you cut back on processed high sodium foods you may notice that foods taste different it may take time for your pounds to adjust but once it does you may find you prefer the dash way of eating Well, we'll see about that. I also have a I also purchase a cooking book

with on, it's called 30 minutes, heart's healthy cookbooks, delicious recipes for easy low sodium meals. And they say, yeah, this is page 9, popular heart

healthy eating patterns. Three dietary patterns, Mediterranean, dash and vegetarian, vegan. Had been shown to improve cardiac outcomes and have many more

similarities than differences. Here are the core components to aim for. Baste your meals on vegetables, fruits, or both. This isn't a new idea, but still a challenge for most

people. Clearly. Ideally, Vegetables and fruits should make up about half of every meal or snack. If that's not realistic for you, start with a little and build from there. Eat legumes, nuts, and seeds on most days. Legumes include lentils, chickpeas. This is a falafel free zone. Dry peas and beans.

Tofu made from soybeans counts two. I should probably tell you that at the time that Caroline and I had Thanksgiving one year, and she prepared to a Furkey. She's a vegan, by the way, important to point out, and it was some of the most bland foods I've ever had. But still, experiment with. with nut and seed butters from peanut butter to tahini. I like peanut butter. And I've already said that peanuts are pretty much the only nuts I really can stand.

These plants-based protein foods have consistently been sides to improvements in cardiac risk factors and outcomes. Choose mostly whole grains. All three dietary approaches include. a moderate intake of grains mostly whole. Bread products are a start but challenge yourself

to try intact grains like oats, quinoa and barley which is used to make beer which can be cooked without salt and which are generally easy on your blood pressure. So drink more beer?

make extra virgin olive oil your first choice. Extra virgin olive oil is a feature in the Mediterranean diet in particular, but it makes sense no matter which approach you use unless you're cooking at very high temperatures for a long time as when searing meat, stir frying, or roasting in the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, heart-healthy oils that withstand high temperatures better includes canola, sunflower, grape seed, and avocado. Do not get me started on an avocado.

I think they're disgusting and I am potentially allergic. Aim for at least two servings a week of fish. Well, I've been doing one at least since getting out of the hospital. I've made it points to at least once a week go to Red Lobster. few here in the KC area and order their grilled trout so I have to belt a chase for grilled trout and I'll usually order that with broccoli and lately a side salad with no dressing so there's that so it says fatty fish including salmon

which I find disgusting and same place to tuna because if it's cooked and still looks pink that's not an appetizing to me and also the whole I got food poisoning from undercooked

amber thing comes of mine so I'm sorry pink looks undercooked to me even if it is fully cooked So I can't stew salmon and tuna for those specific reasons. Troutes.

Okay. And sardines. Sardines. Okay. Are especially beneficial. And the book specifically, yeah, it's cut to the dash part of this book. So this is page 10 to 11. So the dietary approaches to stop hypertension pattern of eating was first popularized after two well-designed studies looked at its effect on blood pressure in the late 1990s.

Since then, it has been studied extensively relative to other aspects of cardiac health with consistently positive results. The diet is quite high in fruits and vegetables, 8 to 10 servings a day for typical adults, as well as whole grains, nuts, seeds, legumes, and mostly low-fat dairy products. Meat, fish, chicken, eggs, and vegetables are included, but in smaller amounts, then is typical in the standard American diets. Since the original stage, researchers have varied the dash. pattern and seen similarly positive results one study looked at higher fat milk products one reduced carbohydrates slightly and replaced them with either

more plant-based protein or healthy fats the bottom line is that as long as you include the core components you can vary the specifics as per your preference. All right, and then. Five principles. Two, heart-healthy eating. Focus on satisfaction. First,

yeah, good luck with that, but I digress. Nurse your body. Let's go food guilt and relax. I never really had food guilt, but, okay. Don't measure your success by

weight loss no kidding I could stand to lose a couple of pounds but but most of all I just need to stay healthy and aim for your sweet spot again gonna be tough but I will I will do my best and give this a try that's all I can ask myself to do is just try. And certainly medications are call me a part of that

as well as exercise and well, of course, I'm looking for a co-host to help with the podcast. I'm also looking for a exercise

partner, so someone can do both. We'll see. anyway that's it for today's uh thoughts episode and uh we'll keep it post on how this diet and everything goes and

hopefully lose a few pants but more importantly you get that blood pressure down talk to you later This podcast is Uncalled for is hosted, produced and edited by Mike Chernefsky. Opening music is Cool Hard Facts by Kevin McLeod at Incompetoc.com, licensed under Creative Commons, by Attribution 4.0 license. The Outro Music for this episode is Eastern Wind by Unheard Music Concepts, licensed under a Creative Commons attribution license. Please like, share, and subscribe to the podcast through your favorite podcasting platform, like our Facebook page at facebook.com slash uncalled for podcast, and check out our blog with show notes at uncalledfor.com.com.com. Thank you so much for listening. We will see you next time.