The American Heart Association assessed the heart healthiness of popular diets, and the DASH Diet (developed in part at Pennington Biomedical Research Center) received a perfect score as the top heart-healthy eating plan.
“The DASH Diet is a great choice because it is proven to help those with a history of heart disease or people with diabetes, but it is really a diet plan for everyone because it is easy to follow and can work for anyone in the family,” said Dr. Catherine Champagne, professor and registered dietitian nutritionist at Pennington Biomedical.
The DASH Diet features a dietary pattern designed to improve cardiometabolic health, which emphasizes limiting unhealthy fats and reducing the consumption of excess carbohydrates. This balance optimizes both cardiovascular and general metabolic health. If followed correctly, the diet has been shown to limit the risks of health conditions such as Type 2 diabetes and risk factors such as obesity that may result from excess consumption of processed carbohydrates and sugar sweetened beverages. Click here to learn more about the DASH diet.