In the early 90's a group of researchers and doctors formed a organisation called The DASH Group. DASH stand for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension and following much research came up with the only diets that actually could show significant blood pressure reductions.

Recently 2 of the doctors from the DASH diet organisation have suggested an improvement to the first diet which will reduce triglycerides as well as see greater levels of the good HDL cholesterol. This is done by adding slightly increased levels of protein and fat into the diet plan.

The first DASH diet suggested a eating regimen of fruits and veg as well as some low fat dairy produce.  This DASH diet also cut out cholesterol and saturated fats and the results showed patients with lower levels of bad LDL cholesterol. Research shows however that some cholesterol is good for you and this diet actually reduced the levels of good HDL cholesterol. Along with this problem the diet did not lower triglycerides amounts.

Among other original diet suggestions were an increase in wholemeal foods, nuts and even some small treats in moderation. Hypertension is linked to sodium intake and so much emphasis was put on lowering salt content in all foods eaten.

In order to formulate a new DASH diet, 3 different diets that have proven benefits to weight loss and the heart were looked at and studied. The doctors found that a diet high in unsaturated fat and protein was beneficial. This is the opposite to the first DASH diet that had a higher intake of carbs on the menu.

The fundamentals that salt must be reduced is still an integral part of the new DASH diet. So not much has changed from the original except that a reduction of carbs and an increase of protein can help the reduce the triglycerides levels which can be unhealthy if they are too high.

However this flies in the face of recent research that shows that those who eat less than the RDA of salt daily could be over a third more likely suffer from a fatal heart condition when compared to people who exceeded RDA of 2,300 mgs daily. All this conflicting information can cause confusion to people trying to get healthy and lower their blood pressures.

Interestingly enough the low calorie diet is the one that seems to beat all others, promising the right levels of the good and bad cholesterol as well as longevity and good health at all times.