The DASH Diet, 20 Years Later.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the publica­ tion showing the blood pressure–lowering effects of the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet.1 The DASH diet is considered an important ad­ vance in nutritional science. It emphasizes foods rich in protein, fiber, potassium, magnesium, and calcium, such as fruits and vegetables, beans, nuts, whole grains, and low-fat dairy. It also limits foods high in saturated fat and sugar.1 DASH is not a reduced-sodium diet, but its ef­ fect is enhanced by also lowering sodium intake.1 Since the creation of DASH 20 years ago, numerous trials have demonstrated that it consistently lowers blood pres­ sure across a diverse range of patients with hyperten­ sion and prehypertension. The initial DASH trial was a 4-site, randomized con­ trolled feeding study. Compared with a control diet typi­ cal of US consumption, the DASH diet produced reduc­ tions in systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) of 5.5 and 3.0 mm Hg, respectively— with results evident as early as 2 weeks after baseline.1 Blood pressure changes were observed in subgroups of men, women, racial/ethnic minorities, white indi­ viduals, and both hypertensive and prehypertensive