Compare the Mediterranean Diet with the DASH Diet

The Mediterranean diet is rich in fruits, vegetables, nuts/beans/seeds, and heart healthy fats. It contains whole grains, fish, limited amounts of poultry, red meat, and dairy (primarily cultured or cheese products). It may also include moderate amounts of red wine. And since it is the Mediterranean, the people get lots of vitamin D, courtesy of the sun.

The DASH diet is rich in fruits, vegetables, nuts/beans/seeds, low-fat and nonfat dairy, and includes whole grains, heart healthy fats, and moderate amounts of lean meat/fish/poultry. Most vitamin D for Americans will come from fortified dairy products. [Although, not specifically recommended in the DASH diet program, many people could benefit from a vitamin D supplement. Please check first with your physician to see if you need to supplement. People who use sunscreen, have darker skins, or live in regions where there is little direct sunlight much of the year, may not produce enough of the "sunshine" vitamin.]

The main difference between the Mediterranean diet and the DASH diet is the higher amount of heart healthy fat. And, if you want to make room for red wine, take care to avoid adding extra calories. And research has shown that incorporating more of the heart healthy fats into the DASH plan, improves blood pressure even better than the orginal DASH program.

Fortunately, The DASH Diet Action Plan does include the results from the newer DASH diet research, and conforms to the DASH principles and to the Mediterranean diet. The only change you would need to make, to make DASH more Mediterranean, would be to substitute a 3 1/2 oz glass of red wine for a serving of fruit.

The DASH Diet Action Plan is the user-friendly guide to the DASH diet. This book was developed to make it simple to understand and put into practice. And now we have a brand-new pumped up weight loss version, The DASH Diet Weight Loss Solution. It is good for heart health, and especially targets people who carry their excess weight around their middle, people with metabolic syndrome, high triglycerides, diabetes, prediabetes, and/or hypertension, who are postmenopausal, or who have PCOS.