Adhering to the DASH diet can help control nighttime blood pressure and reduce the risk of fatty liver disease

A healthy eating pattern not only helps prevent disease, it is the basis for disease treatment

Recently, Gao Xiang, a professor at the School of Public Health of Fudan University, Na Muzi, a professor at the School of Health and Human Development at Penn State University, Wang Li, a researcher at the School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Wu Shouling, a professor at Kailuan General Hospital, and their team collaborated on the international journal Nutrition Science.

In the study "Adhering to the DASH diet helps control the amplitude of nocturnal blood pressure fluctuations in the elderly in China", 324 elderly Chinese aged ≥ 60 years who were not taking antihypertensive drugs were included.

The researchers calculated the participants' DASH dietary scores based on information such as the average daily intake and nutrient density of various foods; through 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure, the participants were calculated during the day (06:00-21:59) and at night.

The paper concluded that adherence to the DASH dietary pattern was associated with a reduction in the magnitude of nocturnal blood pressure fluctuations in older adults, a relationship independent of other factors such as sleep parameters

The study "Adherence to the DASH Diet Reduces the Risk of Fatty Liver in Chinese" included about 12,000 Chinese with an average age of 51.

The investigators assessed the association between the DASH dietary score and fatty liver by means of multiple logistic regression models based on exhaustive dietary assessments and subjects' fasting blood results at study entry

Specifically, compared with participants with lower DASH diet scores, those with the highest scores (top 1/5) were 18% less likely to develop fatty liver disease

In the DASH diet, different food composition groups have different degrees of influence on fatty liver risk

The paper points out that adherence to the DASH diet is associated with a reduced risk of fatty liver disease in Chinese, and the DASH diet is strongly recommended, especially for women, overweight/obese, and people with higher CRP levels

Xiang Gao said, "Previous studies have focused on daytime blood pressure, while nighttime blood pressure has been neglected for a long time

In addition, Gao Xiang said that there is still a certain gap between the general dietary habits of the Chinese population and the recommendation of the DASH diet

　　(Source: New Perspectives in Medicine)

"China Food News" (July 20, 2022 03 edition)

　　(Editor-in-charge: Han Songyan)