DASH, MIND or Mediterranean Diet?
To review, I follow an intermittent fasting plan. Depending on the week, it’s 18/6 or 20/4. Every few weeks, I ‘ll knock out a 24 hour fast, if it works with my daily schedule. Cravings matter a great deal with the eating plan I have chosen. I have been intermittent fasting for a few years now. When I keep on the plan, it does work with CICO (calories in, calories out) as an effective weight loss tandem.
Primarily for health reasons (kidneys), I follow the D.A.S.H./MIND/Mediterranean hybrid nutrition plan. High blood pressure can have a negative impact not only on the vascular system, but my kidneys as well. It is to my benefit to keep my B.P. within normal limits, just under 120/80 for my body. Even a slight above normal blood pressure is worth addressing as it is likely to worsen as I age, therefore attention must be paid. For a short period of time, I was on a weak B.P. medication to help lower my numbers. Within a few months of changing my eating patterns, my BP dropped close enough to normal levels to ditch the medication and continue working on my health by staying on track with my dietary changes.
What is the Difference Between the DASH, MIND and the Mediterranean Diet?
D.A.S.H. – Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension.
- Lowers sodium intake to 1,500-2,300mg a day
- Focus is vegetables, fruits and healthy whole grains
- Limits saturated fats, as you find in red meats and full fat dairy
- Restricts butter (the component of the diet I find most challenging)
- Primary focus is improvement of vascular health/blood pressure
MIND diet – Mediterranean-D.A.S.H. Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay
- Limits fruits that are not berries, encourages high berry consumption
- High in leafy greens and non-starchy vegetables
- Try to eat nuts almost every day
- Is less specific than the D.A.S.H. diet
- Try to eat more fish, beans, legumes
- Poultry is ok with limits, no red meat is advised
- Olive oil is the primary oil used
- Primary focus is improving brain health and preventing dementia
Mediterranean diet – The healthiest components of the diet consumed by peoples living in countries along the Mediterranean sea.
- Fatty fish, olive oil and nuts are best sources of fat
- Primarily plant based diet. Red meat not forbidden, but discouraged
- No limits on types of fruits and veggies.
- Your plate should be primarily vegetables, fruit and whole grains.
- Primary focus is to reduce strokes and heart failure
As you can see, there isn’t too much difference between the three diet plans. My weakness is butter, and all three limit or forbid butter completely. All three limit or forbid red meat, which I have adapted to well. All three focus on increasing your consumption of whole grains, vegetables and fruit, yet differ in which fruits and veggies are ok. In an interesting quirk, my kidneys produce stones when I get too big-salad crazy, so the MIND diet is limiting for me in that regard. Otherwise, my diet is very high in high fiber food. I enjoy oatmeal, wild rice and a tuna fish sandwich on whole wheat bread. I have some go-to recipes for every crop in my garden. One of my “challenges” which honestly shouldn’t be as it’s not a challenge at all, is to start and end each meal day with a serving of fruit or vegetable. I genuinely enjoy most fruits and veggies and try to meet my personal goal of seven servings a day.
Contrary to popular belief, the Med diet doesn’t want you to drink red wine every day. Alcohol, red wine in particular if you have to drink at all, should be consumed in moderation.
Why I chose to focus on the high fiber, whole grain, fruit and vegetable heavy diet.
I find it easier to follow than other eating plans. I enjoy eating pasta and bread. Limiting fruits and veggies to certain types is a terrible idea for me; I want to be able to eat them all. As a gardener, I can’t imagine not enjoying every bite of my harvest. I genuinely enjoy eating a lot of fruits and vegetables.
I have always looked for ways to increase my fiber consumption. Fruits and veggies are a significant component of a high fiber diet. Not to mention the minerals and vitamins they provide. A good choice for me.
Another reason is cost. Red meats are expensive. While I can’t see myself going full vegetarian, I was ready to significantly reduce the burden on my wallet and daily calorie count by cutting my consumption of red meats.
Why not KETO for me?
My kidneys do NOT like a lot of animal proteins. I tried keto a few times, but always felt terrible and wasn’t seeing results, even when avoiding the obvious bad-for-me foods like bacon. I track my weight loss and so many additional factors you wouldn’t believe me if I told you. In any case, my macro tracking confirmed keto does not work for me, in fact, I had slightly better weight loss when my Carb macros were higher. I don’t hate keto. I do not even doubt it works for some people. I bet it does. I can’t say what works for another person’s health.
a side note. CKD (Chronic Kidney Disease) is embarrassingly underdiagnosed. If you feel off or unwell, go to a licensed medical professional and get some bloodwork done. Actually, if you feel great but want to change your diet, still consider getting some bloodwork done first and have a conversation with your trusted nutrition specialist about what plan works best for your physiology and lifestyle.
You should confer with a nutrition and/or medical professional before undertaking anything I (or any other stranger on the internet) have done. I went to my doctor and created a plan based on my bloodwork, I suggest the same for you.
Grateful For:
-Another pretty day! Temps in the 70’s. Barely any breeze. Just a gentle warmth from the sun.
-Another week, everyone Covid free!!
-With a birthday chocolate cake calling me, I somehow managed to stay in my IF eating window, even if calories limits went out the window. Sorry CICO!
-Another Anthony Bourdain Pumpkin shared. I still have more to share, which blows me away. I planted three Musquee De Provence squash plants and each plant has given me at least two large squashes! At least three fifteen pounders. One squash I haven’t picked just keeps getting larger. Even though an a-hole bunny is chewing on it, it keeps expanding. I can’t wait to find out how much it weighs! I’ll be so psyched if it hits 20 pounds.
Edit: At the end of the season, The Bourdain weighed in at 38 pounds!!!!
Godspeed y’all
SOURCES
https://www.kidney.org/atoz/content/Dash_Diet
The End