Purdue: Adults who are following the DASH-style eating
pattern to lower their blood pressure can expand their protein options
to include lean, unprocessed pork, according to research from Purdue University. The DASH diet emphasizes portion size, eating a variety of foods and getting the right amount of nutrients. “This study supports that the DASH diet can include lean, unprocessed red meats in the appropriate serving sizes,” said Wayne Campbell, a professor of nutrition science. The study, which compared lean, unprocessed pork
with chicken and fish as the predominant protein source in a DASH-style
diet, is published online in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
This study applies only to cuts of unprocessed
lean pork, such as tenderloin and fresh, uncured ham trimmed of visible
fat. Each serving size was three ounces. These findings should not be
extrapolated to other pork products with higher fat and salt content,
Campbell said.
The effectiveness of the DASH diet, which stands
for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, limits red meat to reduce
total and saturated fat as well as sodium. The DASH diet is often
recommended to reduce blood pressure and is focused on the increased
consumption of fruits and vegetables, whole-grains, low-fat dairy, nuts,
poultry and fish, while reducing fats, red meats, including pork, and
added sugars.
Many cuts of red meat, including beef or pork
tenderloin and fresh ham, meet the USDA guidelines for lean, which is
less than 10 grams total fat and less than 4.5 grams of saturated fat
per 100 grams. Extra lean is less than 5 grams total fat and less than
two grams saturated fat per 100 grams.
“If people have to rely only on fish and chicken
their diet choices can be limited, and our findings support that lean
pork may be a viable option for people who are consuming a DASH diet
without compromising the effectiveness of the diet plan,” said Drew
Sayer, a doctoral student in nutrition science and a co-author on the
study.
Hypertension, which is high blood pressure, is a
risk factor for cardiovascular and kidney disease. About 30 percent of
American adults live with hypertension and 65 percent of those 60 years
and older have high blood pressure.
The 19 participants in the study had elevated high blood pressure and their average age was 61.
“The people in the study were at risk for
hypertension, and they represent the 60 percent of Americans with
prehypertension who are on the road to clinically high blood pressure,”
said Sayer.
The study’s participants consumed a DASH-style
diet for two, six-week periods, and they either ate lean pork or chicken
and fish as the main protein source. They had a four-week break then
consumed the alternate meat. Blood pressures were taken throughout the
study, including at the beginning of each six-week period and at the end
of the study.
Pre- and post-intervention manual and 24-hour
blood pressures were not different between either DASH option of pork or
chicken and fish. Consumption of these DASH-style diets for six weeks
reduced all measures of blood pressure with no differences in responses
between DASH with chicken and fish and DASH with pork.
The study also included Amy Wright, a research
dietitian in the Department of Nutrition Science, and Ningning Chen, a
doctoral student in statistics in the College of Science.