In February 2019 researchers from Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, USA and Spain published their review of the medical scientific literature to assess the association between the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) dietary pattern and cardiovascular disease and other cardiometabolic outcomes. The DASH diet is widely recommended by international diabetes and heart association guidelines and this review was undertaken to summarize the available evidence for the update of the European Association of the Study of Diabetes guidelines. A total of 53 reviews and studies were included in the analysis and involved a total of 946,554 individuals. Results showed that the DASH dietary pattern was associated with a reduced incidence of cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes type 2, and reduced blood pressure levels as well as total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, HbA1c, fasting blood insulin and body weight. There was no effect on HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, fasting blood glucose, insulin resistance, or C-reactive protein. It should however be noted that the quality of evidence was moderate for blood pressure levels, was low for the incidence of cardiovascular disease and ranged from very low to moderate for the other outcomes.
Chiavaroli L et al. DASH Dietary Pattern and Cardiometabolic Outcomes: An Umbrella Review of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. Nutrients. 2019 Feb 5;11(2). pii: E338