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The National Institutes of Health announced results of a study that found that the combination of following the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet with reduced sodium levels reduced blood pressure more than either the DASH diet or lower sodium intake alone. National Heart Lung and Blood Institute Director Dr. Claude Lenfant said that "These results challenge Americans to eat the DASH diet and to reduce sodium consumption and the food industry to reduce sodium levels in foods. Meeting this challenge, along with other lifestyle changes, could prevent the rise of blood pressure with age and allow patients to control their hypertension with fewer or even no drugs."

"The combination of eating the DASH diet at a lower sodium level is a significant effect ? equal to or greater than the result you would expect from treatment with a single hypertension medication," says Dr. Frank Sacks, chair of the DASH-Sodium Steering Committee and Associate Professor of Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School. "However, the long-term health benefits of the low sodium DASH diet will depend on whether the American public is willing to make long-lasting dietary changes, including choosing lower sodium foods, and whether the food industry makes available a greater number of lower sodium food products," adds Dr. Sacks.

The findings were published in the January 4 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.