>> Dr. Terry Simpson: This is sort of episode two of our miniseries about

food isn't a prescription pad. We've already

debunked in episode one the idea that food is

medicine. You may remember that Hippocrates never

said that, no matter how many times a wellness

influencer might report that or RFK

Jr saying it. Well, again, if RFK

Jr is your fact checker, you are in a world of

hurt. But here's the thing. Food is

powerful. Food is empowering.

Lifestyle changes continue to be

the cornerstone upon which physicians

try to help you. The right foods can

actually lower your blood pressure. And there's an entire diet

that was designed for it called the DASH diet. And it

works, just not as well as actual medicine.

So today we're going to talk about bananas, beans, leafy

greens, but why they might not replace

your hydrochlorothiazide or lisinopril or beta

blocker.

I'm your Chief Medical Explanationist, Dr. Terri Simpson,

and this is Fork U Fork University,

where we bust a few myths, make sense of the

madness, and teach you a little bit about food

and medicine.

DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop

Hypertension. It's often called America's version

of the Mediterranean diet. Why? Because when

researchers were shaping the Mediterranean diet

guidelines, another group asked narrower question.

What foods and what food groups could directly lower blood

pressure? And here's what made dash

different. Researchers didn't just hand out

pamphlets. They cooked all the food for the

participants. Every meal, every snack,

every day. That level of control is

expensive and hard to do, but it's why the

DASH sodium studies are so powerful.

They could say with confidence, this diet

lowered blood pressure. The DASH diet

emphasizes fruit, vegetables, especially

potassium rich fruits like bananas,

beans, leafy greens, whole grains, lean

proteins, fish, poultry, and low fat dairy.

And more importantly, cutting back on sodium

sweets and cutting back on red meat.

And DASH works because potassium, magnesium and

calcium relax blood vessels and balance

sodium. The leafy greens and things like beets

actually help your body produce more nitrous oxide.

Fiber helps too. So when you

flood your body with these nutrients, your arteries get

less stiff and your blood pressure will come down.

In trials, the DASH diet lowered

systolic blood pressure. That's the top number, by

about 11 millimeters of mercury.

That's about the same thing as taking some blood pressure

pills. We actually have Talked about the DASH diet

previously in episode 46 of 4U, and it's

worth repeating. This is one of the most

studied diets out there. In the original

DASH trial, blood pressure dropped within

two weeks. That's Quick. Other

studies following it confirmed the same thing.

An 8 to 11 millimeter reduction in systolic and a

5 to 6 millimeter reduction in the diastolic or

lower number. Here's the kicker. It

worked best when paired with low sodium

intake. This was one of the first diets to

clearly show that less salt meant lower

blood pressure. Now there's people who think that

unlimited salt is just fine. They're

wrong. Excess sodium is

directly tied to high blood pressure or heart

disease, stroke, and even stomach

cancer. Now let's tackle

the exercise angle. A lot of folks

buy salty electrolyte drinks, then think they

need them every time they work out. For most people

who exercise less than an hour, you don't need

electrolytes. Water is fine. Where

electrolytes matter is prolonged or high

intensity exercise, usually more than one or

two hours, especially in the heat or with heavy sweating.

Think marathon runners in Phoenix, Arizona in

the summer. That just is torture. But it actually

happens. But that's when sodium helps prevent

hyponatremia, which is a dangerous

condition where over drinking plain water

dilutes your body's sodium. But here's a

catch. Many sports drinks don't even have enough

sodium to replace what you've lost. In those cases,

salty snacks or actual food work better.

And after exercise, if you're eating a normal meal, plain

water plus food is usually enough for

recovery. And now the scam.

You've seen them shirtless salesmen on

Instagram selling overpriced mango flavored

salt packets as if they're miracle electrolyte

replacements, hawking them on streets as people go

off to the shore to try and enjoy a day in the

sun. It's just nonsense on

stilts. The Dash trials proved

beyond argument that excess sodium

raises blood pressure and with it, the risk

of heart disease and stroke. So while these

bros tell you salt is the fountain of life,

what they're really selling is a faster trip to your

cardiologist. Here's the

electrolyte replacement has a role, but in

very specific settings.

Prolonged endurance exercise,

heavy sweating, extreme heat. For almost

everyone else, it's unnecessary. And for

some, it's dangerous. So

who's most at risk? People with high blood pressure?

People with heart failure? People with kidney disease because more

salt means more fluid retention and more

complications. Women, smaller

body size and lower sweat rates make

them more likely to over hydrate and develop

hypon. Older

athletes and those with low body mass, the

margins are even slimmer. Those dudes might

actually be hurting themselves. And recreational athletes,

where most of us as weekend warriors,

we need to not be following that outdated advice

to drink as much as possible. Those are the ones who

end up over hydrated, not the pros.

But even in ultra endurance events,

sodium supplementation does not reliably

prevent hyponatremia if you drink more than

you sweat out. In fact, it can make the

problem worse. The Wilderness Medical

Society and the American College of Sports Medicine

both say the same thing. Sodium should only

be added when sweat losses are high. And fluids should

be guided by thirst, not by some

influencer's affiliate code. So yes,

if you're running a hundred mile ultramarathon in the

desert, sodium may have a role.

But buying the mango flavored salt packets for a

half hour jog? You're not an athlete. You're

a customer.

So what does a DASH look like in real life? On your plate, Getting

away from the shirtless salesman of supplements and scams.

Breakfast. A bowl of oatmeal and berries and a banana

pan full of unsalted nuts. Lunch. Black

beans, lentil soup, veggie salad, vinaigrette,

grilled salmon, side of leafy greens, maybe brown

rice, and maybe a little bit of extra low fat

yogurt for some calcium. That's a day on the DASH

diet. Did you notice? No salty canned soup, no

fast food fries, no processed snack. And here's the challenge.

It's not about eating one banana. It's about

changing your entire eating pattern.

Now let's compare it to medication.

One pill, like an ACE inhibitor, calcium channel

block, or diuretic can lower your systolic blood pressure by

20 to 40 millimeters of mercury, which is double

or triple what dash can do. And here's the other difference.

Meds don't depend upon whether you ate, ah, your kale salad today.

They aren't concerned if you decided to have some french

fries that were extra salty. They work consistently

every time you take them. So, yes, DASH

helps, but it's not going to replace your beta blocker, your

ACE inhibitor, your calcium channel blocker, your diuretic.

Here's a takeaway. The DASH diet's

fantastic. I endorse it completely. It

lowers blood pressure, improves overall health, and pairs

beautifully with medicine. But if you're

trying to control high blood pressures with bananas and beans

alone, you're setting yourself up for

disappointment. Food helps,

medicine saves. And please

do not buy into the myth that unlimited salt is

healthy or that you should get the pink

Himalayan salt. High sodium raises

blood pressure. DASH studies proved it. Electrolyte

drinks, save them for marathoners, not, uh,

Morning walkers. And the sweet

spot is always food and

medicine. So when you see that shirtless salesman

of supplement and scam standing on the side of road saying, hey, you want

some of these electrolyte drinks? Let me give you some for free. You can buy it on

Amazon. Walk on by. Enjoy

your bottled water.

This has been episode two of, uh, Food is in a Prescription Pad.

Next time, when salmon is in a stent, how, uh, the

Mediterranean diet lowers risk but still doesn't open

blocked arteries. I'm Dr. Terry Simpson, your

chief medical explanationist. Remember, bananas are great, but they're

not beta blockers. Fork U is

produced, researched and written by me, Dr. Terri

Simpson. It is distributed by our friends at Simpler Media

and the pod God, Mr. Evotera. For references

and more, please please visit yourdoctorsorders.com

and4q.com and here is the constant

disclaimer. I am a board certified physician

and certified in culinary medicine, but I am

not your physician. This podcast is for

education, not for personal medical advice. Always

talk to your own doctor and registered dietitian

before making changes to your health. Especially if you're going

to buy one of those silly electrolyte packets because you

actually harm yourself. Get to know your

doctor. Not a chiropractor, not an eastern shame.

Alright, everybody, have a good week.

You know, Ivo, some folks think that if they eat bananas, beans

and kale, they can toss out their blood pressure meds. That's like saying you don't need

a seatbelt. If you drive carefully, it works till the crash.

And the same goes for those mangroves flavored salt packet

sold by the shirtless Instagram Bros. It's not

performance science, that's performance scam. I'll

stick with my meds, my bananas, and keep the show going

because we're only on episode two of this series

and we've got like a hundred to go

and. No, the pension plan

is we just die with our boots on, buddy.

Aw.

>> Speaker B: Uh, damn. Oh, well, I get to save a lot

of money on those sugary sports drinks, I guess. Though

I might spend them all on bananas. That's bananas.

See what I did there? Yeah.