Research

Mixed

Adherence to the DASH diet is inversely associated with all-cause, cardiovascular disease (CVD), stroke, and cancer mortality, with risk reduction increasing at higher adherence levels.

To lower your risk of dying from heart disease, stroke, or cancer, consistently follow the DASH diet principles. Focus on eating more whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and low-fat dairy, while cutting back on sodium, red meat, and sugar. Even modest adherence helps, but higher adherence (scoring above 20/40) provides even greater protection.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
The linear analysis revealed that summary HRs were 0.95 (95% CI: 0.94–0.96, I2 = 91.6%, n = 14) for all-cause, 0.96 (95% CI: 0.95–0.98, I2 = 82.4%, n = 12) for CVD, 0.97 (95% CI: 0.96–0.98, I2 = 0.00%, n = 2) for stroke, and 0.97 (95% CI: 0.95–0.98, I2 = 63.7%, n = 12) for cancer mortality per each 5-point increment of adherence to the DASH diet.
Sepideh Soltani et al. · Nutrition Journal · 2020

Why this rating

High-quality meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies with large sample sizes, though observational design limits causal inference.

Source

Adherence to the dietary approaches to stop hypertension (DASH) diet in relation to all-cause and cause-specific mortality: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies

Sepideh Soltani et al. · Nutrition Journal · 2020

DOI 10.1186/s12937-020-00554-8

Meta-analysis · 17 studiesCited 170×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →