People with very high blood pressure at the start of a low-sodium DASH diet see a bigger drop in their numbers compared to those with milder high blood pressure. This means the diet works especially well for severe cases and might help some patients need fewer blood pressure medications.

Eating less salt and following the DASH diet together lowers blood pressure more than doing just one of them alone—and the biggest drop happens in people whose blood pressure is already really high (150 or above).

If you have high blood pressure and eat a diet low in salt plus lots of fruits, veggies, and low-fat dairy, your blood pressure can drop by about 21 points — as much as taking one blood pressure pill.

If you have high blood pressure and eat a lot of salt, switching to the DASH diet can lower your blood pressure by up to 10.6 points—but if you’re already eating very little salt, the diet might not help as much. So, it works best when you’re still eating salty foods.

If you have slightly high blood pressure, eating less salt and following the DASH diet lowers both the top and bottom numbers of your blood pressure in about the same way — so both parts get better together.

Following a specific heart-healthy diet called DASH and limiting salt intake to 2,000 mg a day for three months can cut the chances of developing metabolic syndrome by about 71% in adults with slightly high blood pressure who aren't taking medication. This approach works much better than just getting standard advice on how to eat for blood pressure.