What Are the Effects of Potatoes, Utilizing Specific Cooking Methods, on Blood Pressure in Hypertensive Persons With and Without Type II Diabetes Who Follow the DASH Diet for 6 Weeks?

Subjects will follow the DASH diet for 2 weeks to establish baseline blood pressure and then will be randomized to a 4-week intervention study with assigned dietary patterns (DASH-NP as a control diet, DASH-FP diet with only fried potatoes, or DASH-NFP diet with only non-fried potatoes) in accordance with the protocol given above. Before intervention, each group will receive a cooking demonstrations, samples, and recipes to show the correct preparation method and seasoning ingredient to use according to each treatment group. The control group will receive a cooking demonstration including DASH diet recipes without potatoes. Potatoes will be provided for participants in the potato groups allowing for one serving a day of potatoes prepared according to their treatment group.

The control diet will be the standard DASH diet but with no potatoes. DASH-FP will include 5 servings of fried potatoes each week. DASH-NFP will include 5 servings of non-fried potatoes each week. Participants will be instructed to maintain the broad requirements of the DASH diet on their own. A 7-day menu cycle from the DASH-Sodium study for each dietary pattern at different energy levels will be used as the basis for the recommended diets. There will be weekly contact with the participants in which the DASH diet will be reinforced. The goal of the weekly sessions will be to assist participants in learning how to buy and prepare the appropriate foods according to their dietary pattern, to enhance their motivation to choose to eat those foods, and to overcome obstacles to following the diet.