Older adults on a diet designed to help patients with high blood pressure reaped benefits beyond those anticipated by South Dakota State University (SDSU) researchers. Assistant professor Cydne Perry of the Department of Health and Nutritional Sciences sought to evaluate whether adults age 65 and older on the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension diet, or DASH, with a prescribed protein intake would maintain muscle mass and strength. "Muscle maintenance is a way to reduce older adults' risk of falling, thus improving their quality of life while reducing health-care costs," Perry explained.

The project is partially supported by the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture funding through the South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station.