People who live in Louisiana know a lot about food. Unfortunately, our traditional Louisiana diet usually gets us into a bit of trouble with our healthcare providers because we also tend to be overweight from overeating all of this homemade deliciousness. But there is hope for those that love good food and still want to lose weight.

Feet on a bathroom scale - Isolated
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That hope comes in the form of a weight loss program that was created at LSU's Pennington Biomedical Research Center. The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension or DASH diet has been honored as one of the nation's best ways to lose weight by U.S. News and World Report. 

Since the diet program made its first splash in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1997 it has been quoted more than 6,000 times by others. The program not only aids participants in weight loss but by design, it also helps those who have issues with high blood pressure too. In fact, the DASH diet has been recognized for its protective benefits against cancer too.

ENJOY
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Creators of the DASH diet say the program allows those who use to enjoy almost everything in moderation. Moderation is the keyword. Another reason the DASH diet has been so widely embraced is the fact that the food choices allow for an eating plan that benefits the entire family.

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If you'd like to find out more about the DASH diet you can visit the Pennington Biomedical Center website. You'll find the eating plan which is rich in fruits, whole grains, and low-fat dairy foods easy to follow and easy to understand. As always before you begin any weight loss program you should consult your personal physician and get their guidance before moving forward.

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Stacker used data from the 2020 County Health Rankings to rank every state's average life expectancy from lowest to highest. The 2020 County Health Rankings values were calculated using mortality counts from the 2016-2018 National Center for Health Statistics. The U.S. Census 2019 American Community Survey and America's Health Rankings Senior Report 2019 data were also used to provide demographics on the senior population of each state and the state's rank on senior health care, respectively.

Read on to learn the average life expectancy in each state.