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Community Corner

Eating Up Author's Healthy Advice

Local dietician enjoys success promoting lifestyle changes as her book gets wider release.

When Marla Heller first self-published her book, The Dash Diet Action Plan, she printed 25 copies in a simple binder-bound edition. That was in late 2004.

Today, her book has helped thousands worldwide to improve their health and incorporate lifestyle change. After selling 75,000 copies through word of mouth, recommendations, speaking engagements, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and her website, Heller recently sold the rights to Grand Central Publishing (formerly Warner Books), and a new edition of her book will hit bookstores Sept. 12.

The soft-spoken Heller is ecstatic, but says it hasn’t always been easy getting to this point. “It took me five years to write the book,” she explained. “I would get frustrated and want to give up sometimes, but I kept going.”

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Luckily she persevered, and just a few days before her retirement from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in Chicago, she received word that the publisher had made an offer on the book.

“Earlier this year the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet was ranked the No. 1 Best Diet Book Overall by U.S. News and World Report,” said Heller, a registered dietician and 17-year resident of Northbrook. “An agent approached me about my book and within two weeks she had sold the rights!”  

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JiJi Verrey, another Northbrook resident and portfolio investor, has used recipes from the book and says she finds the plan readable and easy to follow.

"The writing is good and the explanations are clear," Verrey noted. “Her book is great for someone who is mandated by their physician to change their lifestyle. Marla's book makes it easy."

Heller, who changed her life’s direction after a career in marketing for the chemical industry, returned to school and earned a master's degree in human nutrition and dietetics from the University of Illinois at Chicago and then completed doctoral course work in public health, specializing in behavioral sciences and health promotion.

After a short stint as a private nutritional counselor, she went on to work as a dietician for the at Great Lakes Naval Station before she took a position at HHS, where she focused on helping communities build healthier environments to prevent childhood obesity.

A past president of the Illinois Dietetic Association (IDA) and of the North Suburban Dietetic Association, Heller was recently awarded the prestigious Emerging Leader Award from the IDA. She refers to the DASH Diet as the “best unknown diet in the country.”

“The diet is wonderfully healthy, based on real foods and is something the whole family can easily follow,” she said. “Basically, it involves eating more fruits and vegetables, low-fat dairy products, whole grains, lean meats, fish and poultry and nuts and beans.” 

Not only does the diet lower blood pressure, according to Heller, but it also helps to lower the risk of heart disease, stroke and some types of cancer. It also supports reaching and maintaining a healthy weight.

Heller discovered the DASH diet when she was diagnosed with high blood pressure in May 2003. She began to follow a diet and exercise plan that had been developed by the U.S. National Institutes of Health and managed to lower her blood pressure significantly. Realizing that it might be challenging for some people to follow the plan, she developed her book in order to help others incorporate the diet into their lives.

Heller traveled as far as the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska to speak and promote the DASH diet, and the book has a wide audience with fans around the world.

"I have lost 85 pounds on the diet to date," said Christine Ambrose of Victoria, Canada. "And I no longer have hypertension either."

The book includes menus, recipes and calorie guidelines as well as tips on eating at restaurants and fast-food spots while still staying on the plan. At the end of each chapter is an area where readers can set goals and track progress.

Studies have shown that concrete plans are helpful to the success of adopting healthier behavior. Tips on how to include exercise into one's daily routine and healthy kitchen makeover ideas are also included.

Heller, now happily retired and following her passion, is working on a second book. As she puts it: “I’m doing what I love and have always wanted to do.”

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