Marla Heller

Marla Heller is a Registered Dietitian with a Master’s degree in Human Nutrition. Heller was an early adopter of the DASH diet for transforming the lives of thousands of patients in her private practice and at the Naval Hospital, Great Lakes.

This led Heller to write the DASH Diet Action Plan. Unlike any diet before it, DASH, which stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, came out of groundbreaking NIH-funded research. Now, Heller, who was trained by one of the primary architects of the DASH diet and is herself the leading dietician putting DASH into action for over ten years, shares the secret to making the diet easy and accessible.

Rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat and nonfat dairy, lean meats, fish, beans, and nuts, DASH is grounded in healthy eating principles that lower blood pressure; reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, and some types of cancer; and support reaching and maintaining a healthy weight. No diet has a medical pedigree like DASH, and this book is a simple, actionable plan that can fit seamlessly into everyone's life and lifestyle. In the book and in her presentations she shares how you can revolutionize your health and change your life-without medication. There are no magical combinations, no forbidden foods-just fabulous, healthy eating!

Heller has taught food science and nutrition counseling and education at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), and taught nutrition to student chefs at the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago. She is a past-President of the Illinois Dietetic Association and was awarded the prestigious Emerging Leader award. She has been a spokesperson for the Midwest Affiliate of the American Heart Association. She has completed doctoral coursework in Public Health at UIC, and she has worked as a dietitian on the Heart-Lung Transplant Unit, Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, and the Cardiac Step-Down Unit at the University of Illinois Medical Center.