The 21-Day Belly Fix: The Doctor-Designed Diet Plan for a Clean Gut and a Slimmer Waist

by Tasneem Bhatia

A leading integrative physician shares a groundbreaking 21-day eating plan to shed pounds, accelerate metabolism, balance your digestive system, improve gut function, and feel better every day—without dieting!
 
There are one hundred trillion reasons losing weight and staying healthy are so hard: That’s the number of bacteria living in your digestive system—good bugs and bad that influence everything from how much fat you store to whether or not you’ll get arthritis, diabetes, or Alzheimer’s.
 
As medical director of the Atlanta Center for Holistic and Integrative Medicine, Tasneem Bhatia, M.D., is an expert in unlocking the mystery of the gut and probiotic health. Combining the latest research and cutting-edge science with proven alternative nutritional remedies, Dr. Taz has developed a simple plan—one that has worked for thousands of her own patients—that aims to reprogram your digestive system, help fight disease, and strip away pounds in just 21 days! The Belly Fix accelerates metabolism, increases energy, and jump-starts weight loss immediately. Once “fixed,” you’ll continue to feel the benefits.
 
Drop pounds on the 21-Day Belly Fix plan, with more to come, as you continue to follow the program designed to balance your digestive bacteria and put you on the path to long-term health and vitality.
Speed up your metabolism with the help of research that proves a direct link between your gut bacteria and how quickly you burn fat.
Reduce inflammation and rebalance your body to help fight diabetes, arthritis, Alzheimer’s, skin disorders, and more.
Find focus and clarity with the help of simple and delicious foods that feed the healthy microorganisms in your gut—and fight the bad ones!
 
The 21-Day Belly Fix is the final word on what researchers call your “second brain” and the simple ways that fixing your diet—instead of committing to a long-term food-banishing plan—can get your gut out of the gutter and help you to start feeling great. With delicious recipes and easy swaps, The 21-Day Belly Fix is the ultimate weight-loss plan!

Praise for The 21-Day Belly Fix
 
“If you are tired of feeling bloated and blah, let The 21-Day Belly Fix be your guide to good gut health and a slim waistline. This splendid book is truly a treasure, and Dr. Taz is one the of the nation’s leading experts on integrative medicine.”—Gerard E. Mullin, M.D., associate professor of medicine, Johns Hopkins, and author of The Inside Tract and Integrative Gastroenterology


From the Trade Paperback edition.

Genres: Health, Nonfiction, Food

374 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 23, 2014

About the author

Physician, best-selling author of The 21-Day Belly Fix and What Doctors Eat, international lecturer, integrative health expert, acupuncturist, certified nutritionist, wife and mom of a young son and daughter.

Dr. Taz Bhatia M.D., a board certified physician and Founder and Medical Director of the nationally recognized Atlanta Center for Holistic and Integrative Medicine, is a specialist in the practice of integrative medicine, prevention and wellness, pediatrics, women’s health and emergency medicine.

Taz is well-known and highly regarded in medical circles for her unique ability to diagnose, develop and apply the appropriate protocol for a variety of patient needs and conditions. She believes in creating highly customized plans for patients, in an effort to provide them with an unprecedented level of care so they can achieve optimum wellness.

With 12 years of emergency room experience, including serving as a pediatric emergency room specialist, Dr. Taz believes the synergy between women and children’s health and its ultimate impact on the health of the family is profound. This is one of the core beliefs her Center was founded upon as she sees and treats patients of all ages.

“The Center is designed to help all patients navigate health solutions from numerous vantage points. We employ multiple systems of medicine, drawing from both conventional and eastern medicine, in our endeavor to create the most efficient and effective individualized treatment plans,” said Dr. Taz. “From prevention to wellness, our Center’s dedicated medical teams work tirelessly to find answers to both common and complex medical conditions.”

With an established agenda of improving the health of people at every age, Dr. Taz MD became involved in media activities starting in 2003. Since then, she has served as a medical expert for CNN Headline News, a medical contributor for various news organizations and as a spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Dr. Taz has been featured on media outlets including the Dr. Oz Show, The Weather Channel, TODAY, Access Hollywood, CNN, LIVE with Kelly and Michael. She is also a Dr. Oz Sharecare expert, a Huffington Post contributor, and served as a Prevention magazine columnist. She is an assistant professor at Emory University in Preventive and Integrative Medicine and continues to bring attention to the frequently ignored health issues of women and children. She currently serves as a Health Expert for MomCorps, MomDocs, Cancer Treatment Centers of America, and is a board member for Green of Hearts.

It was Taz’s personal health challenges, combined with what she found to be a malfunctioning health care system, which served as the catalyst for her to pursue an alternative definition of health and healthy living. As she sought answers in her own health crisis, she uncovered a wealth of information not taught in conventional medical schools.

Featured in Atlanta’s Top Docs, Dr. Taz Bhatia M.D., is a multi-talented and innovative physician and fellow of the University of Arizona Program in Integrative Medicine led by Dr. Andrew Weil, completing her fellowship in 2008.

Reviews

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Update at 51%. I am giving up on it. I don't see this working into my diet/lifestyle and honestly, since I don't feel I am in need of all that it requires, I am moving on.

I'm just under halfway through the book (42%) and while it has been interesting, now that I am getting into the actual plan with some of the recipes, I don't think I could follow through with it. I don't care to drink my meals. I don't like to drink my vegetables. I get that it is partially a cleanse, but blech. Also, unfortunately my life schedule doesn't really allow me to eat the way the diet wants. In the morning upon waking (6-7:30am)you drink diluted apple cider vinegar, then warm ginger tea, then have a couple of rice cakes with some coconut oil AND olive oil spread on them. Mid-morning, around 10, you have a protein shake. This poses a problem because this is when I am at work and getting ready to open, and typically sitting at a reference desk. I suppose I could meal prep and make it ahead and bring it to work and keep it chilled and grab it on the way to th edesk, but meh. Then at lunch (around 1pm) it has drink a green juice blend. Again, I would have to make it ahead and bring it in and keep it chilled etc. It has zero appeal factor to me. Liquified greens? Ugh. Then dinner at 5-6pm is steamed or sauteed veggies in olive or coconut oil. I don't normally get home until just after 6, making my dinner time later. Granted, this is only for the first 3 days, but even that is just a big NO from me.

I feel like I need to say that I took the quiz at the beginning of the book to gauge my gut health and in the first range of 0-8 which is a pretty healthy gut, I got 3. 0 being the best. I'm not overly concerned with my gut health, although cleanses intrigue me. I have some detox teas and I will probably save whatever recipes from this book that sound like something I can do, just not based on the prescribed schedule and routine.

Ultimately this book preaches the same things I basically already knew and am working on. Eating cleaner, being more aware of what I am eat, and eliminating or greatly reducing certain things from my diet. The one positive I am taking away from the book is the warning against NSAIDs. I guess I never realized the danger of them. I know that Ibuprofen is warned against for people of my age and older, but now that I know NSAIDs are not good either, looks like acetaminophen is the way to go.

Would I recommend this book? Hmmm, I don't think it can hurt but it just wasn't practical for me.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

Seems a little too much.

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

some interesting ideas, but too extreme for me

[Robin Tobin (On the back porch reading) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basic introduction. I was hoping for more recipes.

[Sarah Hook · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF 41%. I read this book out of curiosity and the information on gut health is interesting, but the diet itself, which is more like a cleanse is quite extreme. I just don't find this diet/cleanse to be realistic, especially for me. I don't like pretty much anything she suggested nor do I know what a lot of it is. I am not interested in eating fermented food on the regular, which is pretty much what this "diet" is. For some (the minority), this may work and maybe it isn't even viewed as extreme, but for me, this is just a big no. I figured it wasn't worth finishing since at this point in the book I already couldn't and wouldn't be doing this.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book grabbed my attention because everything in it had a reason behind it. I just finished the 21-day belly fix. I'm 5lbs lighter and feel better. I can also tell right away if something I eat doesn't sit well. The recipes are good and easy. I have discovered Turmeric, and get to eat lots of ginger (my favorite). I have cut down on sugar and caffeine, and enjoy eating more veggies. I recommend this book. The first three days are the hardest, but you don't starve at all.

[Dorie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked learning more about the gut and it inspired me to go on a no-wheat, no-dairy, no-sugar diet for the first time in my life and I lost 2 pounds...but the diet she suggests is very specific and would be hard to stick to unless you had 21 days off of work and social events.

[Trulee · Rating 2 out of 5]

I could have done without all of the Chinese medicine. I think there are a lot of other books on the same subject that are better written.

[Kelly Ehrnman]

It works. no omeprazole for 5 weeks, and no acid reflux.

[Ariana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent information on gut health and the importance thereof, however I question a lot of her practices and she had a lot of contradictory information throughout (eat only cooked vegetables... But drink a raw green smoothie every day) and there was a lot of missing information that I would have liked to see (when to add additional food for calories, when are nuts, seeds, etc acceptable to be added into the diet. You are allowed to eat coconut yogurt but can you cook with coconut milk?).

A great start to exploring the importance of the gut but not really a solid resource.

I started the diet and definitely lost weight but it was not improving my gut health enough in the short amount of time to identify any "trigger" foods so I stopped the diet early.

[Reyna Moreno · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started this book because I was on a journey to figure out if I am gluten intolerant. I was also have issues with my bowels but we won’t go into detail. There is great knowledge shared here. The diet itself is not easy but if you want to clean out your gut it will do the job. The first days were rough and you might get a wicked headache. I did feel better in the end and my energy level was up. I also lost nine pounds.

[Elham · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book helped me alot!

[Michael Hug · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very educational. Most Dr's seldom talk about the gut and how diet can have an effect on so many health issues.

InteresTing and educational. Dr. Taz is practical, funny and enjoyable. I was never taught anything about my gut before now. Thank you Dr. Taz.

[Jammye Morphis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great information!!

[Susan Seiden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read if you are looking for better optimal health, but do not want paleo or ketone. Dr. Taz has a unique approach with her varied backgrounds in healing modalities.

[LaRanda Marshall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read through the book and completed 21 days. I actually felt really good during/after. Tried it 6 months later and only got about a week in, then had to stop. I'm writing this 4 years later and on day 2/21. I've been having lots of tummy trouble and bloating so I'm hoping this reset will work wonders.

[Jane Spiteri · Rating 3 out of 5]

The gut of steel has developed some chinks. Aging sucks. While I won’t do 21 days there was definitely some suggestions that I will try to calm things down.

[Milton Louie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here is the basic plan. Eat right. Exercise. Meditate. That’s what I got out of it. Check out the details. B