DASH Diet Detox: 14-day Quick-Start Plan to Lower Blood Pressure and Lose Weight the Healthy Way

by Kate Barrington

A powerful, easy-to-follow cleanse utilizing the scientifically-proven DASH diet—the #1 overall diet according to U.S. News & World Report.

Shedding pounds, lowering blood pressure and detoxing your body have never been easier thanks to the DASH Diet Detox . This helpful handbook offers all the tools you need for a healthy weight loss plan,

•Easy-to-use 14-day meal plans
•Delicious recipes for every meal
•Ready-to-go shopping lists
•Superfood suggestions for natural detoxing
•Tricks for breaking unhealthy habits
•Advice on transitioning from detox to diet

Drawing from the diet rated #1 overall by U.S. News & World Report five years in a row, the DASH Diet Detox shows you how to quickly lose pounds and start living a healthier life today.

Genres: Nonfiction, Health

240 pages, Paperback

First published December 8, 2015

Reviews

[Dawn Livingston · Rating 2 out of 5]

I only skimmed it and won't follow the meal recommendations or the recipes (though a few are long shots, but possibilities nonetheless).

I like it because my doctor recommended it out of all the diets out there. And it was seconded by my nutrionist/dietician. It's based on dietary recommendations from the National Hearth, Lung and Blood Institute.

It talks about stuff I've already heard from the Doctor and some other diets i.e. eats mostly veggies and fruit, eat fish and nuts and lean meats, cut back or cut out sugar and salt, eat whole grains.

Easier said than done. As much as I love veggies I just don't eat them enough.

As to the recommended meals they have... not gonna happen. I don't like mango or fruit in general except maybe applesauce which they want you to eat with no sugar added. I don't think my store has that kind of applesauce and I'm not making it myself. I also don't like yogurt.

Don't get me wrong, I haven't decided I'm not going to change and have just dug my heals in. I've tried making small changes that my doctor said was okay. I eat All Bran for breakfast, or I've discovered peanut butter and honey oatmeal. Normally you wouldn't get me to touch oatmeal but I love the peanut butter and honey. Of course I can see my doctor's face when I tell her about it. The oatmeal is good, the peanut butter is probably the worst oatmeal I could choose. Leave it to me to pick the worst of the best (oatmeal). I've also tried eating more egg whites as recommended but I only eat them rarely because you guessed it, I don't really like egg whites. Or if I eat them I have to have them cooked in butter and served with toast and butter and jelly. I also eat cream of wheat or cream of rice neither which the doctor is thrilled but I figure has to be better than sugary breakfast cereals (though I do eat my cream of rice with some butter and brown sugar).

I started taking flax seed supplements because they're supposed to be good for your heart, for your cholesterol and that's my problem. My blood pressure is good so I'm not worried about my salt intake and I'm not diabetic (I was pre-diabetic but then I started taking frequent walks in the summer with my dog and that is why I'm not long pre-diabetic and in the normal range, don't let anyone tell you that a little exercise doesn't help). My other issue is my gradual weight gain. I'm five feet tall and about 205. I'd like to lose 50 pounds even if the doctor's would prefer I weighed something like 120. Would be nice, but that ship has sailed. I haven't weighed 120 since I was about 20, a looooong time ago.

So, this book reinforced what I already knew/suspected, and though I'm not going to follow the meal plans it might give me ideas as to what I can eat (what I don't mind eating to replace what I really like to eat and really shouldn't). I often have tuna on an english muffin with a serving or less of mayo. I got the idea for this from a similar book. To jazz the tuna up I add seasoned salt, not a bad choice if you don't have to watch your salt intake. I think that's a good choice, it has tuna which I'm supposed to eat, it has a small amount of bread (smaller than slices of bread) and a small serving of mayo which I get the impression is okay in small quantities.

So if you're going to get any diet book, get one about the Dash diet. Always talk to your doctor about the food you eat, your health. Sometimes you get conflicting info. I understand that. Read this book and do the best you can in making changes to your diet. And as usual portion control is major and is a major struggle with me. I overeat like crazy, and on top of that eat donuts too while not eating healthily enough the rest of the time.

The bottom line is that even before you get this book you have to make the conscience decision to make changes. Getting this book is a good step in the right direction. You might want to refer back to this book.

And don't give up! Even if you don't get this book, like me. Every day is a clean slate, a new day. Forget the day before if you ate stuff that you knew wasn't the best. So what. Stick to the right stuff today, or as much as you can. And good luck!!

[MiRELLA (Miriam) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative on ways to detox your body by following their food and smoothie recipes by adhering to their simple flexible plan. This 14 day diet book is used as introductory to see if you like it and if you want to continue from this introductory diet to the longer 28 day diet. The Dash diet was created to help individuals lower their blood pressure without the use of medication by eating nutritious whole foods instead processed foods. By following its guidelines it also gives the individual the extra benefits of better eating habits, weight loss and detoxification too.
One thing I learned from the book that was helpful for me, was the use of certain spices and herbs to use in your diet that would be beneficial to you. Spices that can be used in your recipes that will help your body get rid of its unhealthy toxins. This was helpful to me because I didn't know a lot about these spices and the awesome benefits to my body! Awesome to know that you can get this little extra by just sprinkling a little or (a lot!) into your food! Easy Peasie! Extra boost of health added! Nice!
The diet was realistic enough for me to follow in that it allowed for me to make mistakes. (Which happens so often when I'm following a diet. I either get bored or just want to indulge myself.) For example, if you choose to allow yourself a treat at times or if you slip up, they suggest, as an example, having the 80/20 rule of dieting. Where you strive to follow the rules 80% of the time then allow a small leeway for mistakes 20% of the time. Another plus of the Dash diet was that it was created for individuals to maintain throughout their lifetime, not just a quickie fad diet.
I also liked that it had the calculations for figuring out your BMR.(Basal metabolic rate)I never understood what that meant or it's importance in dieting. Lastly I LOVED the smoothies recipes! Yum! So good!
My only complaint was the recipes. I wish they would've included the nutritional content with the recipes. haha! This is a diet book for goodness sake! :)

*I received this book in a Good Reads giveaway. A special Thank~you to Kourtney Joy at UlyssesPress for this free book for my honest opinion.* TY! :) I'm very grateful to Ulysses Publishing Co. for receiving this Awesome book!!

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice primer to the DASH diet. Includes many recipes to get started. Not all are winners. Some of these are genius and delicious (mini egg muffins) while others are somewhat bland (applesauce oatmeal bars).

[Maike · Rating 5 out of 5]

I checked out Marla Heller’s books on DASH from my library but found that they didn’t incorporate information on cleanses and superfoods that are trending now. Kate’s book offers a similar approach to making lifestyle changes, but provides a more comprehensive list of “allowed” foods that are inclusive of coconut oil and other “modern” ingredients. I like her explanation of the program and the health facts she offers to introduce her program and recipes. I will take a diy approach to recipe building, but found that her book answered some of the questions other DASH information did not give me.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great recipes but lacking data

The author presents great basic information about the DASH diet as well as some useful tools such as shopping lists. There are 14 day and 28 day detox menu plans to help the reader get started. The appendix includes many great smoothie recipes too! My biggest issue with this book is the blatant lack of nutritional information. It’s a health/diet cookbook but absolutely no nutritional data for each recipe. Hopefully future editions will be updated to reflect this discrepancy.

[A · Rating 4 out of 5]

Looks like a diet that would be easy to follow but I don't like the 14-day and/or the 28-day plan. Many of the recipes are for 4+ servings and the plans only call for you eating 1 serving thus a lot of waste! I know they like to introduce a lot of different types of recipes but really wish someone who make a diet plan that had you make a recipe and eat it over the next few days so as not to waste sooo much food. Definitely will have to modify (either make smaller recipes) or make own 14-day or 28-day plan.

[Amanda Dicicco · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made my stomach growl especially when it came to the smoothie section. I’m a smoothie addict.

[Candace W · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some decent recipes to try out in this one.

[Gay Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

The specific meal plan for day is included, plus recipes.

[Kat O'B · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a copy o this book from Goodreads First Reads. This evening I clicked to the title to enter my review comments, only to see that Sabrina had stated virtually the exact comments I was going to make. Decent nutrition info and explanation of the DASH diet principles, mostly basic stuff. Also many intriguing recipes that I will try, but why in the world would a book promoting a healthy diet and calorie awareness not provide the nutrition info, including calorie content, of each recipe?? How can one mix and match the menus without having the nutrition info? This oversight drives me crazy in any cookbook, but especially one promoting a specific diet plan. I enjoyed reading it and will try the recipes, but the lack of nutrition info per serving size would be a factor that would keep me from buying this book if I skimmed it on a bookstore shelf. Maybe the author will add it to the 2nd edition!!

[Sabrina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a copy of this through Goodreads First Reads giveaways.

I'm a cookbook addict and always looking for new healthy recipes and ideas. Overall I am pleased with this cookbook, it has a lot of useful information, especially for an absolute beginner. I like the included shopping list ideas & the information on detoxifying herbs and spices, but mostly I was interested in the recipe section. I know I will be using them soon but was disappointed the nutritional information was not included. This is a plan that focuses on learning new healthy habits and even states that it does not require calorie counting, but it would have been convenient to have that information included as an option.

[Steven Schaedel]

Very informative.

A good read for anyone with blood pressure problems.