ENCORE: Curing Reflux Through Food, Part 1

Dr. Jamie Koufman is a pioneering ear, nose & throat specialist who coined the terms “silent reflux” and “layngopharyngeal reflux” (LPR). She specializes in diagnosing and treating voice disorders and reflux. She is the author of “Dropping Acid: The Reflux Diet Cookbook and Cure.” She contends that medicine’s obsession with acid-blocking drugs for throat complaints is misguided: “The gastroenterologists are like dinosaurs, but unlike dinosaurs, they deserve to die out.” She points out the many drawbacks of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs): They mostly don’t work, and they bring with them a host of side effects. Paradoxically, they may actually increase the risk of esophageal cancer, which they are intended to protect against. Dr. Koufman has demonstrated that complaints like hoarseness, chronic cough, throat-clearing, and bothersome throat sensations can be cured with simple lifestyle and diet changes. Asthma, too, is frequently misdiagnosed and responds to low-acid regimens when inhaled asthma drugs fail. She is an advocate of “alkaline water”, and has authored a research paper demonstrating its efficacy for reflux. Dr. Koufman is an outspoken critic of medicine’s trend toward specialization, which she calls out as profit-driven. Instead she says we need more incentives for primary care doctors to issue simple, lifestyle-oriented advice to patients, and shield them from excess procedures and medications. Her new book is entitled “Acid Reflux in Children: How Healthy Eating Can Fix Your Child's Asthma, Allergies, Obesity, Nasal Congestion, Cough & Croup.” Click HERE for part 2.