Also by Dr. Jamie Koufman
Hardcover ISBN 978-1-940561-03-5
eBook ISBN 978-1-940561-04-2
Manufactured in the United States of America
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any other storage and retrieval system, without the express written permission of Katalitix Media and Dr. Jamie Koufman.
Notice and Disclaimer
This book is intended as a reference volume only, not as a medical manual. The information given here is designed to help you make informed decisions about your health. It is not intended as a substitute for any treatment that might have been prescribed by your doctor. If you suspect that you have a medical problem, we urge you to seek medical help. Any use of this book is at the readers discretion, as the advice and strategies contained within may not be suitable for every individual.
In this book, recipes and ingredients are designated as Gluten-Free (GF), May-or-May-not-be-Gluten-Free (MMGF), Not Gluten-Free (NGF), Dairy-Free (DF), and/or Possible Trigger food (PT). The specific GF and DF designations of ingredients are shown on pages 228234. Some ingredients are designated as NGF (not gluten-free), but we have not rated every possible NGF item. The designation MMGF is usually brand-dependant, that is, some brands are GF and some are not.
You as the consumer must carefully read product labels. If you are gluten-sensitive and in doubt, look for GF on the product packaging. Unless a product is specifically labeled as GF, there may be cross-contamination; and therefore, if you are GF or DF for medical reasons, you must be personally responsible for checking all of your own ingredients, including all of those used in the recipes and recommended in this book. Foods that we recognize to be reflux trigger foods are designated as PT (Possible Trigger food); however, any food can be a trigger food for any individual, and we do not take responsibility for the possibility that some of our recipes may contain ingredients that contain one or more of any individuals specific trigger food(s).
Mention of specific companies, organizations, or authorities in this book does not imply endorsement by the authors or the publisher, nor does mention of specific companies, organizations, or authorities imply that they endorse this book.
Cover by Charles Kreloff
Book design by Barbara Aronica-Buck
Foreword
W hen I first met Dr. Jamie Koufman I was having a tough time, and by tough, I mean I felt like I was dying. I was waking up in the middle of the night gasping for air as my throat and vocal cords went into spasms caused by acid reflux. It was terrifying. I had had reflux before, but this was much worse than anything I had experienced.
I had seen ear, nose, and throat doctors, but they did not link my reflux to my other symptoms such as constant throat clearing, postnasal drip, and excessive morning throat phlegm. My voice was often hoarse, and my vocal cords looked like inflamed, frayed ropesa significant professional disability for a television reporter. No doctor ever told me that the granulomas (growths) on my vocal cords were caused by reflux, too.
Dr. Koufman became my voice and reflux doctor, and she explained how my symptoms were all related to reflux. Thanks to her, I understand reflux and my voice is fine now.
Dr. Koufman taught me a lot about respiratory reflux. I read her journal articles and listened as she explained about the different stages of reflux and about the many different conditions that are caused by acid reflux. Dr. Koufman is way ahead of her timethe medical mainstream still does not understand that reflux is much more than just heartburn and indigestion. So, Dr. Koufmans new term, respiratory reflux, encompasses the myriad aspects of acid reflux that affect the respiratory tract.
As medical professionals and the public begin to understand the full range of respiratory reflux, the question will become: So what do I do now, especially if I dont want to take acid-blocking drugs forever?
Dr. Koufmans Acid Reflux Diet is the answer. The recipes that Dr. Koufman, Sonia Huang, and Chef Philip Gelb have created are not just tasty, they will also help you conquer your acid reflux and ease your respiratory symptoms, and, as an added bonus, they are heart healthy, too. I know because Ive tried them.
I have been telling viewers about acid reflux, including respiratory reflux, ever since I became Dr. Koufmans patient. Millions of Americans are taking medications they dont need and suffering from symptoms they shouldnt have. Indeed, as Dr. Koufman puts it, the fix is a healthy diet and lifestyle that is lean, clean, green, and alkaline.
Its all here in Dr. Koufmans Acid Reflux Diet. Try this diet. You will enjoy itand youll feel better too!
Dr. Max Gomez, Medical Correspondent CBS TV
PREFACE
When Mother CookedRedux
B orn in 1947, I am a prime-time Baby Boomer, and the world has dramatically changed in my lifetime. There were two billion people on the planet in 1950, and now there are over seven billion. As the population has grown, so too has the food industry. Much of the food we eat today is not the same as it was just 50 years ago, and the changes have resulted in widespread, often life-threatening diseases such as obesity, diabetes, asthma, heart disease, and acid reflux. 1-5
When I was a child, my mother had dinner on the table promptly at 6 oclock every night. Once a month we went out to eat at a steakhouse or a Chinese restaurant. All the food we consumed was local. We actually knew the man who supplied our chickens, and we got corn on the cob in late July or August when it ripened on the farm two miles from our house.
In those days, there was no such thing as fast food, no soda machines, and no Food and Drug Administration (FDA)approved list of Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) food additives. 1,6-8 Wouldnt it be nice if we could go back to that earlier time and eat the way we did before food changed so much for the worse?
I have spent my career as a physician and scientist focused on the problem of acid reflux. With the 2010 publication of Dropping Acid: The Reflux Diet Cookbook & Cure, the floodgates opened in my practiceI suspect because of the three words reflux, diet, and cure. That book is still the most popular book on acid reflux. Since its publication, I have continued to learn about healthy eating, and almost everything that I know about reflux and nutrition I have learned from my reflux patients.
Dropping Acid: The Reflux Diet Cookbook & Cure will help you conquer reflux through healthy diet and lifestyle. But if that book has one flaw, it is that it assumes the maintenance phase is intuitive: just avoid trigger foods and eat healthy.