Tired of Feeling the Burn? Low-Acid Diet May Help
NYT, By TARA PARKER-POPE | November 7, 2011
This year, a small study found that restricting dietary acid could relieve reflux symptoms like coughing and hoarseness in patients who had not been helped by drug therapy, according to the journal Annals of Otology, Rhinology & Laryngology.
In the study, 12 men and 8 women with reflux symptoms who hadn’t responded to medication were put on a low-acid diet for two weeks, eliminating all foods and beverages with a pH lower than 5.
The lower the pH, the higher the acidity; highly acidic foods and beverages include diet sodas (2.9 to 3.7), strawberries (3.5) and barbecue sauce (3.7). According to the study, 19 out of 20 patients improved on the low-acid diet, and 3 became completely asymptomatic.
The author, Dr. Jamie Koufman, who specializes in voice disorders and laryngopharyngeal reflux (the kind associated with hoarseness), advocates a low-acid diet in her new book, “Dropping Acid: The Reflux Diet Cookbook & Cure.”
Read more – Low-Acid Diet