Customer Reviews

Dropping Acid: The Reflux Diet Cookbook & Cure

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

My husband has had chronic GERD for years without knowing it. He started having symptoms that didn't make sense around last January. He was short of breath, cleared his throat a lot, had nausea and an upset stomach, and finally passed out in the middle of the night. I found him unconscious on the bathroom floor. After months of tests his GI doctor diagnosed him with Barrett's syndrome, a precancerous condition of the esophagus, but he couldn't explain the respiratory involvement. Worse yet, the only solutions offered were very invasive - surgery to remove the abnormal cells or light therapy with not the best chance of success. We needed a second opinion and we found Dr. Koufman. She ran different tests that tracked his acid level during an entire day of activities, including while eating, sleeping, coughing, everything. My husband had an enormous amount of acid and was refluxing all the way up to his larynx. The standard course of treatment from the GI doctor included a one-a-day medication that did not last the full 24 hours for my husband, so since he took it in the morning, it stopped working while he was sleeping,in the worst position for reflux to again attack the esophagus that was trying to heal all day.

Within a couple of days of meeting Dr. Koufman, my husband was on the strict phase of the diet. It wasn't easy since he was previously working in the wine trade and had to completely stop drinking wine, coffee, pretty much everything except water, milk, aloe juice and camomile tea. She also changed his medications to better control the condition over 24 hours. Within about 3 weeks, he started feeling noticeably better. After a couple of months, he went back for more tests and his condition had improved dramatically. This all happened before the book was published and when it came out he was so excited by the recipes. What a difference it has made to be able to enjoy gourmet-style food after months of just obeying a list of forbidden foods. Now his condition has almost completely reversed, he has lost 35 pounds, and he is able to start adding things back in, like Gala apples.

Although a life-threatening disease is never a good thing, this experience has changed life for our entire family. Dr. Koufman's care and now her invaluable book have not only turned around my husband's condition and allowed him to take charge of his health, but the delicious recipes have allowed him to enjoy food again without feeling like he is stuck with a life-sentence of bland.

This book is a 'must read/must use' for anyone who is willing to take charge of their reflux disease.

A thoughtfully crafted book, the authors provide an easy to follow diet with delicious, creative recipes that are fun to prepare. Lifestyle changes are clearly stated. And, for those inclined to delve a bit deeper, the science of reflux disease is presented in a way that is not only understandable but is also enjoyable to read.

In the 8 weeks I have been following 'The Reflux Diet', my LPR symptoms have decreased dramatically, I am sleeping better, am more energized and have lost more than 18 pounds. I fully expect my next checkup to reveal 'nearly normal vocal cords', the first time I will have heard those words in more than 2 decades!

Buy the book. Use it.

Don't let the glossy photographs of the recipes in this book fool you. Cleverly disguised as cookbook, this book is both sophisticated and scientific in presenting a groundbreaking view of and approach to a highly misunderstood and under-diagnosed condition--acid reflux. (Of course, it is also a terrific cookbook.) By teaming up with Master Chef, Mark Bauer, Drs. Koufman and Stern, present not only a persuasive treatise as to how, when and why the modern American diet is literally "eating us alive." This book is also a specific, dietary road map that can help those afflicted.
Brilliant in structure, the book starts with what every patient wants to know, "How can you fix me, doc?" The "Cure" is then presented through the journey of discovery that these physician-scientists completed over many decades. This book is written with the patient, the layperson, in mind. The authors ably explain the complexities of how acid reflux from the stomach results in tissue damage and symptoms not only in the stomach and esophagus, but all up and down the airways, causing a variety of conditions one would not ordinarily associate with a "GI" disease. Asthma, sinusitis, vocal symptoms and chronic cough, to name but a few, all can be caused by acid reflux.
Several important new discoveries are highlighted and tied together early on, making the case for following the dietary recommendations made less onerous with delicious appearing, albeit slightly sophisticated, recipes.
The critical role of pepsin was discovered by Dr. Koufman; and it is unfortunately poorly understood by many physicians treating these patients. Knowing that it may be re-activated by acidic foods being put in the patients mouth, days after any reflux comes up from the stomach, is critical in understanding why reflux symptoms are increasing, reflux is affecting different areas of the body, is becoming more virulent (seen in the rising rate of esophageal cancer) and is fast becoming a national health hazard of the greatest proportion.
Most interesting is the research that went into developing the historical perspective of how America's food and our society's eating habits have been transformed. Market forces appealed to our increasing preference for food and beverage variety. Legislation was created to protect our food supply as transcontinental shipping became more commonplace. Both have had unintended negative consequences which are hard to reverse. Simply telling the patients, no matter how much they might suffer, that they cannot eat this or that, just doesn't work.
And that is where these physicians go beyond the science. They fill a much needed gap by laying out some basic food rules. Then they engage a master chef to create recipes that look, sound, and taste delicious. No more excuses for the foodie who doesn't want to give up taste for health. This is integrative medical care at its best!
While some of these recipes seem daunting (and perhaps more time consuming that I might like), most can be tweaked and easily adapted for the less culinarily talented amongst us. The photographs alone, all taken by the authors, are enticing enough to want to make one try.
So, for all you acid reflux sufferers - and for all you doctors who care for these sufferers - you will feel much better after reading and cooking with Dropping Acid--The Reflux Diet Cookbook and Cure.
I certainly did!

The reviews for this book were great. The previews online were great. The cookbook is not great. The best part of the book is the overall reflux description at the beginning of the book. The chart listing the ph of various foods is good.

The book touts ginger, aloe vera and bananas as a sort of reflux "super foods." Unfortunately, there are very few recipes that actually include these food items. Instead, nearly ALL of the recipes include butter, orange juice or whole milk. Seriously?!?!? I'm not a reflux physician, but I know enough to know that I have to stay away from those three foods all the time. The other thing that was odd is that cookbooks usually have wonderful pictures of the food and I can only dream about recreating the look of the food on the plate. The pictures in this book are very poorly lit and look like they were taken in the kitchen of the author (not professionally).

The title of the book "The Reflux Diet Cookbook and Cure" is very misleading. There is no "cure" within the pages of the book. If you have reflux and pay attention to your body, you already know the foods that trigger your reflux and understand that staying away from those foods is a good idea. There is nothing new with the cover of this book.

I did not keep this book. I sent it back to Amazon.

My advice--read the book preview online (it's almost all there) as well as the Dropping Acid blog. That part is free. Skip the cookbook.

This is by far the best reflux book I have found to date on the market. Especially if you are diagnosed with LPR (laryngo-pharyngeal or "silent" reflux), rather than GERD, this book explains the science in ordinary language that is easy to understand. It gives you an understanding of what a pH balanced diet looks like and why you will benefit from it. Many of the recipes are great and include foods, like aloe and ginger, that are not only "safe" for reflux sufferers, but actually help to treat the symptoms of reflux. As a singer and voice teacher I have been frustrated with typical reflux information as the diet and lifestyle changes never seemed to help enough - I denied myself everything and still had symptoms. Now that I understand about acidic preservatives in prepared foods and how to create pH balanced meals, I have found the missing information which has finally given me true relief from my reflux symptoms. I recommend this book highly - read it today and then pass it along to your ENT!

I'm 28 years old professional living in the city so I work a lot and end up eating out quite a bit and not always at the healthiest place. I've always tried to balance this out by keeping relatively fit but about 6 months ago I started getting pretty severe heartburn once in a while. When I went on reflux medication my mother started buying me reflux books because my father had throat cancer when I was 8. I haven't made a lot of the recipes yet but have started making the breakfast smoothies, which are easy, and my girlfriend has a made the gazpacho soup and the chicken blanquette. They were very good.

On the whole, the book is easy to read and practical and it explains the shortcomings of reflux medicine in a way that is NOT too heady and let's you know why and how you can 'change' what's happening in your stomach and throat. I don't follow the book exactly but between taking the book's advice the best I can, my medication, and trying to eat the recipes at least once a day my heartburn has for the most part gone away. Also since replacing these meals with eating out I've lost 5 pounds without even trying, which my girlfriend doesn't mind either.

I turned to this book in desperation because I received a dx. of Barretts and the PPI's don't work for me, and might be causing the arthritis I am beginning to experience. I have Silent Reflux, or LPR and have had the tests that show it. Like another reviewer, I thought that Dr. Koufman's Induction Diet to be lacking - it's just a list of what to avoid and what foods are ok, probably available on other places on the internet. (don't eat any food with PH lower than 5.0 for two weeks). On a positive note, she claims that if you do this you can reverse your symptoms, and heal your Barretts - this is much more helpful than my GI doc's instructions to take two PPI's per day and drink lots of water and fiber, basically useless information.
The writing bugged me because it was poorly edited and contained contradictions (i.e., a Table that says Barretts is not a problem for people with LPR, and text that says it is a problem (it is). The book is in great need of strong editing, but it is still helpful in that she is the first person to put out the idea that LPR needs to be addressed by ENT's, GI docs and pulmonary docs as a new category called Integrated Aerodigestive Medicine, which is revolutionary, and in my opinion, on the right track.
I haven't tried any of the recipes yet, but they look really interesting.

This book has been very helpful in shifting my diet in a positive way. I'm using the recipes and I'm already sleeping thru the night and I feel much better in general!!!I'm even thinking about getting this book for family members for Christmas.

I had high hopes for this book, especially considering that I've been extremely ill with GERD for the some time. Unfortunately, I found some major flaws with the book's premise. First, the author admits that her suggested diet is not based on any sort of research study. She says that the information was so important, she didn't want to do an actual study first. It set off warning bells when she says that the medical community would probably be against the information in the book. It's definitely possible that the diet might work, but there really doesn't seem to be much backing up making these drastic eating changes (not just healthy eating, but things like avoiding specific types of apples, etc.)

Additionally, her anecdotes are very weak. Since there are no studies to back up the info, her evidence comes from the stories of her patients. But, almost all of them follow the same story line: Patient has mild symptom like hoarseness in the morning or a bit of a cough after a big meal. Doctor finds that patient is doing something absolutely ridiculous like drinking a half dozen Cokes a day. Patient changes eating habits and minor symptom goes away. I later learned from the bio that the primary author is the director at the Voice Institute of New York which makes a lot of sense. It seems like her patients are primarily concerned with issues like being able to sing Opera. Meanwhile, many acid reflux sufferers have debilitating symptoms that make it difficult for us to function at all...Is this book still applicable to us? The lack of research and the doctor's anecdotes don't paint a promising picture.

The book itself is beautiful, recipes include full color photographs, and the information is presented clearly. But, the usefulness of that information seems questionable. In the preface, the author says "Acid reflux is an epidemic, and you probably don't even know you have it." Unfortunately, most acid reflux sufferers I know absolutely realize that they have it when they are choking on acid, struggling to breathe, and getting up sick in the night. It sort of seems like this book was originally written for people that want to get top-notch function out of their vocal cords and then smartly marketed to the millions more that are panicked about the very real symptoms they are experiencing.

After suffering from GERD for many years, and recently having a severe bout where my medicine quit and my doctor did not seem to able to help, this book literally dropped into my life -- off a book shelf I was going by. Being a Baby Boomer, the title called to me humorously -- even if I never "dropped acid" in the 1960s, I could certainly identify with acid reflux in 2010. I opened it and found myself discovering how to STOP dropping acid. The concept is easy to grasp even if you're not a scientist -- although there is a chapter for the scientists out there, complete with references and all. The recipes are easy to follow and the pictures are so beautiful they entice you to try another recipe tomorrow. Best part is that they don't just leave you with this edition. They actually have a website you can go on to find out more, share your experience, get advice and of course, get more recipes. My GERD has eased and I don't even need to hear from my GI guy. He can lose my number.