Try the Koufman Low Acid (and low fat) Diet Part 1 of 2

ARM, I got my book today, also. I have paged through it a bit, but haven't read it cover to cover. I really don't know any more than you, but maybe I have been thinking about it more. I think that as long as you consume no more than 2 tablespoons of olive oil per day, it doesn't matter whether you put in on vegetables, use it to fry chicken, or drink it straight up!

After the two weeks induction, you will continue to experiment. I will try including a few almonds, and reducing fat somewhere else that day. I believe they are alkaline, but it is the fat that is objectionable. Berries can be eaten if you balance them out with something alkaline, like milk. So I will return to having blueberries on my oatmeal many mornings.

SK 55, how long have you been on this diet? The web site does have an anecdote about someone healing Barretts' but I'm not pinning my hopes on that. People can say anything they want in a book or on a web site. If a product is being sold, there will probably be some hype, only the exceptional stories may get told. The research article really grabbed my attention because articles go through an extensive process of review by peers. In the research article she says, "in the months since this paper was presented (at a conference), many additional patients with LPR have been treated with a low-fat, low-acid diet as the cornerstone of therapy, with or without ajuunctive anti-reflux medications".  So I believe that there are some people out there on this diet without meds.  I hope to be like them. 

Today my voice feels stronger. My husband was having difficulty hearing me speak when I was in a chair next to him.

Post Edited (sunbeam48) : 9/17/2011 5:13:47 PM (GMT-6)

ARM, I am concerned about this statement of yours: "I have such a restricted diet that to take the few things I have left would just suck." I believe this diet will give you a whole new way of eating. You will have to give up some old foods, but you will gain new ones, all those in green in the book, unless you have health problems in addition to reflux. I am concerned because your statement suggests that you already believe that this diet won't work for you. I too had certain "safe" foods including almonds, yogurt and fruit that I relied heavily on daily. They are no longer my friends, and I'm feeling better already. So please be sure you aren't deciding the outcome before you even try. Also, you haven't mentioned how you will measure progress. Maybe you just haven't mentioned it here, but you need some sort of benchmark to use to know you are having results (or not) or you will be wasting your time/effort.

Jesse, there are a few threads here about tapering off PPI's, you probably know that. I believe you would need to substitute other products like H2's and/or Gaviscon. Are you doing that? But yes, do talk to your doc, who knows way more than I do.

I'm now starting the second week of the two-week induction, and doing well. My night-time cough is GONE, and the day time coughing is much less. I am enjoying drinking skim milk again, and eating whole grain breads. I had not given up these foods, but had been eating less of them because they do cause problems for so many people, and maybe that inlcuded me. With LPR it is very difficult to tell what is causing problems.  I spoke with my sister on the phone today, like I do every week.  She could tell that my voice is louder than it was last week.

Here's a link to an article on LPR by Dr Koufman: http://www.silent-reflux.com/2010/01/04/thirty-year-perspective-on-laryngopharyngeal-reflux-lpr-from-silence-to-omnipresence/

 

Post Edited (sunbeam48) : 9/20/2011 5:42:21 PM (GMT-6)

ARM,
I'm just glad to hear from you, I had imagined that you decided not to give up your beloved almond butter for this diet. I have to confess that I have sneaked in just a very few almonds, that are not on the list. But what counts is keeping the diet to the lowest possible fat and acid, and I am faithful to that.

Be careful of salmon, it is pretty high fat, as Jesse has mentioned. I found this nice chart on the fat content of common foods: http://whatscookingamerica.net/NutritionalChart.htm

 

Is whey protein a dairy by-product? If so, I would think it would be OK especially if it is low or no fat. I'm saying that based on the inclusion of milk on this diet. I agree, one shouldn't mess around with this two-week induction phase, but I'm not perfect, and then I'm prone to rationalizing my mistakes.

hi guys,

i figure i hover around 90-95% free of symptoms using the diet.


still tweaking the diet... i get a strange soreness not too bad near the center of my chest near the LES i guess.

still trying to figure it out... going to gastro next week.

Even though i made alot of progress since feb... its still be been tough mentally being sick soo long.




Jesse

hey Sunbeam

Thanks for the update. I am on day 8...I haven't noticed much progress. I did start taking Prilosec to see if I can be on it without the RUQ pain, and I am doing a bit better. I am guessing its the Prilosec and not the diet, but who knows. Also, you are right, the diet isn't that restrictive. I think I could give up almonds, and the only thing I'd really want to add to this induction diet is berries...

Wow, I feel so bad for you. That DOES suck. So now I guess you will start day 1 tomorrow, but maybe you will actually feel better after a few days on the diet.

On the induction diet, Dr. Koufman allows 2 tablespoons of olive oil per day, that's 14 grams of fat. So on my maintainence diet, I will try to stay under 28 grams of fat per day from all sources. I find it odd that she set a standard for acids (nothing below pH of 5 during induction phase), but didn't specify total fat per day.

i went surfing around and found a few sites about alkaline induced-foods.
I was wondering if its the same case here? I found the list a bit different from what is listed here.. but there are still differences.. But i thought low acid food is not the same as alkaline inducing food, is it?

But in any case, i'm waiting for my copy from Amazon to arrive to see what this is all about and maybe try it out..

ARM, I think there is a disagreement between ENT's and the GI docs. The GI docs insist that there is not enough acid to activate the pepsin in the larynx. Many GI docs I believe do not recognize the diagnosis of LPR. Maybe this is just her thing, I believe she developed the concept of LPR, and it seems to describe me much better than what I read about GERD.  Neither of my docs has used the term LPR, though my GI doc doubled my PPI doseage when I called him about my coughing and voice issues.  I have an appointment with the local voice specialist ENT next month, so it will be interesting to hear what he thinks about her work. When I called my primary doc for this referral, he said my voice problem was not related to my GERD.

Post Edited (sunbeam48) : 9/26/2011 4:58:12 AM (GMT-6)

Hi Sunbeam
You're getting omega 3 from your flaxseed as you say, and if you don't have very dry skin or joint problems then it's probably giving you what you need (along with your diet). You're probably getting some omega 6 from nuts and grains, though obviously you'll be not having the richer sources like sunflower or corn oil on the Kaufman diet. There's some interesting stuff to read by Barry Sears, who says we need a lot more omega 3 than 6 to keep inflammation at bay, so you're probably doing fine! Just wondered if the Kaufman dietary info covers essential fatty acids - many people on low fat diets miss out "good fats" as well as the bad.

It's very interesting following your progress - keep us all posted!

MMM