At-A-Glance Dr. Jamie Koufman is an American physician and scientist whose research in laryngology and acid reflux has led to discoveries that have impacted two generations of physicians and patients. This post is personal and excerpted from my forthcoming book, Respiratory Reflux: How Silent Reflux Causes Diseases. It’s revealing that my alternative book titles were, “The History of Respiratory Reflux” and “Silent Reflux: A Memoire.” This is part II of a two-part article; if you want to understand how I connected the dots. I strongly recommend that you Please Read Part I First. Join Faceboo ..read more

At-A-Glance Dr. Jamie Koufman is an American physician and scientist whose research in laryngology and acid reflux has led to discoveries that have impacted two generations of physicians and patients. Dr. Koufman’s pioneering work put Respiratory Reflux (aka LPR) on the map, and her book Dropping Acid was the first to link the words: Reflux, Diet, and Cure. She also coined the terms Laryngopharyngeal Reflux, Airway Reflux, Silent Reflux, and Respiratory Reflux. Dr. Koufman has studied the diagnosis, clinical manifestations, treatment options, and cell biology of reflux … including the biology ..read more

At-A-Glance Dr. Jamie Koufman is an American physician and scientist whose research in laryngology and acid reflux has led to discoveries that have impacted two generations of physicians and patients. Dr. Koufman’s pioneering work put Respiratory Reflux (aka LPR) on the map, and her book Dropping Acid was the first to link the words: Reflux, Diet, and Cure. She also coined the terms Laryngopharyngeal Reflux, Airway Reflux, Silent Reflux, and Respiratory Reflux; Dr. Koufman has studied the diagnosis, clinical manifestations, treatment options, and cell biology of reflux … including the biology ..read more

At-A-Glance Ketosis is a metabolic state that occurs when the body burns fat for energy instead of glucose; but even during complete starvation for 30 days, only 75% of the body’s nutritional requirements come from fat; the rest comes from protein, from muscle. The KD diet consists of meat, fish, eggs, cheese, nuts, butter, cream, and oils. While it may be temporarily beneficial for obese diabetics, side effects include halitosis, constipation, osteoporosis, and impaired kidney function. The high-fat, KD is a terrible idea if you have acid reflux because fat relaxes the lower esophageal sphin ..read more

At-A-Glance Stress is defined as unrelieved tension, which can be caused by anxiety, aggravation, loss, as well as money, family, and relationship issues … just to name a few … alone or in combination. The Vagus Nerves, the most powerful nerves in the body, control the digestive, respiratory, and cardiovascular systems; and emotions cause acid reflux, including heartburn, because of how the vagus is wired. Emotional stress can also cause strong vagally-mediated symptoms such as fainting and vomiting; but even mild stress, an aggravating situation, can cause or worsen acid reflux suddenly or o ..read more

At-A-Glance u003culu003ern tu003cliu003eu003cspan style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003eRespiratory reflux is the most common cause of postnasal drip. It makes mucus thick and hard to move, particularly when it gets on the vocal cords. Allergy mucus is thin and rarely causes throat or voice symptoms.u003c/spanu003eu003c/liu003ern tu003cliu003eAllergic rhinitis is usually associated with other allergy symptoms, such as sneezing, nasal congestion, runny nose, and itchy eyes; and symptoms are usually triggered by a known airborne allergen.u003c/liu003ern tu003cliu003ePostnasal drip caused by resp ..read more

At-A-Glance u003culu003ern tu003cliu003eWhen you have reflux, acid, and a nasty stomach enzyme, u003cemu003eu003cstrongu003ePepsinu003c/strongu003eu003c/emu003e, comes up and pepsin sticks wherever it lands, e.g., your throat, vocal cords, sinuses.u003c/liu003ern tu003cliu003eIt’s pepsin (not acid) that causes respiratory reflux disease, i.e., swelling, inflammation, and tissue damage… however … pepsin needs acid to activate it.u003c/liu003ern tu003cliu003eThankfully, there’s a nice physiologic twist: The pepsin molecule dies in an alkaline environment (pH u0026gt;8). Thus, the antireflux trea ..read more

At-A-Glance The respiratory and digestive  tracts are connected anatomically, functionally, and neurologically; together they form the Aerodigestive Tract (ADT). It is necessary to understand this in order to understand Respiratory Reflux . Unfortunately, mainstream medicine regards the respiratory and digestive tracts as being completely separate; and different specialist doctors are consulted for respiratory and digestive diseases. Otolaryngologists, gastroenterologists, and pulmonologists have divided up the ADT, each specialty claiming sovereignty over one body part; this fragmentati ..read more

At-A-Glance In this post I share my top 10 tips for beating acid reflux, especially Respiratory Reflux; some are easy, and some are hard. Yes, you can beat your reflux. The three most important “don’ts” are not eating too late at night, fried food, and soft drinks. It is true: You are what you eat and drink. And what you eat may be eating you. Whether you do some or all, 10% or 100%, each tip will help; just do your best. I have added links to many relevant posts that may help you understand the reasoning behind the tips. Note: As of this writing, Respiratory Reflux and Laryngopharyngeal Ref ..read more

At-A-Glance There are three common symptoms of Shortness of Breath (SOB) caused by Respiratory Reflux: (1) Discomfort taking in a full breath in; (2) SOB on exertion; and (3) SOB from airway obstruction. With SOB the reflux pattern is usually Silent Nocturnal Respiratory Reflux; however, if you have it, you and your doctor may not recognize that reflux is the underlying cause of your problems. There are also other causes of SOB, such as smoking and primary lung disease that will not be discussed in this post; however, Respiratory Reflux can make all respiratory diseases worse, as a trigger or ..read more