Issue link: http://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/923291
Food as medicine: The old proverb "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" could prove true for patients suffering from laryngopharyngeal reflux. A plant-based, Mediterranean-style diet with alkaline water has been shown to provide the same medical benefits for treating laryngopharyngeal reflux as popular reflux medications, according to a recent study by investigator Craig H. Zalvan, MD, FACS, published in JAMA Otolaryngology Head Neck Surgery. In addition to being a researcher, Dr. Zalvan is chief of otolaryngology and medical director of The Institute for Voice and Swallowing Disorders at Northwell Health's Phelps Hospital. He identifies himself as formerly one of the region's largest prescribers of proton pump inhibitors (PPI) — the most popular type of medication for reflux. Recognizing that there should be a better approach to treating chronic conditions like laryngopharyngeal reflux, Dr. Zalvan decided to look into alternatives. "Although effective in some patients, I felt medication couldn't be the only method to treat reflux, and recent studies reporting increased rates of kidney damage, dementia, stroke and heart attack from prolonged PPI use made me more certain," Dr. Zalvan said. "I did research and saw a lot of studies using plant-based diets to treat patients for many other chronic diseases, so I decided to develop a diet regimen to treat my laryngopharyngeal reflux patients. Our results show we are heading in the right direction for treating reflux without medication." Cora is one of Dr. Zalvan's patients benefiting from this new treatment regimen. Starting early last year, Cora, 38, a resident of Northern Westchester, began experiencing hoarseness, a lump in the throat, as well as periodic voice loss. As a speech therapist and vocalist/songwriter, losing her voice made it nearly impossible to demonstrate proper speech sounds to her patients and perform her best with her band. After finding no improvement with two medical professionals who prescribed PPIs, Cora saw Dr. Zalvan, who diagnosed Cora with laryngopharyngeal reflux and tried to find a treatment plan that didn't include prescription drugs. "After hearing on the news all the potential side effects associated with PPIs," Cora said, "I wanted to find an alternative, which brought me to Dr. Zalvan." Evaluating diet vs. medication The diet suggested by Dr. Zalvan consists of mostly fruits, vegetables, grains and nuts with near-complete cessation of dairy and meats, including beef, chicken, fish, eggs and pork. This is in addition to standard reflux dietary using a plant-based diet to treat reflux 4 / Volume 1, 2018 Patient success