Diet Quotes

When it comes to potassium content, nothing really beats banana. A single banana contains 12 percent of the potassium you’ll need for the day, 8 percent of the magnesium and 1 percent of the calcium. There are also news today saying that bananas, especially the ones with black spotting on the skin, can help prevent cancer. This is why it’s a good idea to chop up your overripe bananas and store them in the freezer for a satisfying shake! Aside from its potassium content, banana is also known for lowering stress levels in the body. [2017] - Mark Evans

Fish is undoubtedly a healthy fare – but what if it’s frozen or salted? Fish that’s been specifically cured to last longer in the shelves are best left alone if you’re trying to lower your blood pressure. The same is true for the canned kind – even if it’s a healthy tuna fare. Fortunately, there are currently products that are low in sodium so you might want to check them out. [2017] - Mark Evans

Pizza is heavy on sodium – even if you do load it up with pineapple pieces to ‘balance’ the health benefits. Pepperoni alone is already loaded in salt, much less the tomato sauce and the bread. [2017] - Mark Evans

Rinse canned foods that contain sodium. To flavor your food, substitute salt with herbs, spices, lemon, lime, vinegar, white or red wine. Avoid condiments that are high in salt, e.g. soy sauce, teriyaki sauce and anything that contains MSG (monosodium glutamate). Avoid salted butter and sauces/dressings which are high in salt. Eating foods that are high in potassium, such as bananas, beans, dark leafy greens, potatoes, squash, yogurt, fish, mushrooms and avocadoes, can help you balance out some of the harmful effects that sodium has on your blood pressure. [2016] - Eva Coleman

These fermented foods contain good quantities of probiotics: yogurt (provided it contains live, active cultures), buttermilk (uncooked only), sourdough bread, soft cheese (either aged or containing raw milk), cultured butter and cultured cottage cheese, miso, kombucha, tempeh, sauerkraut (labeled as containing live cultures and not pasteurized), kimchi and pickles. [2016] - Laura Kelly

Total cholesterol is not a predictor of future heart disease; LDL cholesterol is a marginal risk factor; and HDL cholesterol is a fourfold better predictor of risk than LDL cholesterol and the only reliable predictor of risk for people over 50. Saturated fat raises HDL cholesterol while carbohydrates lower it. Trans fats are an entirely unnatural substance that contribute to insulin resistance and inflammation. We recommend cooking with olive oil, coconut oil, and grass-fed ghee. Oils that are predominantly monounsaturated--olive oil, avocado oil, and nut oil among others--increase calcium absorption. [2016] - Laura Kelly

Chinese broccoli is higher in calcium than regular broccoli. [2016] - Laura Kelly

The peril posed by iron is unique among all dietary minerals. It's the most abundant and potent oxidant in the body but your body doesn't have a way to get rid of excess iron, unlike other minerals. Iron in food and supplements appears to be one of the most--if not the most--potent dietary drivers of increased cancer risk. In an alarming study of over 300,000 people in Taiwan, cancer risk increased with increasing serum iron. Other, smaller studies also show increased risk of certain cancers with increasing body iron stores. [2016] - Preston Estep III

Limit Iron Intake: The 18 milligram Daily Value applies only to menstruating females and teenage males. The Daily Value for other adults is 8 milligrams. However, a more reasonable estimate of Daily Value for most people--especially those over the age of fifty--is 3 to 5 milligrams (depending on body size). When you're buying packaged foods, check the ingredients list carefully. If it contains the word "enriched" (like white rice) and/or the word "ferric," "ferrous," or "iron," skip it. In the Framingham Heart Study, vitamin C intake is strongly associated with high body iron stores, including iron overload. [2016] - Preston Estep III

We advocate a diet that is lean (not too much red meat, milk, and other unhealthy fats), clean (avoidance of unpronounceable and potentially harmful chemicals), green (organic), and alkaline (low acid and pH balanced, limiting consumption of acidic foods and beverages). We also advocate portion control and consuming the equivalent of five meals a day--breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, and dinner--with dinner being a light meal eaten relatively early in the evening. [2015] - Jamie Koufman

Alkaline water can be very helpful in managing reflux because it helps wash out pepsin and is good for pH balancing. Natural alkaline water has trickled through limestone for thousands of years, giving it a pH of between 8.0 and 9.0. Of the brands of alkaline water on the market today, almost half are naturally occurring. Alkaline water with a pH higher than 8.5 is best. [2015] - Jamie Koufman

During the detox phase, we prohibit onions, garlic, tomatoes, and peppers (both the vegetables and the seasonings) because all of those are common triggers. In truth, each individual item is a trigger for less than half of people. During transition, our patients add them back in, but one at a time. Of the four items, onions are the most common trigger food. Interestingly, cooked onions are generally better than raw onions. If garlic is a reflux trigger food, it is usually the "meat" of the garlic. Garlic powder and garlic salt are less likely to trigger reflux than the garlic clove itself. Fresh tomato is probably a trigger food for fewer than one-third of people. Cracked black pepper is a fairly common reflux trigger food. Green peppers appear to be more of a problem than red or yellow ones. [2015] - Jamie Koufman

You should always eat an early dinner. I recommend 6:00 p.m., assuming that you will go to bed after 11:00 p.m. [2015] - Jamie Koufman

You should consider using Manuka honey lozenges. Manuka honey itself, or Manuka honey tea after meals, or at least after your evening meal. There is anecdotal evidence that Manuka honey is good for reflux and that it helps to heal the esophagus. [2015] - Jamie Koufman

Top 10 Best Yogurts for People with Reflux: 1. Stonyfield Plain Organic 2. Dannon Plain (“all natural”) 3. Dannon Light & Fit Blackberry 4. Stonyfield Blueberry Organic 5. Stonyfield Strawberry Organic 6. La Yogurt Probiotic Pina Colada 7. La Yogurt Probiotic Strawberry 8. Dannon Cherry 9. Dannon Lemon (“all natural”) 10. Fage Greek Strained (“all natural”) [2015] - Jamie Koufman

We allow lean beef twice a month, but still prohibit fatty beef, lamb, and bacon. [2015] - Jamie Koufman

Most Common Reflux Trigger Foods: Chocolate, High-fat meats, Deep-fried food, Alcohol, Nuts, Coffee, Onions, Tomatoes, Apples, Garlic, Strawberries, Cracked pepper, Bell peppers (green worse than red), Bread (for some, gluten may be a trigger) [2015] - Jamie Koufman

Abstain from bread, pasta, cookies, cakes, energy bars, doughnuts, and everything else you know that contains added sugar. [2015] - Jamie Koufman

You can tell whether a food is rich in antioxidants by slicing it open, exposing it to air (oxygen), and then seeing what happens. If it turns brown, it's oxidizing. Think about our two most popular fruits: apples and bananas. They turn brown quickly, which means there aren't a lot of antioxidants inside them. (Most of the antioxidants in apples are in the peels.) Cut open a mango and what happens? Nothing happens, because there are lots of antioxidants in there. The food category that averages the most antioxidants is herbs and spices. High-antioxidant fruits and vegetables, such as berries and greens, have been found to douse systemic inflammation significantly better than the same number of servings of more common low-antioxidant fruits and veggies, such as bananas and lettuce. [2015] - Michael Greger

Red meat is strongly associated with cancer in the esophagus itself, whereas poultry is more strongly associated with cancer down around the stomach-esophagus border. The most protective foods for cancer at the esophagus-stomach border appear to be red, orange, and dark-green leafy vegetables, berries, apples, and citrus fruits. In a randomized clinical trial of powdered strawberries in patients with precancerous lesions in their esophagus, subjects ate 1-2 ounces of freeze-dried strawberries every day for 6 months--that's the daily equivalent of about a pound of fresh strawberries. The progression of the disease was reversed in about 80% of the patients in the high-dose strawberry group. [2015] - Michael Greger