A toss-up whether apples help alleviate acid reflux
Q. Some years ago, a person wrote to you about suffering from acid reflux. Following her advice, I started eating half an apple each evening. This took care of my bothersome nighttime heartburn. This is cheap and easy.
A. Four years ago, we received this letter: “For years my husband took medicine for acid reflux, but he doesn’t anymore. We found that eating half an apple right before going to bed solves his problem completely. Have you ever heard of something so simple being so wonderful?”
Visitors to our website have responded to that testimonial. Some reported that eating an apple was helpful. But others found that it made things worse: “Apples don’t work for me, sadly. They give me awful heartburn. Drinking sips of water eases it a bit, but generally I have to wait until my heartburn wears off on its own.”
Q. You’ve written about coffee raising cholesterol unless it is filtered to remove cafestol and kahweol. My brother has been using only Keurig coffeemakers for the past 10 years. He is experiencing high cholesterol and memory problems. Do the Keurig devices raise cholesterol, since they do not have filters for the coffee grounds?
A. Keurig-type machines that use “K-cups” or
“pods” to make a single serving of coffee have become extremely popular. If you take a K-cup apart, you will find a filter in it. We don’t know whether that filter removes cafestol
Some readers found eating an apple helpful for acid reflux. Others say it made things worse.
and kahweol.
Consequently, we can’t say with certainty that your brother’s coffee habit affects his cholesterol. We suspect, though, that it’s less likely to pose problems.
Research shows that drinkers of black coffee have higher “good” HDL cholesterol (Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare, online, Nov. 2, 2020). If people add milk, cream or sugar, however, the HDL benefits disappear.
Q. I am unable to get the flu shot due to an allergy to egg lecithin. Will the COVID-19 vaccine have egg protein in it as well? I have asthma and am susceptible to bronchitis.
A. At this time, the Food and Drug Administration is considering two antiCOVID-19 vaccines for emergency use authorization. Both use the new mRNA technology, which completely bypasses the need for eggs in producing the vaccine.
We usually say we can’t second-guess the FDA, but we do anticipate that one or both of these vaccines will be made available for people at high risk. When the time comes for you
to get vaccinated, be sure to ask which vaccine you will be getting. If it is from Moderna or Pfizer/BioNTech, you won’t need to worry about egg protein.
Q. I have a 9-year-old Doberman with sore joints. When I read about Boswellia for human arthritis, I wondered whether it would work for a dog.
A. Canadian veterinary scientists did a randomized placebo-controlled trial of a product containing Boswellia with other herbs (Research in Veterinary Science, December 2014). The trial included 16 dogs in each group and concluded that dogs receiving the herbal product moved more and had more power after two months than when they started. Dogs in the control group did not get the same benefit.
There are several canine formulations that include Boswellia. Check with your veterinarian regarding dose and oversight.