Alcohol and heartburn?

Acid indigestion or heartburn is a burning sensation felt in the back of your throat and along your esophagus – the tube connecting the mouth to the stomach, caused by acid from your stomach flowing back into your esophagus. Heartburn can be triggered by many things including the food you eat.

In most cases, heartburn isn’t serious and can be resolved with simple behavioral changes or with over the counter remedies. However, chronic heartburn can indicate a more serious condition known as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). In the case of GERD, a person usually needs more intensive therapy for relief than is available with over the counter remedies. GERD can usually be controlled with medications, but it can sometimes become so serious that it can lead to erosion of the esophagus and even some cancers.

With the holiday season upon us, people that suffer from occasional heartburn often look at the rich food and alcohol associated with holiday celebrations with some trepidation. Surprisingly, a recent Swiss research study was unable to find a direct correlation between alcohol consumption, eating rich food, and developing heartburn. The study found that while alcohol slowed digestion, this on its own did not contribute to whether or not heartburn occurred.

This may be good news for people who do not normally suffer from heartburn, but cannot be applied to frequent sufferers of acid indigestion with the same confidence. The study basically showed that a healthy person with no underlying conditions is not at greater risk of developing heartburn or acid indigestion as a result of eating rich food and consuming alcohol. However, if you do suffer from acid indigestion you are probably aware that alcohol along with other foods does influence your symptoms. Some common heartburn causing foods are: Citrus fruits, tomatoes, onions, garlic and spicy foods. If you know your trigger foods that cause you heartburn than you may want to avoid those food entirely.