A science question

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I had a bad case of acid reflux. I know the cause - too much balsamic vinegar from a pesto sauce - but the cure is so weird.

Mt. Dew, or any soda pop I think, I just have Mt. Dew on hand. It makes me burp, which gets rid of the acid.

I've tried water (all temps), cold milk, bread, crackers, a cold washcloth and ice cream. I still end up in pain and my throat on fire. Last night it was so bad, I don't know how I would've managed if my hubby hadn't been there to fetch for me.

So, why does a carbonated beverage work on getting rid of acid in my throat?

 

I'm totally guessing here---

Maybe it causes an increase in air pressure inside your stomach, which causes it to swell slightly forcing the sphinter muscle close and thereby locking in your stomach acid.

 

Weird, carbonated beverages are acidic and shouldn't help. No idea why that works.

 

Be careful on the fire feelings in your throat.
In the end of your esophag pipe lies a tiny valve (it prevents the food going back to your mouth when we stand upside down).This valve ,unlike the interior of your stomach, it´s not designed to stand an acidic enviroment, and if the attack last longer, it may damaged it.I know this first hand, and you don´t wanna spend 2-3 weeks(could be months) sleeping almost in the sit possition.
So, you better check on your acidic attack before it gets serious, and consult an specialist (probably he/she will tell you to change your diet habits for a period of time), and you don´t have to sorry for later,expensive,painful and annoying consecuences.
And please, unlike me , don´t try any more of those "home made" solutions.

 

Why was there vinegar in pesto to begin with? I've never seen that variation, pesto is usually just nut, garlic, cheese, salt, and basil, held together with olive oil.

I have no clue on the soda question. Maybe burping reduces the volume of the stomach enough so that there's nothing to back up into the esophagus?

 

The sauce is a store brand and I checked the ingredients to see what could be causing this problem. I'm avoiding getting that type of sauce again.

Well, over-the-counter products that help with this make gas bubbles in your stomach (like Gas-Ex).

@Lord FOX - I throw up any liquid medication and chewable pills. Home remedies are all I've got.

 

Can't you just eat something basic? That would get rid of the acidity...

 

Well, actually alkaline substances would, but it'd also cause other problems - most antacids actually result in an increase in carbonic acid which would easily break down to water and carbon dioxide within the stomach, and you end up burping and belching a lot, not to mention somewhat bloated; with a chance of acid reflux, that'd mean those gas bubbles going back up the esophagus would be coated in stomach acid...

(I have an abnormally high concentration of gastric acid, but apparently a strong lining, so usually I don't notice...if I get stressed out over an extended time, however, I'll be bucking for an ulcer - antacids were NOT prescribed for me, and I was told they really only work for maybe only one in four people )



And technically, the carbonic acid in the soft drink is much weaker than the hyrdochloric that is gastric acid, so it might react with it and help 'wash' it back down to the stomach; water may not react to it much and just dilute, and the thicker consistency of milk (though it too is mildly acidic) could leave the gastric juices on the sides of the esophagus....probably - this is ALL supposition on my part, based on consultations with a gastro-enterologist on my own stomach problems and subsequent web research on my own.


*IRL contact with kuemper has made me note one rather relevant thing - the pasta sauce in question is sundried tomato pesto - though it's high in oil (alkaline), presumably the tomatoes were preserved with the balsamic vinegar.

Add to which, I recall that gastro guy suggesting I avoid or cut back on foods...

...ah, a little digging found that pamphlet he gave me:

Foods that may contribute to heartburn:
-alcohol, (especially Red wine)
-caffeinated beverages like coffee, tea, cola (uh-oh)
-carbonated beverages (double uh-oh?!?)
-chocolate (I can remember getting very jokingly riled at him for this one )
-citrus fruits and juices
-tomatoes and tomato sauces (such as pizza and pasta sauce)
-spicy foods
-red Pepper
-peppermint and spearmint
-dry foods such as peanuts
-fatty foods such as ice cream
-tobacco products (like cigarettes, et al.)

So it's very much a mystery, but then with six billion of us, I'd say it's entirely possible for one sufferer of "gastro-esophageal reflux disease" (cool pamphlet with big words ) to have an opposite response than one would expect to a supposed trigger of GERD...

 

Is there anything that Mt. Dew can't do?

However, the fact that it's a carbonated soda makes me wonder why it would help reduce heartburn and not intensify it. Maybe Mt. Dew makes your body happy, so everything just works better...

 

Painkiller? Hmmmm....

[spock]Faaaaaascinating[/spock]

 

Well, I'm a little late, but I can say that there is some truth to what jaded is saying. The acidity of most sodas is around 4. The acidity of stomach acid is nearly 0. (Side note: While they teach you in science class that the pH scale goes from 1 to 14, it simply isn't true. Very alkaline substances have pHs well above 14, and very acidic substances can go into negative pH numbers. It's just that the cheapest form of litmus paper used to test pH function best in the middle ranges - that and making high molarity alkaline and acidic solutions is expensive so it's cheaper - and safer - to use less caustic substances.) Since pH works on a log scale, that means that stomach acid is approximately 10,000 times as acidic as soda. So technically, yes, you could reduce the acidity by drinking soda - or just about anything else for that matter.

I'm also surprised that vinegar would trigger the acid reflux. Technically, vingar is an acid (it's about 5% acetic acid by volume) but it's pH is right around the same as soda.

One other thought - caffeine is a known painkiller, and Mountain Dew has a very high amount of caffeine in it - more than Pepsi or Coke in fact.

 

Well, not in Canada - actually there's obscure regulations with Health Canada that no 'clear' soda can contain caffeine. About two years ago, Pepsi Canada started changing the labels of Mt.Dew to advertise "NOW Caffeine free!!!" despite the fact that it always was.

This did coincide with the release of a NEW Mountain Dew product up here (not Code Red, we're not THAT far behind y'all, T2Bruno ) "Mountain Dew POWER" with a black label and termed a "Natural Health Product" just like Red Bull, Coke Blak, Full Throttle, etc... Apparently it didn't sell too great because I've noticed the name change to "Mt.Dew FUEL".

Which begs the question, kuemper - which type are you drinking; caffeinated or un-caffeinated? (my money's on the former, since that's what she was used to back in the USA)

 

About the vinegar:

I used to eat a green pesto sauce with a lot of balsamic vinegar in it. This also caused my heartburn. The other brand of green pesto I eat doesn't have vinegar in it. My homemade tomato pesto doesn't bother me and it has no vinegar either.

About Mt. Dew:

I can't find caffinated Mt. Dew anymore in Canada. Maybe the stores have been sticking it with the other "energy drinks"?

 

I see. Well that's two thing I didn't know. I didn't know of Canada having and regulations regarding caffeine in clear sodas, and even if I did, I didn't know that kuemper lived in Canda.