Various Topics on Alternative Medicine

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Amy Norton, "Soda, sleeping pills tied to nighttime heartburn",
Reuters, May 10, 2005,
Link:
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.j...toryID=8439576

Cutting back on carbonated soft drinks may help heartburn sufferers
sleep more soundly, a study published Monday suggests.

Among more than 15,000 U.S. adults surveyed on heartburn symptoms,
researchers found that drinking soda, taking benzodiazepine-type
sleeping pills, and being overweight were all ***ociated with an
increased risk of nighttime heartburn woes.

Men and women with high blood pressure or asthma were also at greater
risk of overnight symptoms, the study found.

Heartburn refers to the fiery sensation in the chest caused by stomach
acids backing up into the esophagus. Frequent bouts of heartburn may be
indicative of gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD, a disorder in
which the muscular valve between the esophagus and stomach fails to
close properly, allowing acids to back up into the throat.

GERD can cause corrosive changes in the esophagus that make swallowing
difficult, or that in some cases lead to Barrett's esophagus, where
cells in the esophageal lining become abnormal. In a small number of
people, Barrett's esophagus precedes the development of esophageal
cancer.

It's thought that nighttime acid reflux, in particular, may be a sign
of more severe GERD -- making it important to uncover the risk factors
for nighttime symptoms, Dr. Ronnie F***, the study's lead author, told
Reuters Health.

F***, who is with the University of Arizona College of Medicine and the
Southern Arizona VA Health Care System in Tucson, said that his team's
findings point to several potential ways to prevent heartburn during
sleep.

"Avoid carbonated beverages, in particular with dinner," he advised.
"And definitely don't have them after dinner."

For heartburn sufferers, the problem with soft drinks is their high
acid content -- higher even than that of coffee, according to F***. On
top of that, the carbonation that makes soda bubbly introduces carbon
dioxide into the stomach, worsening the situation for the
heartburn-prone.

In their study, F*** and his colleagues found that of 15,314 older men
and women surveyed, one-quarter said they had nighttime heartburn
symptoms. Besides soda drinking, several other risk factors for the
problem emerged.

One was the use of benzodiazepines, a cl*** of sedatives commonly used
for insomnia. Research has shown that the drugs can lower the pressure
of the sphincter that opens and closes the p***ageway from the
esophagus to the stomach, F*** and his colleagues note in the report.

Why the medications would spur nighttime symptoms, in particular, is
not clear. Still, F*** said, "I would recommend that people who suffer
from this avoid benzodiazepines."

The researchers also found that people with high blood pressure or
asthma were at greater risk of heartburn during sleep. Regarding the
high blood pressure finding, F*** said the disease itself probably does
not trigger heartburn; instead, the blame may lie with high blood
pressure medications, or with other factors that often accompany high
blood pressure -- such as excess weight.

In contrast, although asthma medications can have the side effect of
heartburn, the disease itself may sometimes lead to acid reflux, F***
said. Asthma may trigger heartburn by increasing pressure between the
chest and abdomen.

Higher body m*** index (BMI), a measure of weight in relation to
height, was also tied to a greater risk of nighttime heartburn -- not
surprisingly, the researchers note, given the known ***ociation between
excess pounds and GERD.

That, F*** said, makes weight loss another possible way to prevent
nighttime acid reflux.