Acid Reflux Beer Connection EXPOSED

Is there a connection between acid reflux and beer? Read on to know more.

Acid reflux, more precisely gastro esophageal reflux disease, is caused due to malfunctioning of the lower esophageal sphincter, clinically called the LES and hyper acidity in the stomach. What really happens is that the esophagus, which carries food and beverages into the stomach and is guarded by the LES that should allow entry of the eatables into the stomach but otherwise, should remain shut, fails in its duty to do so.

On account of muscle flaccidity and pressure of gas built up within the stomach for over production of hydrochloric acid in it, the LES often opens up, resulting in back flow or reflux of acidic stomach contents into the esophagus, giving rise to moderate or even severe heartburn and associated discomfort. Apart from sporadic use of anti-acidic medications and home remedies believed to reduce the symptoms, no specific cure for this distressing disease condition has yet been found.

After years of closer investigation and research as to the cause of acid reflux and probable cure, it was decided that a holistic approach to the problem along with a change of lifestyle may provide the much sought after relief. As a first step towards reaching the goal, all acidic food and beverages were discarded from the menu of people suffering from acid reflux. The list of untouchables contain tomatoes, along with all its derivatives like tomato sauce, tomato ketchup, tomato soup; citrus fruits like orange juice, pineapple juice, etc and alcohol since most forms of alcohol available in the US are acidic in nature. Since beer (though having lesser acidic content in it) also has some amount of alcohol, it was naturally banned for acid reflux patients.

But human nature prompts man to yearn for the very thing that is denied to it. Especially for people who eagerly look for the cool, frothing, bubbly drink after a hard day’s work. And so various experiments were carried out to find a connection between acid reflux and beer. Whether the experimentation has met with success or not is a debatable point, but some amount of accomplishment appears to loom high in the horizon. According to some, ‘Unfiltered Wheat based Beer’ can be safely termed as "acid reflux beer" as it reportedly does not aggravate the disease condition.

Disputing this newly discovered acid reflux beer, another group of people are of the opinion that the only beer that may be judged as truly acid reflex beer is nothing but the Natural Brew ‘Draft’ Root Beer. The inner ingredients of this beer, they argue, do not stimulate over production of stomach acids and so may be consumed safely. This proclamation may sound partly true since some of the components involved in the brewing process that include sarsaparilla, licorice, cinnamon and ginger do have anti-acidic properties.

In fact, Sarsaparilla which is widely grown in parts of South America India and China are often used as home made cure for heartburn. Interestingly, root beer used to be quite common drink in the United States during pre-Coca Cola days, when incidence of acid reflux was relatively fewer than what it is today.