Understanding How Alcohol Causes Heartburn
It is no secret that excessive consumption of alcohol causes heartburn but few people really understand why and how it happens. What they do know is that by reducing their alcohol intake, they can significantly reduce the risks of experiencing heartburn in the future. This does not mean however that you have to completely stop drinking alcohol. A little bit every now and then is fine as long as it is all in moderation.
Reasons Why Alcohol Leads to Heartburn
Drinking too much alcohol causes heartburn due to a number of different reasons. The most common is that alcohol makes the stomach produce more acid than usual. When this acid goes back up into the lower end of your esophagus, you will experience the intense pain that we know as heartburn.
Alcohol further increases this risk of acid backflow because it also relaxes the lower esophageal sphincter (LES), allowing liquid to pass through more easily. In addition to the relaxation of the LES, the alcohol will also make it more sensitive to stomach acid, promoting the growth of peptic ulcers.
Despite the horrible sounding effects of alcohol on your body and the fact that alcohol causes heartburn, it is actually safe, and in some cases recommended, to drink it in moderate amounts occasionally. By moderate, this means nothing more than 3 bottles of beer or 16 ounces of wine. In addition, you should also drink plenty of water after consuming alcoholic beverages in order to diminish its negative effects on your body.
If your lifestyle or profession requires you to drink socially more often than the average individual, you can simply make smart choices when it comes to your beverages. For instance, instead of red wine, you can try drinking red wine. There are also a lot of non-alcoholic beers and wines out there that taste the same without the alcohol content.
Besides alcohol, another common beverage that causes heartburn is coffee. Along with other caffeine-rich drinks, excessive drinking of coffee increases the production of stomach acid that causes heartburn.
So now it is clear that alcohol causes heartburn but how do you know if you are going beyond your limit or not? According to studies, the average woman can drink up to two units of alcohol in a 24-hour period without resulting in heartburn. For the average man, the limit is three units of alcohol. It is also recommended that you only consume alcohol up to three times a week. Even if you feel you can handle yourself well after surpassing these limits, the risk of heartburn will rise considerably, and that is not something that you would want.
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