Can Smoking And Alcohol Contribute To My Acidity And Heartburn Problems?

How many of us know that smoking  a few cigarettes or drinking even a couple of alcoholic beverages a day can cause mild to severe acidity and heartburn. Majority of us believe these two chronic conditions are a result of overeating, eating too fast, or going to bed right after a heavy meal.

Well, the majority are right, but they also need to include smoking and alcohol consumption into the acidity culprit list.

So, exactly what causes heartburn and acidity?
Both heartburn and acidity are common problems across the globe. The main factors contributing to acidity are -

•    Alcohol
•    Smoking
•    Obesity
•    Over consumption of acidic foods and drinks.
•    Large gaps between meals
•    Very oily and spicy foods
•    Excessive caffeine

Most commonly seen symptoms of heartburn are -

•    Headache
•    Acidic vomits
•    Nausea
•    Burning pain in lower chest.
•    Stomach pain

Thus acidity is seen to be associated with damaged food pipes, gastritis, gastrointestinal bleeding, colitis, and bile reflux.

Role of alcohol:
Alcohol can not only get us drunk, but it can also affect our stomach and esophageal tract. Alcohol relaxes the valve that keeps acid in the stomach. In acidic conditions, this acid flows back into the food pipe and irritate the digestive system and its muscles.

Believe it or not, but beer and wine increase acid production in the stomach, causing inflammation on the stomach's inner lining. Several studies have reported that the level of acid in thefood pipe is high in the first three hours after drinking alcohol.

Role of smoking:
Compared to alcohol, smoking actually harms the digestive system and its organs by weakening the lower part of our food pipe. It may damage the upper airways as well by increasing its exposure to acid by nearly 50 percent. Smoking  can also harm our salivary glands or even cause digestive stress, which in turn may alter the process of digestion by producing harmful enzymes in the gastrointestinal tract. Smoking also results in the washing of bile salts from the intestine into the stomach, producing acid reflux.

Alcohol and smoking can also prevent the body from absorbing B vitamins by inhibiting nutrient absorption and utilization. Even if nutrients are digested and absorbed, smoking and alcohol alter transport and storage of nutrients and excretion of waste.
 
Simple solutions:
Make gradual changes to your lifestyle habits -

•    Prevent yourself from overeating.
•    Don't eat greasy, high fat meals or acidic foods, specially late in the evening/ dinnertime.
•    Eat about 3 hours before getting into bed.
•    Avoid consuming caffeine or alcoholic beverages
•    Mental stress aggravates acidity.
•    Heartburn occurs more frequently during the summer. Persons with acidic tendency should be more cautious.
•    Become more aware of foods that cause you acidity/ heartburn, then avoid them.
•    Lose weight if you are overweight

Your doctor may recommend lifestyle modifications of quitting smoking and alcohol consumption as well as recommend an antacid etc.

Repeated episodes of heartburn/ acidity more then two times a week, may be due to GERD (Gastroesophageal reflux disease) Do get it checked from your doctor, as it might indicate a more serious underlying issue.

By. Janki Patel, Dietitian, Online
www.NutritonVista.com