Journal watch - Are your drinks too hot or too cold.......?!

Actually these references are not at all recent - but may well fall into the category of important, but overlooked and forgotten. Worth reading if you have any swallowing issues.

http://www.jci.org/articles/view/106233
"Influence of bolus temperature on human esophageal motor function"

and

http://gut.bmj.com/content/30/9/1201.abstract
"Preference for hot drinks is associated with peptic disease"

The first article compared what happened to oesophageal motility when patients were given hot water, cold water or room temperature water. If you're reading the article, distal oesophagus is lower down, proximal oesophagus is higher up. They seem to have observed that cold water sort of 'pools' above the LES for a bit, and the LES is slower to respond than it does to room temp water, but then it does respond with a good power and fully opens to let the water through. Cold water slows down peristalsis (muscle movement) down the oesophagus. Hot water, on the other hand, speeds up peristalsis but the response by the LES is less strong and it is quick to relax. Hot water goes down fast - and that made me wonder if actually the LES doesn't close properly because of the lack of the full strength muscle action (the article doesn't say that .... that's just a thought).

The second article is a very small study, but concludes "Thermal injury as a result of drinking hot fluids may be a causative factor in some peptic disorders"

So don't have your drinks too cold ........ or too hot.......... and of course don't drink caffeine, alcohol or anything acidic......... tepid water anyone??

MMM