[Fat, spices and gastro-oesophageal reflux]

In spite of poor evidence, many patients with gastro-oesophageal reflux are advised to avoid fat and spices. We therefore measured gastro-oesophageal reflux after fatty and spicy meals. During three 24-h pH monitoring sessions, eight volunteers ate two identical, low fat and mild beef stews, or a hot and fatty Indian curry for lunch. Meals for dinner were the beef stew, the hot Indian curry or a mild curry. Day-time acid exposure was significantly longer after the hot curry (7.5 % [1.4 - 27.1]) than after the beef stews (2.3 % [0.4 - 9.8] and 2.5 % [0.7 - 15.7]). Night-time acid exposure was also significantly shorter after the beef stew (1.3 % [0 - 9]) than after the mild curry (2.9 % [0 - 19.1]) or the hot curry (4.6 % [0.2 - 22.5]). Within two hours postprandially, reflux was not different between the meals. The number of episodes, however, that occurred more than two hours after lunch was significantly lower after the beef stews (4 [2 - 14] and 4.5 [2 - 10]) than after the hot curry (9 [5 - 16]). The same phenomenon was observed after beef stew (0.5 [0 - 2]), mild curry (2 [0 - 4]) and hot curry (2 [1 - 9]) for dinner. We conclude that meals high in fat can provoke reflux, possibly through delayed gastric emptying. Additional spices, however, do not further increase reflux.