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Gastric emptying of liquid and solid meals at various temperatures

Effect of meal temperature for gastric emptying

  • Original Article—Alimentary Tract
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Abstract

Background

Patients with functional dyspepsia frequently show delayed gastric emptying, and dietary advice is frequently given for its improvement. If meal temperature influences gastric emptying, advice regarding the meal temperature may become a possible component of dietary therapy. However, little information exists concerning the thermal effect of meals on gastric emptying. The aim of this study was to determine the thermal effect of liquid and solid meals on gastric emptying.

Methods

The gastric emptying of liquid and solid test meals was examined in healthy volunteers (liquid, n = 25, mean age = 35.7 ± 9.6 years, male-to-female ratio = 22:3; solid, n = 25, mean age = 35.2 ± 8.8 years, male-to-female ratio = 20:5). Gastric emptying after the ingestion of liquid or solid meals at three different temperatures (4, 37, and 60°C) was investigated with the [13C]-labeled acetate breath test. The lag phase time (T max-calc) and the half-emptying time (T 1/2) were calculated from the 13CO2 breath excretion curve as indices of gastric emptying.

Results

The values of T max-calc at 60°C with both the liquid and solid meals were significantly smaller than those at 37°C (P < 0.05). However, there was no difference in the T 1/2 values. In the analysis of the percent excretion of 13CO2 in 1 h (% dose/h) data with the liquid meal test in the earlier phase within 30 min, significantly larger values were found at 60°C than at the other temperatures. These findings suggest that a hot meal significantly accelerates gastric emptying.

Conclusions

Meal temperature may be considered as a component of dietary therapy for patients with functional dyspepsia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, School of Medicine, Shimane University, Izumo, Japan

    Yuko Mishima, Yoshiko Takahashi, Yoshiyuki Mishima, Nobuyuki Moriyama, Tatsuya Miyake, Norihisa Ishimura, Shunji Ishihara & Yoshikazu Kinoshita

  2. Division of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, Shimane University Hospital, 89-1 Enya-cho, Izumo, Shimane, 693-8501, Japan

    Yuji Amano

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  1. Yuko Mishima
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Correspondence to Yuji Amano.

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Mishima, Y., Amano, Y., Takahashi, Y. et al. Gastric emptying of liquid and solid meals at various temperatures. J Gastroenterol 44, 412–418 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00535-009-0022-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00535-009-0022-1

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