Could a stainless steel thermos cause heartburn?

March 12, 2008 5:14 PM

Could a stainless steel thermos cause heartburn?

(Asking this for a friend.)

I just want to know if there's any possibility that drinking water out of a stainless steel thermos could be causing my heartburn?

The heartburn started when I started using the thermos and I can't find any other reasons for it. I only drink ice water from it.

Thanks!

posted by sugarfish to Food & Drink (6 answers total)

No
posted by Static Vagabond at 5:23 PM on March 12, 2008

I can't imagine why- this is by no means an informed opinion, but I'm pretty sure a lot of the stuff you usually drink goes through stainless steel- vats, pipes, tanks- at some point before it reaches you. Is the thermos clean? Could it have bacterial buildup or something?
posted by pseudostrabismus at 6:35 PM on March 12, 2008

Stainless steel is considered a particularly neutral metal for cooking, and ice water is not something that would promote leaching anyway, so it does seem unlikely that the thermos would be a factor. Everybody who gets heartburn has it start somewhere - maybe it's just a coincidence. Heartburn has a definite stress component for me - did the thermos show up at the same time as any other change in life? Finally, if cutting out the thermos stops the heartburn (the obvious experiment), you know, screw science, get a plastic thermos.
posted by nanojath at 7:37 PM on March 12, 2008

Is heartburn the only symptom? pseudostrabismus's question about cleanliness brings to mind a theory. Heartburn can be associated with peptic ulcer. Most peptic ulcers are caused by H. pylori bacteria. Thermoses can be tricky to clean.
posted by nakedcodemonkey at 9:51 PM on March 12, 2008

See your doctor. The sudden onset of lots of heartburn can signal reflux or a hiatal hernia. They can both be quite serious without you (or your friend) even knowing it.
posted by SlyBevel at 10:01 PM on March 12, 2008

Response by poster: Thanks, everyone. I hope this helps my friend.
posted by sugarfish at 3:19 PM on March 13, 2008