2014 Volume 77 Issue 2 Pages 151-158
The purpose of this study was to clarify the effects of ingesting chloridquellen and bicarbonate spring waters on electrogastrography and heart rate variability in humans. The subjects were ten young adults (average age 21.9 years old). Three and six cycles per minute (cpm) frequency of electrogastrography (EGG) were measured, as well as the high-frequency (HF: 0.15-0.40Hz) components, and the ratio of low-frequency (LF: 0.04-0.15Hz) components to HF components in heart rate variability (HRV) during 90 minutes. The taste of the water and pain or abnormalities in the stomach were also assessed by having the subjects answer a questionnaire. The subjects ingested the spa water or purified water and were asked to respond to the questionnaire after thirty minutes, and they also ingested no water on a different day and were questioned. The EGG-6 cpm frequency, presumably reflecting intestinal activity, did not change under any conditions. The EGG-3 cpm frequency, presumably reflecting stomach activity, significantly increased with bicarbonate spring waters immediately after ingestion and decreased after 30 min. Additionally, the 3 cpm frequency significantly increased with ingestion of purified water over the course of 30 min. The HF components in HRV, presumably reflecting cardiac parasympathetic activity, did not change under any conditions. The ratio of LF to HF components in HRV, presumably reflecting cardiac sympathetic activity, significantly increased with ingestion of purified water immediately and after 15 min, and bicarbonate spring waters after 30 min. There was a difference between ingestion of chloridquellen and purified water in the answers concerning the taste of the water in the questionnaire. These findings suggest that the constituent parts of chloridquellen water and other factors activate stomach and autonomic nervous activities in humans.
