Objective: To compare the effects of drinking white wine or black tea with Swiss cheese fondue followed by a shot of cherry schnapps on gastric emptying, appetite, and abdominal symptoms.
Design: Randomised controlled crossover study.
Participants: 20 healthy adults (14 men) aged 23-58.
Interventions: Cheese fondue (3260 kJ, 32% fat) labelled with 150 mg sodium (13)Carbon-octanoate was consumed with 300 ml of white wine (13%, 40 g alcohol) or black tea in randomised order, followed by 20 ml schnapps (40%, 8 g alcohol) or water in randomised order.
Main outcome measures: Cumulative percentage dose of (13)C substrate recovered over four hours (higher values indicate faster gastric emptying) and appetite and dyspeptic symptoms (visual analogue scales).
Results: Gastric emptying was significantly faster when fondue was consumed with tea or water than with wine or schnapps (cumulative percentage dose of (13)C recovered 18.1%, 95% confidence interval 15.2% to 20.9% v 7.4%, 4.6% to 10.3%; P<0.001). An inverse dose-response relation between alcohol intake and gastric emptying was evident. Appetite was similar with consumption of wine or tea (difference 0.11, -0.12 to 0.34; P=0.35), but reduced if both wine and schnapps were consumed (difference -0.40, -0.01 to -0.79; P<0.046). No difference in dyspeptic symptoms was present.
Conclusions: Gastric emptying after a Swiss cheese fondue is noticeably slower and appetite suppressed if consumed with higher doses of alcohol. This effect was not associated with dyspeptic symptoms.
Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00943696.