I have a question about Mogan David wine. I have a problem with peptic acid which always give me heartburn or indigestion problems. Recently I had a Problem getting my prescription filled at Walmart. So I decided that maybe I would try some Kosher Wine. So I bought some Mogan David wine. The reason I thought of this is because in the New Testament the Apostle Paul advised Timothy to use a little wine for his stomach problem. Anyway tried some wine and my indigestion really got bad. Maybe it was because I had eaten some pizza previously. Has anyone experienced something like this.
Reported for forum change.
I wouldn’t turn to the Bible for medical advice.
Welcome to the Straight Dope Message Boards, Vern, and Happy Halloween. I have moved this to the General Questions forum, where I think you’ll get better responses (you had posted in the “About this Message Board” which is really more for internal stuff.)
And things are a li’l loony here for Halloween, so don’t mind the sudden name changes and such.
As already noted, you should probably avoid using the Bible as a science textbook.
Wine is acidic. Drinking an acidic drink is just going to aggravate an existing heartburn problem.
Yup. Whatever Timothy’s stomach problem was, it wasn’t peptic acid. Or, if it was, Paul gave him some seriously bad advice.
Welcome. We prefer that real-life medical(as well as legal) questions be put in our forum called In My Humble Opinion. You can still get factual answers there, but you will get guesses and opinions. Moved.
samclem, moderator
Former bad stomach person here. What flavor Morgan Davis wine did you try? Never mind; doesn’t matter. They’re all rotgut, with Blackberry getting Bubbe where she’s going and the fortified flavors like Mad Dog getting bums to their nightly destinations. Note the term “rotgut” and ask yourself if that’s what Paul had in mind for your health. Fast answer: It isn’t. They have more sugar and are more akin to spiked pancake syrup from IHOP than real wines.
My bellyaches came from all that sugar before bed. Try something drier, and let it work its magic before lying down. Or avoid wine altogether. Paul was talking about watered-down new wine without much kick. Or you could try the Mogen David with a shpritz of soda. Couldn’t hurt.
All I can say is if it’s Mogen David concord wine, they do a serious disservice to the Concord Grape. There are plenty of Concord and other American “foxy” wine blends that aren’t syrupy sweet. Which isn’t to say I don’t mind a shot glass or two of M-D or Manischewitz on occasion, because they taste okay for one or two sips.
Acute alcohol consuption lowers lower esophageal tone allowing more of the acidic stomach content to come up. Both acute beer and wine ingestion stimulate gastic acid production. Compared to the acid level of the stomach contents the level of acid in the wine is slight and immaterial.
Interestingly enough though regular (chronic) moderate (like one glass a day) wine (not beer or hard spirits) consumption has been found to help reduce the frequency of a significant complication of chronic GERD, Barret’s Esophagitis. So maybe Paul knew something …
No comment on the value of Mogan David other than its value as a tradition at Passover though.
Mogan David I some nasty shit. We used to call it Mad Dog when I was young. We drank it because it was so cheap, but it will do a number on even a healthy stomach.
I always thought that the “stomach troubles” Timothy had was basically an upset stomach due to nervousness about their upcoming mission. Having a glass of wine would calm his nerves a bit. Wine is acidic, it would not be good for an acidy stomach.
You would have much better results by taking an OTC reflux medication like Prilosec or Prevacid, both have cheap generic store brand equivalents you can get at Walmart or anywhere that sells pharmacy stuff.
Or drink better liquor.
Wine was the drink of choice in the Roman Empire (and well before) because they didn’t understand how to purify water. Water in the wild is full of things that will give you an upset stomach and diarrhea. Alcohol kills the microbes so Europeans drank a lot of wine and beer. The wine was supposed to be diluted but my understanding is that most people in those days had a near constant low level buzz. Eastern Asia solved the microbe problem by boiling water for tea. Timothy was a purist who insisted on only drinking water and Paul’s advice was probably conventional wisdom for the day about why Timothy wasn’t feeling so hot and in this case it was probably pretty good advice. But one remedy doesn’t solve all ailments.
Mogen.
The same btw is the story behind Jonny Appleseed (a.k.a. John Chapman). The point of all his apple nurseries was to make hard cider which was the beverage of choice above water for precisely the same reason.
Don’t knock it. I had it as a kid for Passover.
Turned me right off all types of alcohol.
The OP might think about which medical school Paul went to and consider the advice accordingly.
L’chaim!
Huh. Until today I never knew what the initials actually stood for.
And yes, it’s something that only a cruel and vengeful God would command His children to drink.
I wouldn’t class Biblical wine with present day wine, either, unless the Apostle was referring to wine which had been processed in a catalytic cracker.