Study Design During the pre-ingestion and consumption periods, upper GI symptoms were evaluated using the m-FSSG questionnaire, which comprises 14 questions as follows: 1, heartburn; 2, bloated stomach; 3, heavy stomach after meals; 4, subconscious chest rubbing; 5, postpran- dial discomfort; 6, heartburn after meals; 7, unusual sensation in throat; 8, full feeling while eating meals; 9, food stuck when swallowing; 10, acid coming up into throat; 11, burping; 12, heartburn while bending over; 13, postprandial epigastric pain; and 14, epigas- tric pain before meals. The scores for the 14 questions were assigned as follows: never = 0; occasionally = 1; sometimes = 2; often = 3; and always = 4, with lower and higher scores indicating milder and more severe symptoms, respectively. Based on the questions, the reflux syndrome score (RS; questions 1, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, and 12), acid-related dyspepsia score (ARD; questions 2, 3, 5, 8, 11, 13, and 14), and total score (questions 1–14; given by the sum of both scores) were (Kusano et al., 2004, 2012; Kusano, 2007). In addition, the relief rate was evaluated via a modification of the protocol in the previous report (Kusunoki et al., 2009). Relief rate was defined as the number of participants whose symptom ratings were “alleviated,” “no change,” or “deteriorated” by comparing the “before ingestion” and “after ingestion” scores. calculated