Self-help For Heartburn

By Author: Steven Johnson
Total Articles: 490
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As indicated in other articles, it should not be an option to do nothing if you are affected by heartburn. Even though the more painful aspects of the leakage of stomach acid into the esophagus can be controlled by the use of drugs, it's always better to find the natural way, if one is available. Not only does this save the cost of medication, but also builds the strength of the body in being able to defend itself from disease. In this case, there are two broad sets of changes that should be made. The first surrounds the type of food you eat. Being practical, the body immediately knows what to do if you eat some rice. But if you eat some processed food full of stabilizers and other chemicals, the body is unsure which of its many enzymes to deploy to extract the energy from the food. To hedge its bets, it orders more acid. If nothing else, this additional acid will dissolve the food more rapidly. What happens after that will be trial and error. So here are a few simple rules for you to follow.

It takes longer to digest food with a high fat content. This leaves food in the stomach for longer and the risk of acid flowing ...
... up into esophagus increases. This means you should reduce the overall amount of fat you eat and, in particular, seriously cut back on fried food. Now come the things to avoid. Chocolate, anything based on tomato, acidic fruits and drinks, mint, coffee, and alcohol. All these loosen the muscle separating the esophagus from the stomach and encourage reflux, i.e. the acid flowing out.

Now come the physical changes. You must get into the habit of eating less. The more food there is in the stomach, the more food has to queue up in the esophagus. This keeps the sphincter open and allows the reflux. Equally, as food is pressing into the stomach, it squeezes the liquid out. This pressure is reduced if you keep vertical as you eat and do not lie down soon after eating. Going to bed shortly after eating is a bad idea. If it's unavoidable, prop yourself up so that the acid will not simply run out of your stomach, but has to move against gravity. You should allow space for the stomach to expand. This means wearing loose clothing. If you are wearing a belt, loosen it. There's always more pressure on the stomach musculature if you are obese. Loosing weight will help reduce the heartburn. After eating, you may find it helps to chew gum. This helps your mouth produce more saliva which, in turn, helps wash the food down into the stomach. If you have not already done so, quit smoking. The nicotine damages the sphincter.

Then it's just down to the usual healthy foods, i.e. whole grains, nuts, lean meat and fish, vegetables and fruit, and low-fat dairy products. Remember to serve smaller portions to reduce your weight. Put all this together and you have an effective regime for treating heartburn without the need to spend money on Nexium. Although the drug is excellent in reducing the amount of stomach acid produced, it's not intended to be a long-tern cure. Finding a solution without Nexium is desirable.