Heartburn is often caused by eating food which is rich and spicy, so if you are a sufferer it is worth trying to avoid such foods. For some people, creamy foods, and rich deserts such as chocolate cakes can also cause heartburn. Some natural remedies for heartburn are common sense. Avoid foods and drinks that trigger heartburn. These foods can be different for each person. Keeping a journal is a common heartburn remedies. Note down when you experience heartburn after a meal. Taking an over the counter calcium substitute is typically what is going to help ail you of the problems, unless of course the heartburn is a direct relation to how much stress you are dealing with. If this is the case, then you must first determine where the stress is coming from, and then figure out exactly how you can deal with it better. Limiting smoking and alcohol is vital to remedy heartburn as the nicotine in cigarettes causes the stomach to release more acid an it is required for digestion and this results in heartburn. Alcohol irrititates the stomach causing to be more sensitive to the acid that is produced. Heartburn remedies are quite innumerable which patients can actually opt for in their search for a good solution. One of the most effective is to have a dramatic change in your eating habits, especially shifting to much healthier alternatives. When you are eating out you must know the kinds of food to avoid if you want to prevent these kinds of problems. Eating your food boiled, grilled, or roasted is a much better option as it has less fat and simple carbohydrates (sugar basically). Eating lots vegetables and legumes is a must if you want to prevent constant acid reflux attacks. Peppermint is also a century old remedy that aids in digestion and reduces the chance of reflux. You can find this herb in most supermarkets but you can also grow it. Simply chewing on it is very effective. Heartburn and acid reflux can actually be treated through lifestyle changes and proper diet and these are some of the best heartburn remedies. This kind of cure can deliver long lasting effect if taken seriously. Another good remedy is to make sure you don’t lie down immediately following a meal. This allows your system enough time to properly digest the food. At bedtime, it is recommended that you lie down with your upper body elevated in order to avoid nighttime heartburn.

There are a few questions we need to answer before we go into the heartburn home remedies. So what is heartburn anyway?

Heartburn is the leading symptom of gastroesophageal reflux disease, a.k.a. GERD or acid reflux, acid indigestion, etc. (on this page, we will use all of those terms interchangeably). The pain and burning sensation of heartburn is caused by gastric acid (a.k.a. stomach acid) being regurgitated into the esophagus right below the breastbone near where the heart is located (although heartburn really has nothing to do with the heart). Many times, heartburn pain can even rise to the chest, neck, throat, and jaw. Chronic cough is also caused by acid reflux and sometimes mimics asthma.

So why, then, is gastric acid being regurgitated back into the esophagus from the stomach? It is due to a problem with the cardiac sphincter (a.k.a. the esophageal sphincter), a valve leading from the stomach to the esophagus. This problem with the cardiac sphincter is many times recognized as a hiatal hernia. Please note that the “cardiac sphincter” also has nothing to do with the heart; rather, “cardia” is in meaning part of the stomach.

Diagnosis

Before you begin using any heartburn home remedies, you must know that heartburn can be diagnosed either biochemically or mechanically:

Biochemically: With esophageal pH monitoring, a probe is inserted through the nose into the esophagus to measure the acidity level near the cardiac sphincter. Acid reflux can be recognized in real-time with this method.

Mechanically: In one mechanical test, a manometer is inserted through the mouth into the esophagus, where is measures the pressure in the esophageal sphincter.

Another mechanical diagnosis is an endoscopy. The doctor inserts a thing tube with a camera on it through the mouth down to the esophagus and stomach. With this method, the doctor can clearly see any signs of esophageal inflammation due to excess acid. If this is so, then the doctor my take a biopsy, a small sample of the esophagus to study it close up.

Tips For Prevention

One of the best heartburn home remedies is that of prevention. If you can prevent heartburn before it even occurs, you won’t have to suffer through the horrible heartburn pain. So here are some short heartburn home remedies tips for prevention.

1) Sleep sitting up, or with the head, neck, and shoulders raised at least above the stomach. This will keep excess stomach acid from traveling upwards into your esophagus.

2) Eat smaller meals more frequently, as larger meals tend to create excess stomach acid, which then leads to heartburn.

3) Although not totally proven, avoiding certain foods like coffee, fruit juice, onions, chocolate, spicy foods, pretzels, tea, fatty foods, etc. can help reduce heartburn.

4) Don’t wear tight clothing around the abs. Though you may like to show off your six pack 😉 , tight clothing puts more pressure on the stomach and can cause more acid to reflux into the esophagus.

Heartburn Home Remedies Treatments

Here are some heartburn home remedies treatments that you can use to help ease heartburn pain once you begin to feel it.

1) Antacids work by neutralizing stomach acid. Though stomach acid may still reflux or splash up into the esophagus, the pain will not be felt because it is no longer an acid. Antacids usually provide rapid relief of symptoms, but the relief usually only lasts for about an hour or less.

2) Another simple remedy is to drink a small mixture of baking soda and water. Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) neutralizes acid just like an antacid does. Too much extra sodium in one’s diet, however, is not recommended; therefore, this is not an ideal permanent solution.

3) Pills called H2 blockers, or H2 receptor antagonists, work by minimizing the amount of acid released by the body. Therefore, they are used more as a preventative rather than for quick relief of symptoms.

4) Alginates are derived from brown seaweed and work by forming a barrier in the stomach that keeps acid from refluxing into the esophagus. This method provides faster and longer lasting relieve than antacids and H2-receptor antagonists.

5) Protein pump inhibitors (PPIs) work well for those who have no reaction to antacids. PPIs inhibit or block the acid-production proteins that control the acidity of the stomach, therefore letting the stomach digest them. They provide long-lasting relief, however aren’t fast-acting.

6) Restricting diet as stated above under “Preventions”.

7) Other alternative treatments as stated above under “Preventions”.

8) In some cases (which I don’t recommend), laparoscopic surgery can be performed on the esophagus.

9) Chew gum. Chewing gum inhibits more saliva production. As you swallow while chewing gum, saliva, being alkaline, helps neutralize acid, therefore being one of the heartburn home remedies for fast relief.

Now that you know about the causes of heartburn, you need to take action to stop it.

Tony McGuigano is the owner of the Front Lace Wigs website, as well as a website called Eye Exercises.

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Heartburn can be cured by home remedies. In order to cure heartburn, try these home remedies and learn how to treat it and how to reduce your chances of getting heartburn. Heartburn is a common disease which is known by many names. Indigestion, bloating and dyspepsia are all other names of heartburn.

DEFINITION OF HEARTBURN:

Heartburn is a vague discomfort of chest or abdominal. It is often occurred after consuming food or liquids.

Mild nausea
Upper abdominal heaviness or fullness
Feeling of burning sensation behind breastbone
Excessive belching or gas
Full feeling in abdomen
Sour or acid taste in mouth
Growling stomach
Pressure or pain behind breastbone
Pain between shoulders or in neck that follows food

CAUSES
The exact or definite cause behind Heartburn is not known yet. Most symptoms of heartburn is related to drinking, eating, swallowing air, stress and emotional upset. Excessive drinking, eating and smoking are the most common causes of heartburn.

PREVENTION

Heartburn can be cured or at least minimized by following a few, standard guidelines.

1. Do not smoke before or while eating food. Smoking causes to swallow small amounts of air. Amount of air form air pockets in the digestive track with the added pressure of food, which becomes the cause of heartburn. Smoking also slow down the ability of the body to digest food. So it is dangerous to smoke before or while eating. You need to avoid this habit in order to prevent heartburn.
2. Take a time and monitor which foods cause you to suffer heartburn. If you eliminate all these foods which cause heartburn (such as beans, cucumber, cabbage, and onions), your suffering of heartburn can minimize.
3. Try to sit in upright position, while eating at a dinner table.
4. Go for a walk after eating food. Walk will help stimulate the digestive system of your body.
5. Avoid chewing gum before eating. It also causes to swallow air.
6. Do not eat more then your hunger.
7. Avoid wearing restrictive or tight clothing.
8. Concentrate on your food and chew it thoroughly and slowly.
9. Avoid distracting your attention from your plate and thinking that how food which you are eating smells, how it taste and how it looks like.
10. Avoid consuming alcohol with food. Alcohol is also cause heartburn.

TREATMENT

Through the use of antacids, many symptoms of heartburn can be relived this is one of the effective heartburn home remedies. Meditations are the treatment for many mild cases of heartburn. Meditation helps to absorb excess stomach acids and increase the rate of digestion food. Liquid antacids most often work better then pills or tablets to neutralize stomach.

Doctors also suggest their patients to keep a daily food diary. It helps them to monitor what food triggers are present in their daily life. When they find common triggers, they can eliminate foods one by one. Chocolate, fried and fatty foods and spices are common heartburn triggers.

Alternate treatment

1. Increase the use of ginger in food.
2. Digestive enzymes
3. Increase fiber
4. Add more water
5. Try tea
6. Go herbal

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