Heartburn has nothing to do with your heart, despite what its name would suggest.
Instead, a searing pain in your chest is caused by stomach acid backing up into your esophagus, the 10-inch tube that connects your mouth to your stomach.
Heartburn can strike suddenly and linger for a short while or for several hours. It’s uncomfortable in either case, so it’s not surprising if you’re seeking for a quick fix.
What exactly causes heartburn, and how does it feel?
The American College of Gastroenterology claims that your stomach has no issue processing the stomach acid that is required to break down the food you eat. On the other side, it aggravates your esophagus.
The lower esophageal sphincter, a circular ring of muscle at the base of the tube, functions as a valve to keep stomach acid (and digesting food) in your stomach and out of your esophagus. You can transmit food you’ve eaten through to your stomach when this valve is loosened. This valve stops food and acid from backing up into your esophagus when it is contracted.
Acid reflux happens when this valve relaxes abnormally, allowing stomach acid to flow back into your esophagus. The most well-known and evident symptom is heartburn.
Heartburn symptoms include: Although how severe it is might affect how it feels, they generally include:
A stinging pain behind your breastbone in your chest
You feel a burning agony moving up toward your throat.
A sour or bitter flavor in your tongue
Sometimes an underlying medical problem or even a medicine you’re taking can induce acid reflux and heartburn. However, they’re typically brought on by factors like your diet and lifestyle decisions, which makes the occasional attack of heartburn rather frequent.
Typical causes of heartburn include:
Eating excessively or too rapidly
Too soon after eating, lying down
Consuming certain foods, such as those high in fat or spice, carbonated drinks, alcohol, peppermint, citrus, tomato-based goods, and caffeine
Excess weight
Smoking
Anxiety and tension
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Here are some strategies to lessen and possibly even prevent your symptoms if you’re looking to stop acid reflux or get rid of heartburn quickly:
1. Consume a ripe banana.
A banana has a high potassium content, making it a relatively alkaline food. And because of this, your esophagus may not be as irritated by stomach acid, claims the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics.
Unripe bananas, on the other hand, are less alkaline, starch-heavy, and may even cause acid reflux in certain people. So make sure you select a ripe banana.
Melons, cauliflower, fennel, and other alkaline foods may also reduce heartburn.
2. Chew gum without sugar.
Gum chewing causes more saliva to be produced. One study found that doing so can help prevent heartburn because saliva can encourage swallowing, which can help keep acid down, and neutralize stomach acid that has refluxed into your esophagus.
3. Keep a food diary and stay away from trigger foods.
As previously noted, specific meals and beverages can cause heartburn and acid reflux. By keeping a food and symptom journal, you can help identify the precise items that are most likely to cause you problems. Once you’ve identified them, try your best to stay away from these meals and beverages.
4. Refuse to overeat or consume food too soon.
Being mindful of your mealtime portion sizes can help prevent heartburn. Large amounts of food in the stomach may increase pressure on the valve that prevents stomach acid from entering the esophagus, increasing the likelihood of acid reflux and heartburn. If you frequently experience heartburn, think about eating more frequent, smaller meals. Eat slowly and take your time to chew your food and drink your liquids because eating hurriedly can also cause heartburn.
5. Steer clear of eating just before working out, eating before bed, and late meals.
A full stomach when lying down might cause acid reflux and aggravate heartburn symptoms. To give your stomach enough time to empty before night, avoid eating three hours before going to sleep. Additionally, you might want to wait at least two hours before working out.
6. Put on comfortable clothing.
If you frequently experience heartburn, wearing clothes that squeezes your abdomen and tight belts may be to blame.
7. Modify how you lie down at night
While you sleep, elevating your head and chest above your feet can help prevent and relieve acid reflux and heartburn. This can be accomplished by elevating the bedposts with wood blocks or by placing a foam wedge under the mattress. Piling pillows often isn’t useful and might potentially exacerbate your problems, so avoid doing it. Additionally, it is believed that sleeping on your left side may help with digestion and may lessen acid reflux.
8. If you are overweight, start a weight-loss program.
Being overweight increases the strain on your stomach, raising your risk of heartburn and acid reflux. The first two steps to keeping a healthy weight and decreasing extra weight are eating a well-balanced diet and exercising 150 minutes per week.
9. If you smoke, give it up.
Smoking decreases saliva production and affects the efficiency of the valve that prevents stomach acid from entering the esophagus, which increases the likelihood of heartburn. Giving up smoking might lessen acid reflux’s frequency and intensity, and in some circumstances, even make it go away.
10. Reduced tension
Your body suffers physical effects from chronic stress, including slowed digestion and increased sensitivity to pain. Stomach acid reflux is more likely to occur the longer food is allowed to rest in your stomach. Additionally, heightened pain sensitivity might amplify the intensity of heartburn’s searing pain. Reflux and heartburn can be prevented or treated by taking actions to lessen stress.
What to do if you have severe or persistent heartburn
Histamine blockers and other over-the-counter drugs like antacids can help ease the symptoms of mild, infrequent heartburn. Before taking an antacid or histamine blocker, always read the product label, and never take more of or less often than the recommended dose.
If you frequently experience heartburn, talk to your doctor before taking heartburn medications on a regular basis because these medications can interact with a wide range of other medications and have an impact on any underlying medical disorders you may have.
Consult your doctor if you experience persistent or worsening heartburn despite taking measures to alleviate it. Heartburn can occasionally be a symptom of an underlying illness, such as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), or it could represent a negative drug interaction.
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