Many times, following a party, a picnic or simply a large meal you are attacked by acid reflux or heartburn. This gives a highly unpleasant burning sensation in the chest region, following the regurgitation of certain amounts of acid from the stomach, back into the esophagus, sometimes right up to the throat. Heartburn is usually accompanied by a host of other symptoms such as stomach ache, nausea, feeling bloated, continuous belching and/or a vile soar-bitterish taste in the mouth.
How can you get Heartburn Help?
When reflux occurs, it is the indication that the LES (lower esophagus sphincter) is opening backwards and letting food and digestive fluids slip back into the alimentary canal, creating a lot of pain and inconvenience. Nobody likes this feeling and in order to avoid its occurrence, here are a few very useful tips to help heartburn:
- Help prevent heartburn (as well as colon cancer) with a simple precaution. Take one or two digestive enzymes before any large meal (wedding, birthday party, etc) which will help in processing (digestion) of the food without any side-effects.
- Never drink water with the meal or immediately after the meal. Wait for about one to two hours before having water. Water taken during meals usually dilutes the acid in the stomach and slows down the digestive process. This is particularly true with cold water.
- Do not drink sweet aerated drinks with your meals. Sugar, besides causing high acidity, expels calcium into the urine. Avoid as much as possible any type of sugar with or after the meals.
- Another simple tip to help prevent heartburn is contrary to popular belief. Most people believe that eating fruits after a meal is a good thing- not if you have heartburn. This is because fruits will aggravate the acidic content of the stomach which is already digesting the meal. The increase
- in acidity will result in acute heartburn.
- Do not go for large meals; rather get used to small meals at less intervals which are easier to digest.
The above are just a few of the natural remedies for heartburn. If you are looking for instant relief, you should keep some alkaline compounds (ask a doctor to prescribe it for you) and have it as soon as the first wave of acid reflux hits you. Be careful to improve your eating habits to prevent continuous recurrence of heartburn.
If this becomes a chronic affliction, it can be the cause of some extremely serious health problems. Eat healthy, exercise in moderation and drink plenty of fluids – and you will not need any more heartburn help.
