Tips on How to Avoid Heartburn

Some rights reserved by Mike SaechangHeartburn is something that most people experience at some point and time in their life. Sometimes the pain of heartburn is so intense you feel that it could be something more serious such as a heart attack.

Over 60 million people suffer from heartburn symptoms every single month. What is happening when you have this feeling is a muscular ring that is supposed to keep acid in the stomach does not work and the stomach acid splashes right back up into the esophagus.

Most people who do have heartburn and suffer occasionally from it say that the major cause of this is food. If food causes heartburn, then it’s time we look at why as well as what we can do to change some habits that will help to alleviate heartburn.

Food:

There are specific foods and drinks that do cause more acid to splash into the esophagus. Meats and chicken are not good for eating if you have heartburn. Anything that is oily like fried or fatty goods as well as sweets like cookies, doughnuts, and chocolate are all foods that trigger heartburn.

Some juices will cause lots of heartburn such as orange, lemon and grapefruit juices. Alcohol, coffee and teas can cause heartburn and should be avoided as well as dairy. Carbonated drinks can also add to heartburn because of the pressure the carbonation puts on the stomach. This pushes acid in the stomach back up the esophagus. Eating smaller meals and avoiding some of the foods above if heartburn is an aggravation will help.

Smoking:

Smoking is something that should be stopped if you suffer from heartburn. If you have consistent heartburn and continue to smoke, it will make matters much worse. Trying to find some ways to quit would be best. There are prescription medications out there today that can help stop smoking and many people have been successful using these. It can take a long time of taking the medication, but if you are persistent, it will help.
                                                                                        
Portion Sizes:

Watch what you eat and the size of your portions you are eating. Larger portions of food and meals that contain high fat levels will stay in the stomach much longer before it can make its pathway to the intestines. Because of this, the esophagus is right there in the open with stomach acid for a much longer time which can cause a great amount of heartburn. Eating much smaller meals even if you have to eat more times during the day is better than a big meal at one time.

Food Journals:

Keeping a food journal will help you see what is causing your heartburn or what types of foods you eat seem to trigger a heartburn attack. Keep a log of the times, what it was you ate, what reaction you had, and what you were doing at the time the heartburn came on.

Preventing heartburn and stopping heartburn are two other issues to learn about if you experience heartburn. There are so many different medications over the counter for preventing heartburn before it comes on, and medications to take once you have heartburn. The most commonly used are antacids. For those that have a tougher time and experience a lot of pain with heartburn, a doctor can prescribe you a much stronger medication. 

Guest author Kevin Wiseman is a freelance blogger for edrugstore.md a site where you can order medications online as well as read about the Dangers of counterfeit medications. For more information try reading an edrugstore review.

Comments

[James Dugan]

I checked out the edrugstore.md. That is fascinating. Do you need a prescription to buy those medicines? Really does look like the future of pharmacy, especially with the information and bloggers all in the same place. Not a bad idea.

Thanks for the lunch and it didn't give me heartburn.

[Robert]

Found this link for Prilosec heartburn drug free sample. Can anyone tell me about it? Heartburn is a recent problem for me and if I can get a free sample I would like that, but I want to know what you guys think?

http://affiliategateways.go2cloud.org/aff_c?offer_id=2130&aff_id=1358 

[Elysse Parsons]

I never thought of creating a food journal. That's a good tip. Does that mean that it's possible that only some foods and drinks that could trigger heartburn can be applicable to me? Chocolates and caffeine might not be my triggering factors? That I would love to know. Thanks so much for that tip. I'll try it right away. This website helped me a lot too as I was doing my research: http://www.heartburnbay.com/