Nothing ruins a dinner or timeout with your friends than a heartburn or burning sensation in your chest. More than 15 million Americans experience heartburns daily, and over 60 million complains of this inconvenient burning sensation in a month.
Heartburn is a common digestive –tract symptoms in people, irrespective of their age-group and gender. Heartburn is the hallmark of most gastrointestinal diseases such as gastro-esophageal reflux diseases (GERD. This disease is characterized by regurgitation of acidic food contents from the stomach to the esophagus. The burning sensation you feel in your chest is called heartburn.It is due to irritation of the chest and esophagus by hydrochloric acid and pepsin. Making little tweaks in your lifestyle choices such as eating a balanced diet, regular exercises, good sleeping pattern, and low-stress life.
There are different ways to relieve heartburn and prevent it from progressing into something dangerous and more complicated. Specific GERD and heartburn diets can be prescribed to patients by their medical practitioners. There are little changes we can make to our diet routine to eliminate heartburns and that burning chest sensation you feel. The diet tweaks include:
- Increased Meal Frequency: Heartburns are often caused by improper digestion of ingested foods, the digestive –tract is placed on a lot of stress to digest the voluminous foods we eat daily. The best way to solve this dilemma is by reducing your portion size and eating smaller meals more frequently.Don’t chow down monstrous large meals thrice daily, instead of spreading your meals into smaller portions throughout the day. Avoid eating large meals close to bedtime; this helps to prevent regurgitation of acidic contents from the stomach to the esophagus. This frequent regurgitation often worsens the heartburn and gastroesophageal reflux diseases.
- Trigger Foods: There are some specific common foods that trigger heartburns and gastro-esophageal reflux disease symptoms. One of the easiest ways to relieve heartburns is to avoid trigger These trigger foods include:
- Chocolate
- Tomato-rich foods
- Garlic
- Peppermints
- Fruits and juices containing virus or high in ascorbic acids
- Onions
- Fatty, spicy, or fried
- Carbonated drinks
- Alcohol
- Tea
- Coffee
- Alter your bedtime Routine: Gravitational pull is the reason why food and fluids rush from the stomach to the esophagus in a supine or pronated This frequently happens in people that lie down 2-3 hours postprandial.it is advisable to stay in a seated position, or take a light walk after a meal, and avoid immediate sleep or lying down. Eating earlier, 3 hours before bedtimes, ensures that there is little or no food contents to gravitate upwards when you lie down or sleep.
- Bed length: Adjusting the headrest of your bed and making it 5-10 inches long can go a long way in relieving gastro-esophageal reflux diseases symptoms. The higher length of the heads rest helps to keep stomach contents in the gastrum and prevents regurgitation and heartburns. It works by ensuring the head is always higher than the stomach to avoid gravitational pull. You can place a wedge under your mattress or a block of wood on the top legs of your bed.
- Social Lifestyle Changes: Reducing your alcohol intake and stopping smoking can help in eliminating heartburns, and managing gastroesophageal reflux disease. Nicotine present in cigarettes and the smoke inhaled by passive smokers are common triggers of heartburns and GERD.
- Weight Loss: Obesity and increased fat levels place a lot of pressure on the stomach. This increased intragastric pressure pushes food from the stomach into the esophagus. Shedding some extra bounds with the help of your doctor, nutritionist, or fitness trainer. The best way to lose weight safely is to do it progressively; rapid weight loss could be detrimental to your health. Losing 1-2 pounds per month is a progressive way to lose weight healthily.
- Medications: Over the counter drugs and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) such as aspirin, ibuprofen, and It is advisable to prescribe acetaminophen as a pain reliever when necessary.
- Stress: Reducing your stress level by participating in sporting activities or exercises such as yoga, tai-chi, working out in the gym, or meditation. The general rule of thumb is to keep doing whatever makes you happy and relax.
- Gums: Chewing gums postprandial helps in neutralizing the regurgitated acids and preventing heartburns in GERD patients.
- Loose Clothing: Tight clothing around the stomach is the easiest way to have heartburn and fell the bitter taste of pepsin and hydrochloric acids in your mouth. The tight dress gravitates gastric contents from the stomach into the esophagus.
Remedies for Acid Reflux and Heartburn
There are numerous conservative and natural remedies for acid reflux and heartburns; the mode of treatment often depends on the etiology of the disease. There are some natural remedies for these disturbing symptoms. These remedies include:
- Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV): The ph. of apple cider vinegar is 5, which makes it the perfect choice for lowering the acidic of the stomach. Reducing the ph. of the gastrum, assists in the digestion process of the body, at this moment, preventing heart burns and GERD symptoms. The best way to maximize this trick is by adding 2 tsp. of apple cider vinegar to a ¼ cup of water and drink. Repeat at 5 minutes intervals, until you no longer feel the burning sensation in your chest.
- Lemon Juice: It contains a ph. of 3 which helps in maintain the acidic environment of the stomach .it is rich in nutrients such as vitamin c, which enhances our immune system and prevents heart
- Betaine HCL: It replaces the natural acid in your stomach and helps to alleviate heart burns
- Baking Soda: This is the last resort for most people because it is readily available and neutralizes the acidic contents of the stomach and esophagus.
Acid Reflux Home Remedies
We all know that feeling when you need an instant solution or remedy and it seems like the hospital is too far away. Below are home remedies for treating acid reflux:
- Licorice: It is preferable to antacid because physiologically, the stomach needs an acidic environment to function effectively. Licorice helps to maintain the acidic medium of the stomach. It is advisable to use a DGL licorice which does not contain glycyrrhizin acid which could cause hypertension and other complications.
- Aloe vera: The juice fr6m aloe vera has an anti-inflammatory effect which can help eliminate heartburns. Taking half cup of aloe vera juice before meals could help relieve
- Slippery Elm: taking this magical home remedy before bedtimes help in eliminating heartburns.
- Sleeping Position: Always sleep on your left side to avoid regurgitation of acidic contents and avoid heartburns.
Heartburns could be an unexpected spoiler on a perfect date or family outing, don’t give it the chance to ruin your day. Use the remedies above to eliminate this disturbing symptom.
References
Cite a Website – Cite This For Me. (2018). Coaccess.com. Retrieved 26 February 2018, from http://www.coaccess.com/documents/GERD%20Guideline%202012_FINAL.pdf
GERD. (2018). Gastro.org. Retrieved 26 February 2018, from http://www.gastro.org/patient-care/conditions-diseases/gerd
Kennedy, J. (2018). SELF CARE OF HEARTBURN – Selfcare Journal. Self-care Journal. Retrieved 26 February 2018, from http://selfcarejournal.com/article/self-care-of-heartburn/