More Heartburn Remedies

Heartburn and Raisins: Good Combination or Trouble for Acid Reflux?

Heartburn and raisins often get mixed reviews. Raisins are acidic in some ways, so it makes sense that one would doubt their ability to help with a symptom known to be related to high levels of stomach acids. However, raising and heartburn are good for each other when improper digestion is the culprit.

People with heartburn are told to avoid acidic foods, especially fruits. So what makes raisins so different? It depends on the person. In people who aren’t prone to frequent heartburn because of an acid problem, raisins might cause a slight increase in good acids that help digest foods. Raisins are also very high in fiber, which helps with digestion when foods get past the stomach and into the intestines.

Raisins are also good a producing saliva. As a short term solution to the onset of heartburn, holding raisins in the mouth for a minute or two can help produce enough saliva and induces swallowing so that stomach acids are pushed back down into the stomach where they below. (The same effect can be achieved by chewing a stick of gum.)

The Long-Term Benefits for Heartburn and Raisins

Raisins are acidic in composition, but they rarely cause enough acid production to harm a person who experiences occasional heartburn. They are certainly less offensive to the body than some prescription and over the counter treatments for heartburn. While they may not work in every case, heartburn and raisins can enjoy a symbiotic relationship if given enough time.

Heartburn is often cause by food that is slow to digest in the stomach. Foods that are oily or high in fat sit in the stomach much longer than low-fat foods. While these foods remain in the stomach, acids are constantly produced and pumped into the stomach to aid in digestion. As fatty foods are digested, gas is released. This gas causes pressure and promoted heartburn by forcing all of those acids into the esophagus.

Enter raisins. Raisins are acidic have an interesting affect on the stomach: when foods enter the stomach and digestion slows, raisins can help create an environment that helps the food to digest and pass through the stomach quickly. This makes them one of the possible heartburn remedies that you can eat with your food. Instead of aggravating the stomach and causing the over-production of stomach acids, raisins pitch in to help the stomach digest foods with less acid production. Less time in the stomach also means less pressure from gas.

By eating raisins on a regular basis, a person can actually experience less heartburn from consuming fatty foods. While the stomach is hard at work producing acids to digest these foods, the raising are in the mix and releasing extra acids to also digest the food.

When Heartburn and Raisins Collide

Raisins are an acidic food – a type of food that helps to restore the natural acids in the stomach. However, people who have chronic acid problems have plenty of these acids and should avoid acidic fruits in most cases. Citrus fruits are also acidic and rank pretty high on the “do not eat” list for people with chronic acid reflux.

Raisins on an empty stomach might cause heartburn or nausea in some people, too. This is because raisins are acidic and stomach acids always have some kind of reaction to other acids that are consumed. This is why raising bread and raisin oatmeal are better ways to eat raising if you have an acid reflux condition.

Heartburn Friendly Foods: Ingredients and Preparation Matters

If you suffer from frequent heartburn, friendly foods and basic changes to your diet can do much to help relieve the discomfort. The types of food we eat, the way we prepare and cook them, and even what we do following the meal can impact the likelihood that we will experience heartburn.

It is important to recognize which foods seem to result in heartburn for each person, because triggers are different for everyone. Even so, there are many categories of food that almost all heartburn sufferers share. Foods that are not heartburn friendly are either high in fat, high in acid, contain a lot of spices, or a combination of these three. Beverages that are carbonated or contain a lot of caffeine can also cause heartburn.

Heartburn Friendly Foods based on Ingredients

As mentioned above, heartburn friendly foods avoid things that we know are commonly the triggers of heartburn. Some of the most commonly offensive foods include citrus fruits, including juices; raw onions; fatty meats, such as ground beef and marbled cuts of meat; dairy products, including whole milk and most yogurts; and oily or fatty foods, such as salad dressing, mayonnaise, and potato chips.

Heartburn friendly foods are those that either avoid the trigger ingredients for an individual or at least limit the amount of trigger ingredients used in the preparation of meals. There are quite a few heartburn friendly foods and ingredients that can replace offending food in an individual’s diet.

Dairy is a trigger food in most people because of fat content, but low-fat and no-fat varieties of cream cheese, goat cheese, sour cream, and raw yogurt are more heartburn friendly foods.

Fruits that are generally safe for heartburn sufferers include apples and bananas. Raw apples are also beneficial in treating heartburn symptoms for some people.

Vegetables are generally heartburn friendly foods, provided that they are prepared without oil and too many spices. Consider incorporating more vegetable into your diet through potatoes, carrots, broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, beans, and peas.

Meats that are heartburn friendly are difficult to find in some regions, but it is worth the extra effort if this is one of your heartburn triggers. Lean ground beef and cuts of beef, fish, and skinless poultry are usually non-offensive.

Grains are heartburn friendly foods as long as they are less processed and you do not have an intolerance to gluten. Bleached white flour can cause heartburn in some people, but whole grain breads, pasta, and cereals are generally safe. White or brown rice and oatmeal are generally regarded as heartburn friendly as well.

Other foods that fall into categories such as condiments, dressings, or sauces should follow the general rules of trigger foods. For example, low-fat salad dressing, low-fat mayonnaise, and low-fat cheese sauces are more heartburn friendly (in moderation) than regular oil-based or milk-based salad dressings that are high in fat and red tomato sauces that are high in acid.

Heartburn Friendly Foods based on Cooking Method

Even if you choose all of the right ingredients of heartburn friendly food, heartburn can still happen if the food is not prepared thoughtfully. For example, a breaded chicken breast contains very little ingredients that are known to trigger heartburn. (Bleached flour can cause heartburn in some individuals.) However, the cooking method matters. If the chicken is baked, it is less likely to cause heartburn. If it is fried in grease, it suddenly becomes a “fatty food” and is widely known to cause heartburn in some people.

Heartburn friendly foods are best cooked according to one of the following methods, to avoid the unintentional addition of a heartburn triggering element to your diet.

Broiling – Broiling is a great way to cook fish and some vegetables. The food is cooked quickly and to a crisp, if desired.

Baking – Baking is a great way to achieve tender, juicy heartburn friendly foods. Baking meat slowly and with a lid can result in a tender cut that is comparable to deep-fried meats. Baking vegetables with non-offending flavors and moderate spices can add depth to a dish without compromising its heartburn friendly status.

Steaming – Steamed vegetables are the most nutritionally complete according to most health experts. The flavors of vegetables are retained well and a larger portion of the heartburn friendly food’s vitamins and minerals remain intact. This isn’t true of extended cooking methods such as baking and boiling.

Pan Frying – Pan frying heartburn friendly foods without using oil can help to eliminate some of the fats in meats. Lean ground beef still contains some elements of fat, so pan frying will allow you to cook most of it out of the meat and drain it away. (Think hamburgers!)

Boiling – Boiling might seem like a bland way to cook foods, but when you incorporate the right blend of heartburn friendly foods it can be tasty. Soups are generally safe as long as the ingredients are, so instead of thinking about how bland boiled potatoes are, consider how tasty potatoes boiled in a low-fat chicken stock will taste. (White rice in chicken stock is also a tasty side dish.)

Eating heartburn friendly foods doesn’t have to mean eating boring food. There are plenty of recipe resources that can be found on the web and in book stores for using any of these cooking methods to prepare foods that are far less likely to trigger symptoms of acid reflux. Be open to trying new heartburn remedies and ways of preparing your favorite foods and you might find that some heartburn friendly food recipes will be among your favorites.

Heartburn Keeps Me Up At Night –Ways to make it Better

Like so many others, I have had my share of sleepless night because of heartburn. Heartburn prevented me from getting to sleep on many occasions or, when I did get to sleep, it would wake me up at all hours of the night with a terrible burning and often nausea and painful bloating.

The result of heartburn that keeps me up at night became a problem in my daily life, too. I was tired all of the time, had a hard time focusing on even the simplest things, and worse yet – I looked like I hadn’t slept in days. And most of the time, that was true.

Although I have GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease), a condition that keeps my stomach on edge with stomach acids, I knew I couldn’t continue to lose sleep. Since I was already taking a proton-pump inhibitor to prevent acids from being pushed into my stomach and an H2 blocker to lessen the amount of acid being produced there, I had to look outside of the box for answers.

I thought “If heartburn keeps me up at night, then my days will continue to be as fuzzy as those long hours just wishing I could sleep.” I had to go through a trial and error process to find the right combination that worked for me, so you may have to do the same. Here is what I found out about how to prevent heartburn from keeping me up at night.

Heartburn Keeps Me Up At night if I Eat Too Soon Before Bed

Heartburn is much more likely if I lay down, I knew this just from what I had been going through. However, heartburn is worse if I eat within a few hours of bedtime.

When there is food left in the stomach and the acids are still “at work”, heartburn is more likely to happen by lying down and putting all my stomach contents near my esophagus. (Lying down also increases gastric pressure, which pushes the food into my esophagus easier, too.)

Heartburn Keeps Me Up At Night if I Drink Carbonated Beverages

As a GERD sufferer, I know that acidic things were definitely off-limits. But I never had a problem with carbonated beverages. (I often used them to alleviate gastric pressure because they can help me to burp.) However, as a drink right before bed they just make matter worse because of the increase in gastric pressure (from not burping) and cause the acids in my stomach to go crazy.

Heartburn Keeps Me Up At Night if I Take Sleeping Medications

I found out that certain medicines I used to help me sleep were causing nighttime heartburn as a side-effect. Through reading some of the information available out there, I found out that anti-anxiety medicines like Valium, Xanax, and other types of benzodiazepines commonly cause night time heartburn.

Many Medical Conditions can Cause Heartburn that keeps me Up at Night

While I’m fairly healthy (except for some gastric problems), I was interest to find out that there are many health conditions that cause nighttime heartburn. As it turns out, obesity, asthma, and high blood pressure can all cause heartburn.

What to Do About Heartburn that keeps you up at Night

For me, eliminating carbonation before bedtime and making sure I stuck to my rule about not eating a few hours before bed did the trick. (Along with my prescriptions, of course.) It may not be that simple for others, so here is a list of tricks that just might be your ticket to a good night’s sleep.

Check out these heartburn remedies.

Avoid alcoholic beverages that relax the lower esophageal sphincter

Do not eat a big meal before bed and no late night snacking.

Avoid carbonation before bed.

Avoid common trigger foods: Avoid Spicy Foods, fatty foods, and acidic foods.

Sleep on your side or with your head up (so acids stay in the stomach).

Eat slowly when you do eat the last meal of the day.

Reduce stress by exercising (but not right before bed).

Chew gum before bed to help calm the acids with saliva.

Stay hydrated throughout the day.

Don’t smoke.

How to Choose From Over the Counter Heartburn Products

Almost all over the counter heartburn products promise to cure your symptoms and fast. While antacids are probably the only products that will actually deliver on that promise, there are some good options available to you at your local drug store.

First, it is important to recognize that frequent heartburn that comes back many times a week may need a combination of medications. If this is the case, it is always better to seek a doctor’s opinion about the best way to treat your heartburn.

Some over the counter heartburn products work very well on some people, but few are effective at battling chronic heartburn as a stand-alone treatment in most people. Additionally, combining medications on your own is not advisable because drugs can easily interact and cause extreme side effects that you may not expect.

However, if you suffer from mild heartburn or simply have to wait to visit a doctor, you may consider purchasing and over the counter heartburn product. There are plenty of options out there, so choosing the right medication may be a matter of trial and error.

Always remember to read the label on any over the counter heartburn product. If you have a pre-existing condition, are allergic to any of the ingredients, or are pregnant or nursing you may not be able to take just any medicine for your heartburn.

Labels are also a good way to pay less for over the counter heartburn products because brand names tend to be more expensive, but have the same active ingredients as generic versions. Labels can also help you decide which type of medication will work for you.

Types of Over the Counter Heartburn Products

If you visit a doctor for help with heartburn, you will inevitably discuss the various methods through which heartburn can be controlled. There are several types of heartburn medications available by prescription and the same is true for over the counter heartburn products.

It is very likely that the conversation will start with questions about how you can modify your diet to give medications a fighting chance. Don’t ignore the sound advice that avoiding heartburn trigger foods can eliminate most of the problem you may have with heartburn. Over the counter heartburn products will do little to help your condition if you are eating spicy foods that trigger heartburn.

The primary type of medication for the immediate relief of heartburn is an antacid. You may find that acid neutralizers work well for quick relief. Some of the more prevalent antacids include Tums, Rolaids, and Alka-Seltzer. Milk of Magnesia can also help to control heartburn, as can pink bismuth.

A type of drug that doctors might prescribe in combination with another medication is called an H2 blocker. Over the counter heartburn products that contain an H2 blocker work by blocking the production of stomach acids and therefore reduce the amount of acid in the stomach. Over the counter versions of H2 blockers approved by the FDA include Axid AR, Pepcid AC, Tagamet HB, and Zantac 75.

The third type of drug is known as a proton-pump inhibitor, or PPI. Doctors prescribe these medications in combination with H2 blockers for people with severe heartburn. Over the counter heartburn products that contain a PPI include Prevacid 24HR, Prilosec OTC, and Zegerid OTC. PPI’s are not recommended for use for more than 14 days.

If you have tried all the heartburn remedies, so to speak, and are still having problems with heartburn, it is time to seek a professional opinion. Additionally, if you need these medications several times a week, over the counter heartburn products may not be enough to control your symptoms and a doctor can help. After determining that acid reflux is the cause of your symptoms, he or she will likely prescribe a stronger version of one of these PPI and H2 blocking over the counter heartburn medication.

Quick Remedies for Heartburn

Quick heartburn remedies are ideal for people who are accustomed to dealing with the burning sensation of stomach acids. It is best to act quickly and attack the problem before heartburn symptoms have time to get any worse.

Before trying a quick remedy, be sure that you are doing the best thing for your own acid reflux. Some remedies only work for some people, but if you keep trying you will find the right treatment. Some people find that no home remedy will work and need to seek medical attention while other people have great success with homeopathic options.

If you find that nothing works fast enough to help you avoid the pain of heartburn, ask a doctor about medications that are specifically designed to block acid production that is responsible for your heartburn. A local pharmacist can also help you located an over0the-counter acid reducer that may help you prevent heartburn altogether.

Quick Home Remedies for Heartburn

Chewing Gum – Chewing gum for about 30 minutes can help stimulate the production of saliva and promoted swallowing. Both of these activities can help keep acids in the stomach and out of the esophagus where the acids cause heartburn. The same effect can be obtained by sucking on a lozenge or sugar free hard candy for 30 minutes after a meal. Just be sure to avoid peppermint flavors if peppermint is one of your trigger foods. This method was proven by studies in London in 2005 when a group of researches tests the levels of acid in the esophagus of volunteers who participated in the studies.

Baking Soda – Baking soda is a natural antacid and a teaspoon of the power dissolved in about 8 ounces of water can help neutralize the acids in the stomach. Just be aware that this can also cause gas in the stomach. Belching can release some pressure and ease discomfort, but it can also allow acid into the esophagus. It may not be the best home remedy for heartburn if you’ve had too much food for this reason. However, if you are experiencing heartburn with bloating, you may be having heartburn because of too much pressure. If this is the case, carbonated beverages might help. Just remember that carbonation can contribute to gastric pressure if you do not easily release the gas.

Apple Cider Vinegar vs. Apples – ACV as it’s known in the homeopathic medical communities many people claim they’ve had great luck with it as a successful remedy for heartburn. However, ACV is very acidic and logic tells us that can add to the heartburn problem. Apples on the other hand may be very beneficial in combating your heartburn.

Dilute with Water – Water is one of the best things for what ails you, regardless of what ails you. When stomach acid is a problem, water can help dilute the acids so the heartburn isn’t as painful. However, it doesn’t really remedy the problem.

Ginger or Herbal Teas – Tea that does not contain caffeine can help soothe stomach acids.

Almonds – Chewing almonds after a meal is known to have soothing effects on stomach acids.

Quick Over-the-Counter Remedies for Heartburn

Over-the counter remedies can include antacids and medications that were formerly available by prescriptions only.

Rolaids, Maalox, and other forms of antacids can provide immediate relief of heartburn in most people. Here are a few of the over-the-counter remedies that can help:

* Alka-Seltzer
* Tums
* Milk of Magnesia
* Alternagel
* Amphojel
* Gaviscon
* Pepto-Bismol
* Gelusil
* Mylanta
* Gaviscon

There are some proton pump inhibitors available over-the counter as well. Many if these were formerly available by prescription only and help to prevent acid from being pumped into the stomach.

* Axid AR
* Pepcid AC
* Tagamet HB
* Zantac 75

Do not use any of these over the counter prescriptions for more than the recommended 7-14 days before consulting with a doctor. These are not necessarily meant for long-term use.

What to Do About Heartburn that Won’t Go Away

Persistent heartburn can be a sign of a significant problem, usually a digestive issue of some kind. In some cases, heartburn that won’t go away can be confused with the signs of heart problems. More often it’s a sign that you may have an acid reflux disease known as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD.)

There are some significant differences in heartburn that won’t go away because of acid reflux and the sensations caused by cardiac arrest. Pain from a heart attack is sudden and feels crushing in many cases. Chances are, if you have GERD you know what heartburn really feels like and can tell the difference.

Heart attack pain can also be slow, starting with mild discomfort that increases in your whole upper body and spreads to your neck, jaw, and arms. You may feel short of breath, dizzy, and sweaty, too. Heartburn that won’t go away lasts longer than this kind of pain and is associated with feeling sick to your stomach.

However, if you have not been diagnosed with GERD or you are experiencing heartburn for the first time, it may be a foreign feeling for you. A quick way to tell the difference is the taste in your mouth. Heartburn makes your mouth taste sour, especially if you lay down. Also, the pain will usually occur right after you have eaten, especially if you are a spicy or large meal with a lot of animal proteins and fat).

Pain in the chest that may seem like heartburn can also be caused by muscle spasms in the esophagus and gallbladder problems. If it’s a gallbladder issue, you will also feel sudden pain in your back and abdomen.

Chronic Heartburn is a Symptom Acid Reflux

Heartburn is a very common symptom of GERD. Heartburn feels like a burning sensation right behind your breastbone where your throat runs through. This is where the esophagus is located and it is the organ that is hurting when you feel this symptom.

Heartburn that won’t go away is usually caused by either an overproduction of acid in the stomach that forces its way into the esophagus or stomach acids that get into the esophagus because the LES is not closing properly. The LES, or lower esophageal sphincter, is a muscle that closes after you swallow to keep all of the contents of your stomach away from the esophagus.

The LES normally relaxes several times a day and in most people, this is when occasional heartburn occurs. It can also occur after you have eaten too much or when you eat something that increases acid production and gastric pressure. (Like carbonated soda or fatty foods that are high in animal proteins.)

For people with GERD, heartburn may be persistent because the stomach is producing a large amount of acids to digest foods and the LES isn’t closing all the way or as often as it should.

Heartburn Treatments

If you have heartburn that won’t go away, it is very important to see treatment. Heartburn caused by GERD will occur several times a week and can eventually cause permanent damage to the esophagus.

A doctor can prescribe medications that help prevent the excessive buildup of acids in the stomach. A special kind of medication known as proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) prevents the ducts that pump acid into your stomach from doing their job. Less acid means less acid reflux and fewer instance of heartburn.

H2 blockers are also beneficial in the treatment of heartburn that won’t go away. These medications prevent the creation of too many stomach acids.

If you are not experiencing consistent heartburn episodes and have heartburn that won’t go away after eating a meal, you may benefit from a simple approach to extinguish heartburn caused by a food trigger. (Spicy foods, fatty foods, alcohol, citrus fruits, and carbonated drinks are among the most common triggers.)

Simple remedies include chewing a handful of almonds or eating some raw yogurt with high probiotic content. Over the counter antacids may help treat heartburn symptoms, but shouldn’t be used to treat them for a long period of time.

The best way to treat heartburn is to prevent it altogether. Whenever possible, avoid foods that can cause heartburn. Stress is a heartburn trigger as well, so try to reduce the amount of stress you are experiencing.

The Facts about Heartburn and Yogurt

There are many conflicting reports about heartburn and yogurt. Some sources will tell us that yogurt is a heartburn trigger. Others tell us that yogurt is an effective treatment for the symptoms of heartburn. So, which one is correct? Believe it or not, they are both correct.

It is important to understand that there are several variables involved when discussing heartburn and yogurt. What we have eaten earlier in the day, what kind of yogurt we consume, what medications we have taken, and even our physical activity can determine whether or not we will experience heartburn.

Heartburn and Yogurt: How Yogurt Might Trigger Heartburn

Heartburn can occur for a number of reasons; these reasons are known as “triggers”. In addition to heartburn triggers, there is sometimes an underlying cause that makes us more likely to get heartburn and other digestive upsets such as GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) and esophagitis (inflammation and swelling of the esophagus).

Yogurt ends up on the “heartburn trigger” list of foods because it is a dairy product that usually contains milk fat. Milk fats like those found in yogurt can trigger heartburn for the same reason that any fatty food triggers heartburn.

Fatty foods remain in the stomach longer because they take longer to digest. Not only is the stomach creating more acid during this time, the esophagus is exposed to the acid longer and may eventually relax – letting acid reflux occur and heartburn to begin.

Heartburn and yogurt that is high in fat may be very aggravating to some individuals. Therefore, it is best to avoid whole fat yogurt and choose a low-fat variety instead. The only sure way is to avoid yogurt entirely, but that may not be necessary – especially if you really like yogurt.

Some foods can actually prevent or relieve heartburn and yogurt is one of them, if you know where to look and what type of yogurt you need.

Heartburn and Yogurt: Using Yogurt as a Remedy

If we want to consider home remedies for heartburn and yogurt seems like a good alternative, it is very important to know that there are different types of yogurt. Two of them (raw and commercial) are comprised of different types of ingredients that affect stomach acids in different ways.

Commercial yogurt is the kind we can readily buy at any grocer or ask for in some drive-thru restaurant windows. Heartburn and yogurt of this variety is more likely to be a problem because of all the added ingredients.

Commercial yogurt, even the low-fat variety, contains artificial sweeteners, preservatives, and flavors that disrupt the pH balance in the stomach, resulting in the production of more acid. The extra activity in the stomach acids can cause acid reflux and heartburn.

Raw yogurt, however, is actually good for digestive health and can reduce acid reflux and ease heartburn. If one suffers from chronic heartburn and yogurt is a favorite food, raw yogurt is definitely the best option.

This type of yogurt contains probiotics which help to balance the pH levels in the stomach. The probiotics actually reduces acid in the stomach and therefore provides an environment where heartburn is much less likely to occur.

One might say that heartburn and yogurt with probiotics can be considered enemies since the probiotics in raw yogurt can prevent heartburn in the first place and also soothes the symptoms of acid reflux once it has begun to make us feel sick.

Raw yogurt is less commonly available, though there are a few brands carried by major grocery store chains. (Look for those that mention digestive health on the label and be sure they are free of additives.)

In general, yogurt should be consumed with discretion if you are susceptible to heartburn triggered by food. If you find that you experience heartburn symptoms immediately following the consumption of yogurt, try to avoid it in your diet or switch to raw yogurt.

It may be easier to purchase at a holistic health food store or at an organic grocer. As part of a regular diet regiment, yogurt containing probiotics can yield many other health benefits as well.

There are Many Benefits of Yogurt and Heartburn Prevention is just One

Yogurt is good for our overall digestive system. In addition to preventing acid reflux and soothing heartburn, yogurt contains bacteria that help amino acids from protein become absorbed into our system.

If you drink whole milk or like to eat other dairy products, yogurt can help to digest lactose as well. Raw yogurt is also helpful for those who are lactose intolerant. Just remember that milk fats can cause acid reflux, so drinking whole milk should still be avoided by heartburn sufferers if yogurt doesn’t help when dairy products are consumed.

Finally, yogurt effectively reduces the overall number of bacteria in the digestive system that can cause illness. Our bodies are riddled with natural, necessary germs. However, an imbalance between the different types of bacteria can make us sick and even lead to serious disease. Raw yogurt helps to balance the population by introducing active cultures into our intestines and colon.

Tips to Prevent Heartburn after Eating

Do you suffer from heartburn after eating? If so, you are not alone. Heartburn is most common directly after eating a meal; this is especially true if you have eaten a large meal. There are quite a few reasons one might experience heartburn after eating. Over-eating, eating certain kinds of food, and physical activities can all contribute to heartburn.

Heartburn symptoms can also be a chronic condition if you are pregnant, have hiatal hernia, or a damaged esophagus. There is good news, though. You may be able to prevent heartburn after eating (or at least limit its severity) by understanding how heartburn happens and knowing what you can do about it.

Understanding How Food Triggers Heartburn after Eating

Heartburn is a burning sensation behind the breastbone or inside of your throat. When we experience heartburn after eating, what we are actually feeling is the effect of stomach acids that have risen up from the stomach and into the esophagus, a process otherwise known as acid reflux. Normally, a muscle known as the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) prevents this from happening by sealing off the lower part of the esophagus after we’ve swallowed something. Sometimes the LES doesn’t close and that’s how acid reflux can occur.

Consuming food and drink causes the stomach to produce acids that help us to digest what we have swallowed. Certain types of food cause our stomachs to produce more of the acid and put us at a greater risk of heartburn after eating. In some cases, the LES is weak or damaged and doesn’t stop the acid from leaking into the esophagus; this is the case with hiatal hernia. Sometimes gastric pressure causes acids to be forced into the esophagus. Gastric pressure can occur when we wear tight clothing, bend over after eating, when lying down after eating, or because of an expanded uterus during pregnancy. Over-eating causes heartburn after eating because the stomach stretches, making it harder for the LES to do its job.

How to Lessen the Risk of Heartburn after Eating

Since acid reflux is caused by stomach acids entering into the esophagus, the best way to treat heartburn is to prevent that from happening. This can be accomplished by being mindful of the habits that cause us to experience heartburn after eating a meal. We can avoid bending over, lying down directly after we eat, or wearing a tight belt. We can avoid over eating or chew antacids after eating certain foods. Perhaps the easiest and most effective ways to prevent heartburn involve avoiding the foods that trigger heartburn after eating in the first place.

Foods to Avoid if You Experience Heartburn after Eating

The best way to prevent heartburn after eating is to simply avoid the foods that can trigger heartburn or only consume offending foods in moderation. Each person is different, so you may not experience heartburn for the same reasons as another. There are well-known trigger foods and drinks that can be avoided to prevent heartburn after eating. If possible, try to avoid fatty and spicy foods as well as those that contain the following ingredients: alcohol, chocolate, caffeine, citrus, tomato, some types of mint, and carbonation.

Here are some of the foods you should try to avoid whenever possible to help prevent heartburn after eating:

• Acidic fruits, juices, or sauces – Orange, grapefruit, lemon, cranberry, and tomato

• Fatty foods – ground beef, marbled cuts of meat, sour cream, whole milk products, full-fat cottage cheese, salad dressings, and oils

• Spicy foods – Containing hot sauce and other seasonings such as hot wings or spicy chili

• Also avoid consuming raw onions, coffee, tea, alcoholic beverages, and any carbonated drink as these can cause more acid production.

Natural Remedies for Heartburn after Eating

If you are unable to avoid the cause of heartburn, there are some remedies that may help to stop acid reflux or significantly reduce the severity of the episode. Not every remedy will work for every person in the same way that not every food item will cause heartburn for every person. Once you have discovered a remedy that works however, you can save tons on antacids and over-the-counter medications. The remedies below can help mitigate heartburn after eating and can work for those with a hiatal hernia, those who are pregnant, or even those who have GERD.

• Mustard – A tablespoon of mustard taken alone or with crackers may stop heartburn after eating if spicy foods do not cause you to feel heartburn.

• Apples or Apple Cider Vinegar – A tablespoon of apple cider vinegar take directly after the meal can help to calm stomach acids. It can be taken alone or mixed in with a drink. (Just be sure the drink isn’t the cause of heartburn.) Raw sliced apples are also known to soothe heartburn.

• Blanched Almonds – Chewing up to 8 almonds can have a soothing effect on heartburn. Just be sure to chew them well and avoid swallowing too much air.

• Unsalted Soda Crackers – Soda crackers contain bicarbonate soda that neutralizes acids.

• Iberogast – Iberogast is a diet supplement composed of many herbs that can work to significantly reduce heartburn after eating. Because iberogast contains peppermint, people who are sensitive to mint may not have favorable results with this remedy.

• Chewing Gum – Gum chewing produces saliva, a natural acid buffer. It also instigates more swallowing, which pushes acids back down into the stomach where they belong. Avoid gum that contains natural citrus fruit juices and mint flavors.

Heartburn Prevention: How to Prevent Heartburn

It is always much easier to prevent something than it is to stop it once it has already started, and it is no different for heartburn. In this article, you are going to discover how to prevent heartburn through a variety of methods, from choosing certain foods, cooking your food in one way over another, and even adding in some powerful acid reflux remedies at mealtimes in order to reduce reflux.

How to Prevent Heartburn: Foods

There are two things you can do with your food choices in order to prevent heartburn: choose certain foods and avoid others. Two of the best foods you can eat to help prevent heartburn are pineapple and papaya. These two tropical fruits contain powerful digestive enzymes which can help the body break down protein. This may aid digestion and help reduce acid reflux, especially after eating meat or plant proteins.

Protein in general tends to be a good food for preventing heartburn. When protein enters the stomach, the Lower Esophageal Sphincter (LES) gets tighter. Heartburn or acid reflux occurs when the LES loses tension, as this muscle is what constricts to keep what belongs in the stomach in the stomach.

Additionally, you can help prevent heartburn by avoiding certain foods. Some of the top foods that are known for their ability to cause heartburn are tomatoes, coffee, chocolate, spicy foods, and alcohol. For a full list of foods, check out our article on acid reflux foods to avoid.

How to Prevent Heartburn: Lifestyle

There are actually a lot of things you can do aside from changing your diet in order to reduce heartburn, including losing weight, cooking differently, and kicking bad habits. Losing weight is perhaps the best way to prevent heartburn, as no matter what your genetic background is like it seems that obesity is the only constant among heartburn triggers for all people.

Another thing that may help you is by changing the way you cook. Try making sure all your vegetables are cooked (steamed or boiled), as this makes them easier to digest than raw vegetables. Additionally, try cooking meat in a crock pot or marinading with vinegar or red wine, as this helps break down the meat as well.

These cooking alterations are especially helpful if you take a proton-pump inhibitor or H2-blocker to reduce stomach acid. The reduction in stomach acid can make digesting foods harder, so cooking vegetables and meat more thoroughly can make digesting them easier.

Another thing that is important is chewing your food. People who have acid reflux are much more likely to inadequately chew their food. Chewing your food gives more surface area for digestive chemicals in the stomach and intestine to work on, making digestion much faster. This is another reason why thorough cooking can reduce heartburn as it makes it much easier to chew.

Taking a step away from food, bed wedge supports which will raise your the head of your bed by 4-6 inches can be very effective at reducing heartburn as well. These allows you to lie on a slight incline when sleeping which will help keep acid down in the stomach. You can use something as simple as wood blocks or stacked up magazines to put under the bed posts at the head of your bed to put it on an incline.

Finally, you want to make sure that you drop the bad habits that are drinking alcohol and smoking. While there are some studies that suggest that drinking a glass or two of wine a night might be helpful for heart disease, it is certainly not helpful for heartburn. Try to limit drinks to a night or two a week and when you do drink, avoid having more than a few drinks at once.

How to Prevent Heartburn – Heartburn Remedies

There are also a few special tricks you can use to help prevent acid reflux. If you have been on this site before, you know that we are big advocates of using chewing gum. This helps stimulate saliva production (the body’s natural defense against acid reflux) and promotes digestive motility. After eating, chew on a stick of gum for 10-15 minutes and you will be surprised at just how effectively it can prevent heartburn.

If you need some extra heartburn-fighting firepower, try taking a spoonful of vinegar immediately prior to eating. This helps stimulate a large flow of saliva and can help digest your food. This is not something you want to do every day, but if you are about to go to a bull roast or buffet and know you are in for heartburn later, this can be an effective tool to use.

Another good option for the same situation as vinegar would be a supplement which contains papain (papaya enzyme) or bromelain (pineapple enzyme). Both of these are powerful digestive enzymes can help promote digestion which may help reduce heartburn, particular heartburn that is the result of eating too much.

How to Prevent Heartburn – Conclusion

You now have access to a lot of simple ways to prevent heartburn. Whether it is changing your diet, losing weight chewing your food, raising your bed, or adding in some good heartburn remedies, there are a lot of effective ways to prevent heartburn that do not rely on costly treatments.

If you are still experiencing acid reflux two times per week or more even when following these tips, you will want to see a doctor and let him (or her) know about the symptoms you have been experiencing.

Iodine Supplements and Heartburn

As early as 1982, researchers have been able to demonstrate a solid link between acid reflux and hypothyroidism (1). It is theorized that hypothyroidism may effect the motility of the esophagus and reduce lower-esophageal sphincter pressure (1).

It is fairly safe to say that hypothyroidism and heartburn are related. However, is there anything we can do about this? Of course – and you are about to find out what!

Iodine Supplementation – A Possible Heartburn Remedy?

One of the biggest contributing factors to hypothyroidism (and as such, thyroid-related acid reflux) is inadequate iodine intake.

In response to a few studies demonstrating that high iodine intake leads to possible cancer and hypothyroidism, Iodine has received a particularly bad reputation lately.

However, you should know that this study did confirm that high iodine intakes may cause cancer or lead to hypothyroidism, the “excessive” group excreted a median of 651 micrograms per liter of urine (2). While, this may not seem like a lot, consider this:

• The average human excretes 1.5 liters of urine a day.

• The recommended daily allowance for iodine intake is 150 micrograms.

So, in order to be excreting (sans what their body was actually using) over 1,000 micrograms a day, the average person in the excessive group in this study was easily consuming an average 5 times the recommended daily allowance for iodine for a length of time.

As a result, the average person in a modernized nation is going to rarely be consuming those levels of iodine. This is much more typical of an eastern diet which includes a lot of seaweed and kelp. These plants contain extremely high levels of natural iodine not approached by any other food on the planet!

Now that we have got that out of the way, another study of a similar population confirmed that unusually low levels of iodine intake are associated with thyroid disease (3). We knew this all along, but it is good to see some positive research since the “high iodine” study.

The Dark Side of Sea Salt

Iodine intake has always been quite naturally low in the western diet. In order to combat this issue, most salts in the USA have been iodized. Since salt is used ubiquitously in cooking, it was thought that this would significantly reduce iodine deficiencies (and indeed it did).

The problem is now sea salt has begun replacing normal salt on many tables. For some reason sea salt is thought as some sort of health food because its natural, but the truth is it lacks iodine which is far more essential of a nutrient than any mystery minerals which might be found in sea salt.

Unless the package specifically says iodized, your sea salt has no significant levels of iodine. You can buy iodized sea salt online, but I have not seen it in the typical grocery store.

With this in mind, consider adding iodized salt to your acid reflux diet. If you cannot add salt to your diet to due to restrictions (such as edema or high blood pressure), consider an iodine supplement. A very small supplement of just 100-150 micrograms (micro, not milli) should be fine. Be careful, because many iodine supplements are 600+ micrograms, which is unsafe unless done under a doctor’s supervision (as a doctor can collect and monitor bloodwork and urinalyses).

Important: Do not take an iodine supplement if you are taking medication already for hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid). If you already eat a iodine-rich diet (i.e. eastern diet rich in seaweed or kelp) do not use an iodine supplement.

Other Ways to Help Hypothyroidism

In addition to adding iodine to the diet, another great way to help get your thyroid back on track is to lose weight. I know a lot of people say that the reason they are fat is hypothyroidism, but the truth is that in most people the situation is reversed.

A small minority of the population has thyroid problems due to genetics, cancer, radiation exposure, or other illness. A vast majority of the population is experiencing poor thyroid function due to obesity. Obesity negatively impacts every body system, and the thyroid is no difference from this.

When you consider this, it is not surprising that diagnoses of thyroid disorders have exploded over the last 15 years and obesity has exploded over the last 20 years. This is not a coincidence.

The good news is that both heartburn and thyroid disorders often become milder (and frequently reverse) when you lose weight. This allows you to tackle acid reflux from two fronts through weight loss.

Medication

Of course, many will elect to go on medication for hypothyroidism if diagnosed. This is entirely up to you and your doctor. Many people report great improvements to their quality of life after starting this medication.

If you are experiencing symptoms of hypothyroidism such as brittle nails, dry skin, cold hands and feet, mental fatigue, and possibly even acid reflux, you will want to see your doctor and get some bloodwork done.

Hypothyroidism, Iodized Salt, and Acid Reflux Conclusion

Given that low iodine intake is related to hypothyroidism and hypothyroidism is related to acid reflux, I do not think it is too far of a stretch to consider iodized salt and iodine supplements to be good heartburn home remedies. If you prefer the flavor of sea salt, consider getting iodized sea salt, which is readily available online.

As always, talk to your doctor if you have any health concerns or are experiencing heartburn symptoms two times a week or more. If you need to lose weight, just remember that weight loss is tied to both reduced acid reflux and improved thyroid function!

References

1. Eastwood GL, Braverman LE, White EM, Vander Salm TJ. Reversal of lower esophageal sphincter hypotension and esophageal aperistalsis after treatment for hypothyroidism. J Clin Gastroenterol. 1982 Aug;4(4):307-10.

2. Teng, W., et al. Effect of iodine intake on thyroid diseases in China. N Engl J Med. 2006 Jun 29;354(26):2783-93.

3. Yu, X., et al. A five-year follow-up study of goiter and thyroid nodules in three regions with different iodine intakes in China. J Endocrinol Invest. 2008 Mar;31(3):243-50.