5 Ways to Prevent Holiday Heartburn

One thing a lot of us do during the holiday season is overeat! Even though we might not have intentions of doing this, somehow being surrounded by holiday treats is just a little too tempting. Some people pay for this dearly with heartburn, that burning sensation in the chest from gastroesophageal reflux (acid backflow from the stomach irritating the esophagus). Below are 5 tips on how to prevent or minimize holiday heartburn.

Skip the spicy, fatty foods which are known to cause heartburn. Beverages containing caffeine, carbonated beverages, and citrus juices also should be avoided as they can bring on this uncomfortable condition. With the array of foods available during the holiday, it shouldn't be too difficult to choose other foods.

Don't eat within 2-3 hours of bedtime. Laying in bed with a full stomach can cause the contents of the stomach to press harder on the lower esophageal sphincter which increases the chances of food refluxing back up into your esophagus. And having less food in your stomach means less acid to reflux.

Eat smaller meals more often throughout the day. Smaller meals obviously digest more quickly than large amounts of food in your stomach.

Elevate your head when sleeping. When you lay flat, the contents of your stomach press against the lower esophageal sphincter. When your head is elevated higher than your stomach, the simple rule of gravity takes over and less problems are created with reflux. Elevating your head is easy to do. You can sleep with an extra pillow or two under your head. Or you can place something more permanent under the legs at the head of your bed like bricks or blocks. You can even buy one of those beds where you can automatically raise the top half of the bed.

Chew sugarless gum. Chewing gum increases the production of saliva thus acting as a buffer by neutralizing the stomach acid. And the more saliva going down, the less stomach acid can reflux back up into the esophagus.

I hope these tips help! Holiday heartburn is certainly preventable or at least reducible!