Cooling Down Heartburn

As a child I always found it humorous when my parents complained they had heartburn. I could never quit figure it out, how could your heart burn from eating food? It made no sense to me. That was until years later when I experienced my first bout of heart burn. When it struck, I knew immediately what it was, and I became instinctively aware how its name was derived. When that acid washes up from your stomach it makes you miserable.

Heart burn also referred to as acid indigestion affects almost 60% of American's at least sometime during the year, according to the American Gastroenterological Association. Half of that group experience weekly bouts of it and a growing number of people suffer from daily heart burn. Daily heart burn discomfort is generally a sign that something more than indigestion is going on. It is generally an indication that gastro esophageal reflux disease (GERD) or acid reflux is present. This is a very unpleasant disease and its outcome is usually not good.

Hoarseness, nausea, and chronic coughing are a few of the discomforts that accompany acid reflux which severely irritate and damage the lining of the sufferer's esophagus. If untreated, this condition could morph into esophageal cancer. Regular heart burn is easily treatable by initiating minor eating and habit changes such as; eating smaller meals throughout the day, chewing your food longer before swallowing, eating slower, not lying down soon after you have eaten, loosening up your clothing around the stomach and waist, losing some weight, discontinue smoking, avoid bending over for long periods of time, and reducing your daily stress. GERD sufferers can also benefit from this regiment, however, their condition is far worse than standard heart burn and a different approach is necessary to cure their condition.

The esophagus is designed to allow a valve to open to allow the food we eat to pass through and close to keep the digestive juices created in our stomach from flowing upward. Sometimes this valve malfunctions and an acid back wash occurs. This is what cause heart burn and indigestion. There are some foods that aggravate this situation by weakening the esophagus valve function. Coffee, soda, spicy foods, high fat foods, and some citrus fruits are a few of the members of the aggravation food group. The GERD sufferer must become a food detective and attempt to pinpoint situations, foods and occurrences that stimulate their acid reflux and seek out ways to curb and eliminate those situations. Their main tool of discovery is a food journal in which they detail; the who, what, when, where, and how of their daily eating and reaction activities.

Doctors generally prescribe acid blocking medication that provide some relief, however over use can actually exacerbate the situation. Ginger root has been found to alleviate some nausea and slippery elm bark will settle the acid formation. Life style and habit changes to head off the agony of gastro esophageal reflux disease is the only true solution.

Heartburn Cooldown - AARP Magazine July/August, 2008