More than 22 million Americans suffer from acid reflux and heartburn every day. While there are a lot of synthetic medications available for heartburn these days, medical experts strongly recommend using natural and homemade remedies. In this guide, we’ll feature the 7 best ways to get rid of heartburn without using medication. There are also additional tips on this site.
What is heartburn?
Heartburn is the uncomfortable burning and warm feeling in your throat or chest (your breast bone). This sensation painful occurs when the acid in your stomach goes up into your esophagus, which is basically a tube that conveys food and water from the mouth to the stomach. Normally, this painful sensation begins in your chest, and eventually goes up to the neck and jaw.
In addition to the layman’s term “heartburn”, this burning sensation in your chest may be called as NCCP (non-cardiac chest pain), pyrosis, acid indigestion, and cardialgia.
Causes of heartburn: Heartburn normally happens when there is a surge of acid production in your stomach. This can be caused by:
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Foods, medications and drinks that increase secretion of acid in the stomach, such as chocolates, acidic juices, carbonated beverages, aspirin, caffeine, alcohol, and many more.
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Smoking as well eating foods with high contents of fat.
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Pregnancy
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Obesity
Are over-the-counter treatments safe to use?
In the past, medical practitioners would recommend the use of synthetic medications to get rid of heartburn. However, as the recent medical discoveries and studies have suggested, using an over-the-counter heartburn medication can cause deficiency in Vitamin B12. Not to mention, chronic use of these medications may lead to bone loss.
These medications function like a bandage that provides a quick solution to the problem. Heartburn synthetic medications can quickly stop the acid in your stomach, but they cannot resolve the problem causing such condition.
How can I treat it without medications?
There are a lot of ways to treat this problem without having to use any medications. For the most part, these solutions can be done on your own with just a few simple ingredients. To get rid of heartburn, take note of these tips and pointers:
1. Lose weight or maintain your ideal weight
One of the best and most effective ways of getting rid of heartburn naturally is to maintain a good and healthy weight. If your weight is way beyond your ideal weight, try to lose some excess pounds by dieting and exercising. Basically, having excess pounds in your body can cause more pressure to your stomach, which may increase of having acid reflux in your esophagus.
2. Smoking kills
Cigarette smoking not only causes cardiovascular diseases, but it may trigger heartburn as well. As medical studies have implied, smoking can impede your lower esophageal sphincter’s functions, resulting to an increase of acid production in the stomach.
3. Sleeping position
Avoid sleeping flat on your bed, as it can worsen the pain. If possible, set your bed’s head into an incline position to decrease acid reflux.
4. Eat the right foods
Try to avoid foods and beverages that trigger heartburn, as much as possible. Make a food journal that would help you identify the foods and drinks that trigger heartburn.
5. An apple a day keeps the doctors away
An apple a day is a great way to neutralize the acids in your stomach. Basically, apples have antacids (tartaric and malic acids) that can help control the production of acids in your stomach in a natural way. Since these fruits are organic and healthy, you can eat as much as apples as you want without having any side-effects.
6. Apple cider vinegar
Apple cider vinegar is by far one the best and most popular natural and homemade remedies for heartburn. As a natural remedy, consumption of apple cider vinegar aids in breaking down the fats in your digestive system. Moreover, it balances the production of acid in the stomach.
7. Gum
As strange as it sounds, chewing gum can actually relieve heartburn. As you chew gum, you are stimulating saliva production, which buffers acid production. In addition, chewing enables you to swallow more saliva, which will push down the acids out of the esophagus.
These are the seven ways to get rid of heartburn without consuming any dangerous synthetic medicines. Follow these tips, and say adios to that nasty heartburn of yours!
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About the Author: Jimmy R. is a health buff who loves to write about health and fitness topics. He’s an avid fan of extreme sports and mobile apps!
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