Almost everyone experiences some heartburn from time to time. Heartburn is the common name for this, more properly known as acid reflux or even more formally gastroesophageal reflux disease. For our purposes, let’s stick with heartburn.
The underlying problem with heartburn is that stomach acid gurgles up into the esophagus, where it doesn’t belong. Since the esophagus does not have the same protective lining as the stomach, people experience a burning sensation when this happens. Since the discomfort most often occurs in the chest, in the area people associate with the heart, the symptom is known as heartburn.
Most medical treatments involve blocking the production of stomach acid in some way. Prescription strength medications our power to basically stop any acid production at all. Some people worry about the long-term effects of doing this. Fortunately, most people do not require such drastic treatment. Often quite simple home remedies would take care of the problem.
The simplest home remedy, and where one should start, is simply to pay more attention to your diet. Most of us know that we could be better than we are, and people who suffer from heartburn are often very aware of what types of foods will cause them problems.
The usual suspects for most people are acidic, spicy, and greasy foods. Common sense dictates that you stay away from foods that you know cause you problems. It’s kind of hard to feel sorry for someone who has a heartburn problem, everyone eats the pepperoni pizza and then complains of indigestion.
The other thing to watch out for is how much you eat at any given time. Portion sizes get huge in the US Most of us have more food than we need or is good for us. This not only contributes to a weight problem but aggravates heartburn. Eating a large meal stretches the stomach and makes it more likely that acid will be pushed up into the esophagus.
An amazing home remedy that many people use is apple cider vinegar. It seems unusual to use an acid to correct a problem caused by acid, but from my online research, this is one of the most popular heartburn home remedies and many people use it.
People who recommend this suggest drinking a tablespoon of unfiltered apple cider vinegar mixed in a glass of water before each meal.
The most common home remedy is some type of antacid. As the name implies, these work by neutralizing stomach acid.
There are also several herbal home remedies that work well, as well as some more mechanical approaches, such as a wedge pillow for acid reflux. I’ll tell you where you can get more information on these in a bit, but first I want to make a safety critical point.
You should not assume that chest pain is simply heartburn or indigestion. Sometimes even doctors have trouble knowing when chest pain is caused by heartburn and when it is, in fact, caused by the heart. If you have chest pain, especially if it’s new, it’s safest to get checked out by a doctor. Once you know that the problem is caused by acid reflux, you can try some home remedies to see if they work for you.