Before discussing about natural heartburn remedies and other treatments, you may need to clearly understand what actually heartburn is?! Unlike the name suggests -- it doesn’t do anything with the heart. But some symptoms are pretty similar with the symptoms of heart disease /heart attack. It is a kind of irritation in the esophagus, and stomach acid is usually the most common cause. It can cause a burning discomfort which most occurs in the below your breast bone or upper your abdomen.
Heartburn can be categorized into one of common health problems. Your doctor usually recommends some medications, but changes in lifestyle and natural remedies also may be helpful to give a significant improvement.
The following are pieces of helpful information about natural heartburn remedies and lifestyle approaches to treat your heartburn!
Chewing gum!
There are many people who think that chewing gum may be useful to treat heartburn. How far is this opinion true? Well, in fact the production of saliva can be stimulated by gum and this can be an acid buffer.
Furthermore you will swallow more often when chewing gum, which then can be helpful to push back the acids from your esophagus. For better result, choose gum with sugar-free label so thus chewing gum doesn’t cause tooth decay.
Drinking milk
Milk also can be helpful to be buffer stomach acid, but be careful … drinking milk also can stimulate your stomach to create more acid because milk also contains fat. However, milk is great source of calcium for bone-building -- and calcium can be good choice to counter antacids.
So, what you should do? Fat-free skim milk is the answer -- as the name implies it is free from fat. But be careful, avoid drinking too over! Drink it in moderation (talk more with your doctor for more in-depth information)!
In addition, overfilling stomach may also contribute to make the heartburn symptoms worse!
Common natural heartburn remedies
Before taking any kind of natural heartburn remedies, you should consult first with your doctor in order to keep safe! There is no adequate research and evidence to confirm the effectiveness of these natural remedies.
Most of the study focuses on a product that is familiar known as Iberogast, which can be made from several different herbs. According to some studies, it can be helpful to reduce nausea, stomach pain, acid reflux, and cramping. But there is still no clearly answer whether the herb in the mix is effective or not to relieve the symptoms!
Some herbs that are used to make Iberogast include peppermint, licorice, greater celandine, caraway, milk thistle, lemon balm, German-chamomile, angelica, and clown’s mustard plant.
Additionally, be careful with peppermint oil! It may worsen the symptoms of your heartburn and also must be avoided for people with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)!
Other helpful tips to treat your heartburn!
- Get a regular exercise! But if your body is not familiar with regular exercise, don’t jump directly to the intense exercise. You can increase the levels of your exercise gradually. Regular exercise can be useful for your body to minimize the chance of acid reflux.
- Control your belt! Too tight belt can put extra pressure for your abdomen and then may cause more pressure to push acids up to your esophagus.
- Keep record any foods that you eat to find more specific foods that can trigger the symptoms of your heartburn, so thus you can avoid these foods next time. Get adequate intake of fiber to promote good performance of your digestive tract. Avoid also eating in a big size at once! Some foods that you should avoid may include; high-fat foods, juices (citrus fruits), sodas, peppermint, onions, caffeine, chocolate, and tomatoes -- talk with your doctor or dietitian for more detailed information!
- Consider ‘how’ and ‘when’ you eat! Eat slowly is so recommended. You need also to avoid eating at least 2-3 hours before going to sleep -- this idea is purposed to make your stomach is not too full before lying down.
- Avoid smoking, because cigarette smoking can decrease the performance of your muscles to keep acids in their position (in the stomach). Furthermore, this bad habit is also bad for the health of your entire body.
- Keep the healthy weight of your body as well! Being overweight may also contribute to give more pressure for acids in the stomach to go up into your esophagus!
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Reference: WebMD
Image credit to ‘Getty Images’ for illustration
Reference: WebMD
Image credit to ‘Getty Images’ for illustration
