Dean Caporella asked:


Most people will suffer heartburn symptoms at some stage in their lives. Heartburn is an uncomfortable experience and for some, it can be chronic.

Recognizing heartburn symptoms is a bit like “closing the gate after the horse has bolted.” A burning sensation or heat rising up from the abdomen in waves into a persons throat will signal a heartburn attack. A sour taste in the mouth follows and then a period of discomfort.

Heartburn symptom will usually occur about 30 minutes after a meal and the worse thing a sufferer can do is to lie down. Standing upright or taking antacids can often provide relief. Heartburn symptom can vary from mild to chronic. Mild symptom can be easily treated at home however, if symptoms persist then it’s wise to seek a medical opinion.

So what can you do to prevent heartburn? Commonsense says some lifestyle change may be required. Recognize what preceded a heartburn symptom. In my case for example, I found heartburn symptom would occur following too much coffee. A self confessed coffee addict, I suddenly realised the onset of heartburn symptom followed the consumption of one too many gourmet coffees. I then cut down my coffee consumption by about 90 per cent and haven’t had a problem since. Obviously my case is was treated as mild heartburn symptom but I was aware enough to firstly recognize what brought it on and then to do something about it.

It may be a good idea to keep a record before and after you make any changes to your lifestyle. These can be discussed with your doctor, particularly any improvements you notice so you can then set about re-adjusting.

Diet is another area to look at when recognizing heartburn symptom. In most instances, heartburn symptom sufferers can relate an episode to one or more types of food. Once you identify these you can set about reorganizing your diet. There are known categories of foods that don’t go hand in hand with heartburn and for chronic sufferers in particular, a major dietry change may be required.

There are a number of treatments for heartburn symptom including antacids but treatment can vary in relation to the seriousness of any related heartburn attack. Again, your physician can provide information on these. In my instance, I identified what brought on my heartburn symptom and acted accordingly.

Heartburn symptom doesn’t have to rule your life. With heartburn, prevention is sometimes better than cure. Take some commonsense steps such as isolating instances and dietry intake preceding an attack and you will be well on the way to getting on top of any future heartburn symptom threat.



Luis

Juana Cruz asked:


You can not pinpoint to only one heartburn cause. Heartburn can be triggered by so many factors, and that depends on your lifestyle.

Heartburn happens when the acidic stomach contents containing pepsin irritate the esophagus, something which should not happen if the lower esophageal muscle is firmly closed. But as I said, there are many causes that make the LES weaken, paving way for the stomach contents.

So, what causes heartburn?

1. Smoking. Nicotine is found to make the LES relax, cuasing heartburn. If you are a smoker, you are likely to be prone to heartburn by seventy percent, compared to non smokers, and if you are a smoker and already have heartburn, your symptoms will be much worse.

2. Alcohol. Another heartburn cause, this also irritates the esophagus and causes too much production of acids in the body.

3. Fatty food. Fat is the worst digestive stimulant which is hard to digest, which irritates the digestive tract and puts too much pressure on the abdomen, which later causes the LES to relax.

4. Pregnancy and obesity. Having too much pressure around the abdomen will force the stomach contents upwards, causing heartburn to some.

5. Lying down after eating will cause the stomach contents to be pushed to the esophagus instead of staying close down there.

6. Chocolates, tea and coffee have theobromine, a compound found in cocoa, coffee and tea plants, which

is shown to irritate the esophagus.

Now that you know the top heartburn causes, the next thing you should do is to stop heartburn. There are many ways how to get rid of heartburn, you just have to visit my blog for more tips.

And for a natural treatment for heartburn, read “Heartburn No More” By Jeff Martin. The information on the book can be found in my byline.



Edith