Once in a week, it is said that twenty percent of the whole population is being affected by the so-called Heartburn. While the occasional episodes of heartburn can already be considered as common, there are also individuals who experience it very frequently.
Constant or the regular heartburn is one typical symptom of GERD or gastroesophageal reflux disease. The symptoms of heartburn include that burning sensation that you can feel in your chest. Also, you will feel as if your throat is burning as well and that your mouth tastes bitter or burp acidic like sour. People who experience heartburn also experience difficulty in their swallowing, chronic coughing as well as wheezing or other symptoms similar to that of asthma.
Causes
Although the triggering of heartburn can actually vary depending on the person, there are some drinks and food that can actually cause your stomach acid to splash back to your esophagus. These foods include meat, like ground beef and marbled sirloin, oils, sweets and fats such as brownies, chocolate, as well as fatty foods in general, French fries, orange juice, liquor tea, macaroni and cheese, sour cream, ice cream and many others.
Such beverages and foods can greatly contribute to heartburn. Smoking also has a major role in it and you might also add carbonated beverages to your already long list. This is mainly because these are the things that can give pressure to your stomach and force the acids to go back upwards to the esophagus.
Natural Remedies
In case that you suffer from heartburn, it is always best if you will check with your doctor first since if it will not be properly treated, this might just result to graver problems such as esophagitis, Barrett’s esophagus and even a greater risk for the esophageal cancer.
Good thing is that there are actually natural treatments that can help you to be free from this kind of dilemma.
Since there are particular kinds of food that can cause heartburn, it is always best to avoid those that can trigger it. Also, you must not go to bed right after you have eaten. Eat in small sizes only and take time in eating them. Reducing stress will also be a good way so that you will not frequently suffer from heartburn.
When it comes to natural products, the aloe vera juice, marshmallow and slippery elm are some of the herbal cures for heartburn. These three mainly function in soothing the esophagus lining so that you will no longer experience heartburn.
The irritated esophagus can be soothed by aloe vera. Typically, about ¼ cup of the juice made from aloe vera must be taken by the adults at about 20 minutes before eating a meal. Meanwhile, once North America’s popular remedy for the sore throats, it is also said that the slippery elm can help in treating heartburn. Primarily the ingredient for the lozenges for sore throat that you can buy in drug stores, it is said that the mucilage found in the inner bark of the slippery elm coats the esophagus and reduces the irritation. Similar with slippery elm, marshmallow herb also has the mucilage that can soothe the esophagus’ lining. But if the oldest remedy is concerned, fresh ginger is definitely the one. You just have to eat a little part of it or you can also boil the ginger and then drink it as tea. It is discovered that ginger can increase digestive enzymes and muscle fitness of the digestive tract.
