"Most heart burn causes are self-inflicted". Reasonable conclusion or gross distortion of the facts?
To call any heart burn causes self-inflicted may be a little harsh. After all, we all have to eat and drink, and it's often after such activities that many of us succumb to heartburn, or acid reflux. So let's take a brief look at three major causes of heartburn, and see how we can perhaps circumvent them and avoid this debilitating and unpleasant condition altogether.
1. Foods
It's not just the kind of food, it's the amount and how quickly it's eaten. A sudden influx of food into the stomach can precipitate the eruption of stomach acids into the oesophagus (the pipe between your stomach and your mouth). Whereas your stomach has a lining to protect against this digestive acid, your oesophagus does not. The result is that these acids attack your oesophagus, trying, in effect, to digest it, and this is very painful.
Whilst we all have to eat, we can (usually) choose the foods we eat and the speed at which we eat them. Foods that can cause heart burn include spicy, fried and fatty foods. These tend to be difficult for your stomach to digest, resulting in the excessive production of digestive acids that can then spill upwards into the oesophagus.
Very hot foods such as hot soups and very cold food like ice cream can have the same effect. Sweet foods such as chocolate can also trigger nasty attacks, as can peppermint, citrus fruits and onions.
Caffeine is one of the more common heart burn causes. This is found in coffee, tea and many soft drinks such as cola. Cutting out all these drinks may sound drastic, but that's exactly what you should do if you consume more than just a modest amount of them.
If you frequently suffer heartburn after eating it may be necessary to change your diet. Failing that, try and eat more slowly so as to prevent air being swallowed down with the food. When this is expelled by the stomach it gives any excess acid a chance to slip out as well and cause the pain. In addition, try and gradually reduce the amount you eat until you bring the problem under control.
And whatever you eat, make sure you do it at least two and a half hours before retiring to bed.
2. Alcohol and Tobacco
Cigarette smoke, even someone else's, can give you heartburn. It relaxes the sphincter (the flap that keeps stomach acid in the stomach, where it belongs), allowing excess acid to escape. Avoid inhaling it if you possibly can.
Alcohol is another cause, and if you like to have a few drinks then it may be wise to eat some non-spicy, stomach-friendly foods with it to lessen the concentration of alcohol in the stomach.
3. Medications and Drugs
This is usually overlooked, but medications you take for other complaints may be causing your heartburn. The way that the various chemicals contained in your remedy react with your digestive acids is not always sufficiently taken into account, and while it may bring relief to your main ailment it may leave you with heartburn and acid reflux.
Always take plenty of water with your medication, even if it is itself liquid. More so if it is pills. Give your stomach a chance to deal with the unnatural substances being delivered to it. Water helps it do just that.
In short, keep your diet, and any medications you use, as natural as possible, and you'll minimise your exposure to most heart burn causes.
You can discover many simple exercises you can do to gain relief from many kinds of pain and discomfort, from headaches and back pain to acid reflux and shoulder tension, and many other kinds of pain in between, at
To call any heart burn causes self-inflicted may be a little harsh. After all, we all have to eat and drink, and it's often after such activities that many of us succumb to heartburn, or acid reflux. So let's take a brief look at three major causes of heartburn, and see how we can perhaps circumvent them and avoid this debilitating and unpleasant condition altogether.
1. Foods
It's not just the kind of food, it's the amount and how quickly it's eaten. A sudden influx of food into the stomach can precipitate the eruption of stomach acids into the oesophagus (the pipe between your stomach and your mouth). Whereas your stomach has a lining to protect against this digestive acid, your oesophagus does not. The result is that these acids attack your oesophagus, trying, in effect, to digest it, and this is very painful.
Whilst we all have to eat, we can (usually) choose the foods we eat and the speed at which we eat them. Foods that can cause heart burn include spicy, fried and fatty foods. These tend to be difficult for your stomach to digest, resulting in the excessive production of digestive acids that can then spill upwards into the oesophagus.
Very hot foods such as hot soups and very cold food like ice cream can have the same effect. Sweet foods such as chocolate can also trigger nasty attacks, as can peppermint, citrus fruits and onions.
Caffeine is one of the more common heart burn causes. This is found in coffee, tea and many soft drinks such as cola. Cutting out all these drinks may sound drastic, but that's exactly what you should do if you consume more than just a modest amount of them.
If you frequently suffer heartburn after eating it may be necessary to change your diet. Failing that, try and eat more slowly so as to prevent air being swallowed down with the food. When this is expelled by the stomach it gives any excess acid a chance to slip out as well and cause the pain. In addition, try and gradually reduce the amount you eat until you bring the problem under control.
And whatever you eat, make sure you do it at least two and a half hours before retiring to bed.
2. Alcohol and Tobacco
Cigarette smoke, even someone else's, can give you heartburn. It relaxes the sphincter (the flap that keeps stomach acid in the stomach, where it belongs), allowing excess acid to escape. Avoid inhaling it if you possibly can.
Alcohol is another cause, and if you like to have a few drinks then it may be wise to eat some non-spicy, stomach-friendly foods with it to lessen the concentration of alcohol in the stomach.
3. Medications and Drugs
This is usually overlooked, but medications you take for other complaints may be causing your heartburn. The way that the various chemicals contained in your remedy react with your digestive acids is not always sufficiently taken into account, and while it may bring relief to your main ailment it may leave you with heartburn and acid reflux.
Always take plenty of water with your medication, even if it is itself liquid. More so if it is pills. Give your stomach a chance to deal with the unnatural substances being delivered to it. Water helps it do just that.
In short, keep your diet, and any medications you use, as natural as possible, and you'll minimise your exposure to most heart burn causes.
You can discover many simple exercises you can do to gain relief from many kinds of pain and discomfort, from headaches and back pain to acid reflux and shoulder tension, and many other kinds of pain in between, at
