Heartburn Remedies From Nature's Medicine Cabinet - By: Andrew Plimmer

If you are leery of prescription drugs, as well you might be, you may appreciate hearing about some natural heartburn remedies that work without harsh, possibly even toxic, side effects.

What is Heartburn?

Heartburn, which may also be referred to as pyrosis or acid indigestion, is an acute burning sensation in the chest that is usually located just behind the breastbone, or sometimes in the upper central portion of the abdomen.

If you have ever experienced heartburn, you are aware of how painful and miserably uncomfortable it is!

What Causes Heartburn?

It is ordinarily associated with gastric reflux, which is the regurgitation of gastric acid. Gastric acid is supposed to be confined to your stomach, so when it comes up into your esophagus; it's extremely uncomfortable!

Anyone who has had several episodes of heartburn, or suffers from it on a regular, frequent basis as many people do will be happy to find out that there are safe, natural heartburn remedies available.

Natural Heartburn Remedies

Let's take a look at some heartburn remedies that work to alleviate the symptoms of this very common condition:

Elevate your head while sleeping: This is a simple but highly effective technique that works well in many heartburn sufferers. How does it work? Basically, by gravity. Since acid from your stomach being regurgitated upward into your esophagus is what causes the burning sensation, by having your upper body on a slight slope, you are helping to keep stomach acid in its place.

Choose meal times wisely: If you are in the habit of eating a big, heavy dinner and then couching out---stop! The worse thing you can do if you are prone to heartburn is to lie prone immediately after eating. Try not to go to bed or lie flat for at least an hour after eating and preferably 2-3 hours. This is another of the heartburn remedies that works based on gravity, much like the one mentioned above.

Don't stuff yourself: As a general rule, you will be more likely to have an attack of heartburn if you overeat. This makes sense, because if your stomach is too full, regurgitation of contents---including stomach acids---becomes more of a possibility.

Be careful about beverages: In addition to overeating, certain beverages are prone to bring on a bout of heartburn. You can check to see which drinks trigger heartburn in your particular case by noticing if you have heartburn often after drinking sodas, coffee or any drink high in caffeine, or alcohol. Bubbly carbonated sodas are known culprits for causing heartburn because they literally blow your stomach up like a balloon, which can cause acid reflux. Coffee and tea or other beverages with a lot of caffeine are believed to contribute to heartburn in many sufferers because they relax the esophageal sphincter, as does alcohol. Relaxation of the esophageal sphincter is what allows stomach acids to reflux upward, so if you experiment and determine that any or all of these beverages are bringing on an attack of heartburn, you can put avoidance of these drinks on your list of heartburn remedies.

Watch what you take for a mild painkiller: If you have a headache or mild pain of some sort, be careful about reaching for the aspirin. Ditto for ibuprofen or products that contain either one of these common OTC pain relievers. They can burn the lining of your mouth, esophagus or stomach and this is the last thing you need to do if you are subject to heartburn. Tylenol is an alternative, but don't overdo that, either, since it can damage your liver.

If you smoke---quit: Smokers are more liable to have heartburn because nicotine irritates the valve between the esophagus and the stomach. It is this valve that opens or relaxes when it isn't supposed to and allows stomach acids to come up, causing heartburn.

Ganoderma, often called the "magical medicinal mushroom," is considered to be nature's most alkaline food. Alkalizing all that acid that is causing your heartburn can only help to alleviate or even cure your heartburn, and should be included on your list of heartburn remedies.

Heartburn is not fun, so try some safe, natural heartburn remedies from nature's medicine cabinet, like Ganoderma, and put the fires of heartburn out once and for all!

About the Author

Having suffered from chronic heartburn for many years, Andrew Plimmer discovered Ganoderma to be a fantastic natural remedy for acid reflux or heartburn as it is commonly called.

Article Directory Source: http://www.articlerich.com/profile/Andrew-Plimmer/49301

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