December 28, 2010
Gallbladder Heartburn
Gallbladder disease can have very similar symptoms to heartburn, and although the gallbladder is connected to the digestive system, no genuine link has been found yet between the gallbladder and heartburn.
The Gallbladder
The reason people think they’re experiencing heartburn when they have a gallbladder issue is the pain is extremely similar and located in the same place that heartburn would be. The symptoms of gallstones and gallbladder disease include pain in the upper abdomen, belching, indigestion and nausea.
The gallbladder is used to store bile that then helps aid in the digestive process. After eating, the body signals the gallbladder to release the bile to help break down food in the small intestine.
For people who have problems with their gallbladder, antibiotics and surgery are generally the best options.
Heartburn
Heartburn is the result of too much acid in the stomach. This acid is then allowed to escape the stomach into the esophagus, resulting in pain that often radiates through the chest and into the neck as a burning sensation. Like a gallbladder problem, heartburn can also result in belching, indigestion and hiccups.
Heartburn has a number of causes. Food is one main cause. Things like spicy foods, onions, garlic, alcohol, caffeine and acidic citrus fruits can all cause heartburn, although many people have their own unique food triggers.
A person’s lifestyle can also stir up trouble in the heartburn department. For example, eating large meals can lead to heartburn. The influx of food in the stomach causes pressure to build and excess acid to be produced which irritates the esophagus. To solve this problem eat smaller meals more often. That helps the stomach digest foods more easily and keeps heartburn at bay.
Additionally, don’t eat right before bed, no matter how small the meal is. If you remain upright after eating, gravity helps keep food and acids down in your stomach, but if you lie down they can easily creep into your esophagus and cause pain and irritation.
Smoking can also cause heartburn, so if you smoke, don’t. It’s thought to increase the body’s acid production, leading to heartburn. It also slows the body’s ability to heal, so any damage done from excess acid takes much longer to be repaired.
Similarly, stress causes an influx of acid production in the stomach. So, try to keep stress out of your life as much as possible. Meditate, take deep breaths, count to 10, put on some soothing music, or even add a light exercise routine to your day. All these things can help you achieve a calmer mindset and prevent heartburn pain.
Heartburn pain can be relieved in a number of ways. Drinking a large glass of water is one simple way to reduce toxins in the stomach and wash acids through the system, relieving pain. Antacids can also help, although you should avoid becoming a pill popper if you have frequent heartburn. For more natural relief, try ginger. Whether candied or taken in tea form, it can help with all kinds of stomach indigestion problems.
For more natural tips and tricks for relieving heartburn, visit refluxremedy.com.
Although it’s easy to mistake a gallbladder issue with heartburn, the two so far have not been connected. Make sure you stay in tune with your body so that you can distinguish between the two health problems.
Filed under Heartburn Remedies by admin
December 16, 2010
Can You Tell the Difference Between Heartburn and Angina?
Chest pain can be a very worrisome symptom, and rightfully so. It?s a symptom of a whole host of medical conditions, a few of which can be fatal if it?s ignored. However, some conditions associated with chest pain are pretty benign. For example, heartburn and angina both involve chest pain, but leaving one of them untreated can be a fatal mistake. So, what is the difference between heartburn and angina, and how can you tell which one you?re suffering from?
Similarities and differences
Both heartburn and angina (a heart attack) present with chest pain, but that?s pretty much where the similarities end.
Heartburn pain is generally described as a burning sensation that radiates from the chest up into the neck. It can sometimes be accompanied by reflux, or the feeling of food or liquid in your throat or mouth, a bitter taste in your mouth, burping, hiccupping and just a general feeling of indigestion. These feelings increase after eating, or after lying down.
Angina pain is more of a pressure or feeling of heaviness in your chest, associated with a whole host of other symptoms. The symptoms often come on very suddenly. They include:
? Shortness of breath
? The pain or a numbing sensation may spread to your shoulders or arm
? Fatigue
? Sweating
? Lightheadedness
When dealing with these two very different conditions, it?s important to listen to, and understand your body?s signals so that you can respond accordingly. Heartburn is nothing that you need to rush to the emergency room for, but angina is.
Treatments
If you think you are experiencing angina, walk away from the computer right now! Go to the hospital immediately! Immediate medical attention is the only thing that can help relieve chest pain due to angina.
Heartburn pain is a little easier to deal with. It can be treated naturally and dealt with fairly quickly to minimize discomfort. For example:
? Something as simple as drinking a large glass of water can often help soothe heartburn pain. It works by flushing acids out of the stomach, keeping them from doing further damage and causing irritation. Additionally, mixing the water with a few tablespoons of apple cider vinegar can help speed pain relief to the area.
? Some people have even found relief from just eating an apple during a heartburn attack.
? Various teas like ginger, chamomile and fennel have also been shown to settle acid indigestion and help soothe fiery stomachs.
? To prevent heartburn attacks, avoid foods you?ve noticed that upset your stomach. Common ones include garlic, onions, caffeine, alcohol and citrus fruits that are full of natural acids.
? Try eating smaller meals, but more often, rather than just a few large meals every day. This helps prevent your stomach from overproducing acid to try to digest the massive amount of food you just threw at it.
Hopefully you?re now armed with information and can respond accordingly if you ever experience chest pain due to one of these two medical problems. However, there?s defiantly more to it than what?s provided in this small article, so for more information please visit www.refluxremedy.com and find out more!
Filed under Acid Reflux Symptoms, Heartburn Remedies by admin
December 13, 2010
Lifestyle Changes to Prevent Heartburn
If you suffer from frequent heartburn, you may want to consider lifestyle changes to prevent heartburn.
Before we get too far into that though, let?s look at heartburn a bit more closely. Heartburn happens when acid in the stomach that?s meant to help break down food escapes into the esophagus, causing irritation and pain. Symptoms of heartburn often include a burning sensation that can surge up into the neck, burping, hiccups, and indigestion. Frequent heartburn can be very damaging to the esophagus, and steps should be taken to alleviate it, and allow the body to heal.
This will change your life
The first thing, and possibly the easiest, lifestyle change you can do to prevent heartburn is to stop eating large meals. Consuming less food more often can help the stomach more easily digest meals, and absorb all the nutrients it needs to heal damaged areas. Large meals can result in a buildup of pressure and acid, which produces heartburn pain.
Next, pay close attention to what you eat. Keep a log of what foods you consume, and particularly what foods cause heartburn. Then, simply avoid those foods. Everyone has their own irritants, but some common triggers for heartburn include garlic, caffeine, onions, citrus fruits and alcohol. Eliminating these foods, or consuming them in extreme moderation, can often help stem the frequency of heartburn.
Then, pay attention to when you eat. Eating too close to bedtime, or right before a nap can bring heartburn on like there?s no tomorrow. This is because gravity is your ally when it comes to keeping stomach acids down. When you lie down, gravity can no longer help you, so acids and food can creep up into the esophagus with little resistance. To avoid this scenario, don?t eat less than 2 hours before you want to lie down. This is especially important after a big holiday meal. It may be tradition for you to take a nap on the couch immediately following an overdose of tryptophan, but you?ll regret not breaking that tradition later.
If you do decide you want to lie down right after a meal, or you just have to have that evening snack right before bed, prop yourself up to help keep your esophagus above your stomach. Just one extra pillow under your head can sometimes be all your body needs to help it keep stomach acids where they belong.
You should also avoid tight clothing and anything that puts pressure on your abdomen. Wearing a belt too tightly can often force acid into the esophagus, which results in heartburn. So, buy clothes that fit you correctly to avoid this problem.
Additionally, if you?re overweight try losing some of it. Along the same lines of wearing clothes that are too tight, added weight on the abdomen places unnecessary pressure on the stomach, making it difficult to digest foods properly and easily allowing acid to be overproduced and escape.
There are a number of lifestyle changes to prevent heartburn you can try ? these are only a few of them. To find out more, visit www.refluxremedy.com and read The Reflux Remedy Report.
Filed under Heartburn Remedies by admin
December 9, 2010
How to Get Rid of Heartburn During Pregnancy
Heartburn can frequently plague a pregnant mother. This can be extremely frustrating because she can?t reach for an antacid the way a normal person can, as the drugs may harm the fetus. But, she doesn?t need to suffer in silence. If you?re wondering how to get rid of heartburn during pregnancy, there are a number of natural techniques you can try.
Prevention
First of all, since heartburn tends to pop up a lot during a pregnancy you may want to focus on stopping it before it starts. Try these simple lifestyle changes to keep heartburn at bay.
1. Don?t eat right before bed. Pregnancy cravings can be pretty intense, but if you don?t want to feel the burn later, resist the urge to indulge in that midnight snack. You see, food needs time to pass through your digestive system, and gravity helps that process along. If you lay down right after you eat something food doesn?t have a chance to get where it needs to go. Without gravity to help you out, acid that?s meant to help break down your food can pass freely into your esophagus, which causes heartburn pain.
2. Don?t eat such large quantities. When you?re eating for two it can be hard to satiate your hunger, but try eating less food more often in an attempt to avoid overloading your stomach. Putting too much food in your stomach all at once can result in pressure and acid buildup, which results in acid reflux
3. De-stress. With all the preparations for the new baby to be done, it can be hard to relax, but stress can be detrimental to your body in a number of ways, including signaling the overproduction of stomach acid. So, try to relax a little in order to avoid the onset of heartburn later.
Relief
If you miss the opportunities to prevent heartburn, or you tried them and it came on anyway, try these things to help alleviate heartburn pain during pregnancy.
? Drink a tall glass of water. Water is good for your body in all kinds of ways, including helping dilute toxins and flush unwanted stomach acids through the digestive tract.
? Papaya enzymes help break down food naturally. Eating a papaya or chewing a papaya tablet can help you digest your food more easily.
? Ginger can also help settle your stomach. Ginger has been used for centuries to help indigestion and many other stomach problems. It?s also very effective with heartburn. You can either put it in tea, or eat it in candied form. Either way it?s equally helpful at pouring water on your heartburn flames.
? Eating an apple may also help relieve heartburn pain.
? Almonds have also been shown to help relieve acid reflux. Eat a handful, making sure to chew them thoroughly, during an attack of heartburn pain to feel relief.
These are only a few of the natural remedies for heartburn that can be found in The Reflux Remedy Report. So, stop wondering how to get rid of heartburn during pregnancy and head over to www.refluxremedy.com now to learn more!
Filed under Heartburn Remedies by admin