Treating anything during pregnancy can present its own set of obstacles. What can be taken that won?t affect the baby? What can I do to be more comfortable and get some rest? Heartburn can be a common and bothersome problem during pregnancy and finding a solution can be daunting. However, there are several options to stave off heartburn during pregnancy.

1. Prop a few pillows under your head when sleeping. This helps keep acids out of the esophagus and in the stomach where they belong.

2. Don?t eat right before you go to bed. Wait 2 or 3 hours before lying down after eating. Too much food in your stomach combined with lying down encourages acid into the esophagus.

3. Monitor what you eat. Certain foods can trigger heartburn consistently. Common ones can include alcohol, citrus, garlic and onions. Avoid specific foods that set your heartburn off.

4. Relax. Stress is a major producer of stomach acids. Deep breaths, yoga, counting to 10, anything that will help you de-stress can prevent heartburn.

5. Eat smaller meals more frequently. Bombarding your stomach with a large amount of food can cause pressure to build up and acid production into overdrive.

6. Eat slowly and chew thoroughly.

7. Avoid caffeinated drinks. Caffeine relaxes the muscles that control the flow of food to your stomach, which allows acid into the esophagus.

8. Drink a glass of water. It will help dilute acids and flush the stomach out.

9. Drink some milk, but in moderation. Milk can help neutralize acids, but also contains some fats that promote stomach acid production.

10. Try an apple. Some people have found heartburn relief from just one slice.

11. Chew a piece of gum. It causes you to salivate and dilutes acids in the stomach.

12. When lifting, don?t bend at the waist. Gravity is helpful in keeping stomach acids down where they belong. Bending with the knees keeps your alignment the way it should be.

13. Don?t smoke. Aside from a host of serious health problems for you and your baby, it?s shown to increase stomach acid production.

14. Avoid alcohol. Like caffeine, it relaxes the esophageal muscles, which allows acid to flow up instead of staying in the stomach.

15. Don?t wear tight fitting clothing. It can put pressure on the stomach, forcing acid into the esophagus.

16. Over the counter antacids like Tums may help, but always consult your doctor before taking any medications during pregnancy.

For more suggestions for getting rid of heartburn during pregnancy, please see our Reflux Remedy Report.

Heartburn happens when stomach acids enter the stomach and irritate the nerves in the esophagus, causing a painful burning sensation. There are many ways to approach eliminating heartburn, including routine changes, dietary changes or solutions, over the counter and prescription medicines and surgery, in extreme cases.

Routine Changes

? Instead of sleeping lying flat, try propping yourself up with a few pillows, or sleeping in a chair to nap. Gravity prevents acids from escaping the stomach, and lying prostrate can allow them to creep into the esophagus where they don?t belong.

? Don?t smoke. Smoking has been shown to cause heartburn, in addition to other serious health problems.

? Lose a few pounds. Added weight on the chest or abdomen puts strain on the stomach, causing acid reflux.

? De-stress. Stress can encourage stomach acid production. Something as simple as taking a few deep breaths can help prevent the onset of heartburn in the near future.

Dietary Solutions

? Don?t eat large meals. Try smaller, more frequent ones. Large amounts of food bombard the stomach causing pressure and acid to accumulate.

? Watch the foods you eat. Certain foods can trigger heartburn. Common ones include onion, caffeine, garlic, alcohol and citrus. Keep track of what sets you off and avoid those foods.

? Drink a cup of fennel or chamomile tea. When sipped, it has been shown to soothe or prevent heartburn.

? Take ginger. All three forms ? pills, tea and candied ? can help relieve heartburn pain.

? Drink a glass of water. It will help flush the stomach of excess acids.

? Eat an apple. Some people have had great success with just a few slices.

? Apple cider vinegar can help with both prevention and treatment of heartburn. A few tablespoons, though bitter, will help soothe heartburn pain. When added to water and taken before a meal, it will help prevent it altogether.

Medicines

? Many over the counter medicines, like Tums and Mylanta, can help alleviate heartburn, and some even come with the added benefit of an extra dose of calcium.

? Prescription medications can help target the specific thing causing heartburn.

o For example, drugs like Nexium, Prilosec and Pepcid block the production of acid. This helps people with too much stomach acid.

o Foaming agents help coat the stomach and protect it from damaging acids.

o Drugs like Relgan can help move things through the digestive system and strengthen esophageal muscles.

Surgery

Surgery is often a last resort. Most people will be able to find a solution or combination of things to solve their heartburn problems. However, if severe enough, a procedure called fundoplication can be performed. It involves using a portion of the upper stomach to help tighten the esophageal muscles, thus preventing acid from getting into the esophagus. Surgery for heartburn is rare, and generally a more natural or medicinal approach is recommended.

For another resource on curing your heartburn, please reference our Reflux Remedy Report.

Heartburn and stomach viruses have more in common than you may first think.

Most people are discovering that it’s easy to be immune to viruses; it doesn’t matter if you are exposed to them. In fact the whole flu virus vaccine is a scam. Most people that get the shot are now carrying the live or attenuated virus . . . along with mercury and other poisons.

There is no scientific proof the viral shot even helps-at best it might protect you for a week and a half.

But there’s something else you need to know about viruses and heartburn . . . neither one can harm you if your internal “environment” is healthy.

Let me explain. If your saliva, tissue and blood “environment” is balanced at about pH 7.4 even cancers cells are dormant. Viruses, like cancer cells, require a low oxygen, high acid and low pH to thrive.

Stomach viruses can’t even reproduce unless they take over your cells, which they cannot when your pH is “salty” or alkaline.

When I say “salty” I don’t mean table salt, I mean, mineral rich, sea salty. Your healthy blood, tissue and saliva are nearly identical to sea water as far as composition and pH.

Your heartburn also depends on a healthy pH. Only your stomach environment should have a low pH, which means high acid levels.

However your “gut,” or digestive system, needs to be more “salty” and less acid. Only your stomach lining is tough enough for stomach acid. The rest of your digestive tract is gradually less acidic and more alkaline because it has to support delicate flora and microorganisms that help break your food down even further, after your stomach acid and powerful enzymes get first shot.

The two are connected because if your gut is out of balance, that means the good bacteria and micro-organisms are being overrun by bad bacteria and evil microorganisms.

Once the bad guys take over, your digestive system, or gut, fails to pull enough minerals, nutrients and cofactors from your food as it goes through your long plumbing system.

This means that your immune system is compromised and to make things worse, now you may be suffering from heartburn caused from your stomachs inability to properly digest your food.

Yes, that’s right, more often than not; heartburn is actually caused from lack of stomach acid. You see, to make stomach acid, your gall bladder and other organs need plenty of minerals, vitamins and enzymes.

So stomach acid is eventually connected to viral infections.

The last thing you want is Candida albicans growing in your gut. Candida is the bad micro-organism, not to mention E. coli and viruses. Candida is yeast that turns into a fungus that puts holes in your gut and allows undigested food molecules to get in your blood.

While your immune system is burdened with fighting this problem, it uses up what nutrient stores you had left.

Once your system bogs down because of low oxygen, low pH and low nutrition, acid wastes build up inside your cells.

Viruses like acidic cells; they can compromise them and eventually take them over to help reproduce more viruses.

So learn how to stay alkaline and eat more “raw,” nutrient rich, food sources to promote your minerals and all that good stuff-your body will take care of the rest.

You were born to heal,

Todd M. Faass?

Health Ecologist

Here you are again, up late at night miserable with heartburn . . . what?s with that? I mean, you?ve tried everything ?they? told you to do, right? Of course you did . . . you and 50 million other heartburn sufferers across America.

It?s sad but true . . . the Swedes even proved it in clinical tests years ago . . . antacids are a sham, a rip-off and a big fat lie.

In fact they only make your heartburn worse.

So let?s discuss something that makes sense, like actually addressing the root cause of heartburn and indigestion. You may be suffering from acid indigestion and heartburn because you?re making ?too much? gastric acid, but probably not.

More people have acid reflux because the food they eat isn?t being digested from lack of gastric power. This allows the stomach acid your body makes splash up from the top of the food filling your gut.

So my first tip is don?t lay down after eating, this just makes it easier for the little acid on top of your undigested food to work its way toward your throat.

My second tip, officially, is don?t take antacids, for the reason I mentioned above. You don?t have the stomach acid you used to have when you were younger, especially if you?re a man.

The more cooked foods and meat you eat, the more nutrients, enzymes and everything else your pancreas and digestive system have to make to dissolve them. So their simply used up now- time to replenish!

So as the years go by, if you don?t learn how to ?replenish? you suffer from specific nutrient and mineral deficiencies.

The secret is to eat foods that contain their own enzymes, minerals and cofactors, cooked food and meat has very little to offer.

Tip number three is to eat more whole raw fruits and vegetables and if you are eating meat chew it well and then eat your vegetables ?after.? If you?ve ever been to Europe you?ll notice they always eat their salads after the main course.

Americans for some reason unknown to me, eat the salads first. This places your carbohydrate ahead of your protein. If your protein source is meat, you?ll need as much stomach acid as possible to digest that animal protein and fat.

In fact you shouldn?t even eat fruit with a meal at all, especially if you?re eating meat.

So eat your fruit in between your meals.

Same goes with drinking water- you need to drink a lot of good water, but if you do it while you?re eating, you?ll dilute what stomach acid you do have- so eat small portions, chew well. Eat protein first, carbs second and fruit in between . . . all while drinking a good source of mineral water in between all that munching.

Oh, and sit up straight!

You were born to heal,

Todd M. Faass?

Health Ecologist