Do you ever feel a painful, burning sensation in your chest, just beneath your breastbone? Perhaps, you are sometimes awakened out of a sound sleep, your throat feeling like it just caught fire.

If these symptoms sound familiar, you are probably suffering from heartburn. Many people suffer from frequent heartburn, a condition that is characterized by symptoms that flare- up at least twice a week.

WHAT CAUSES HEARTBURN?

Heartburn occurs when the acidic juices from digested foods creep into the esophagus, a tube that links the throat and stomach. Because of the tube’s thin walls, the juices irritate its lining, resulting in a burning feeling in the chest.

Individuals who experience frequent heartburn have a weakened lower esophogeal sphincter, a.k.a. as the LES. The LES serves as a barrier between the stomach and esophagus. When the LES is too relaxed, stomach juices leak into the esophagus, causing heartburn.

DIETARY FACTORS

A person’s diet can contribute to heartburn symptoms. Caffeinated beverages such as coffee, tea, sodas, or chocolate have a relaxing effect on the LES, which permits stomach juices to pass through the LES. Chocolate has an additional chemical called theobromine that affects LES functioning. Other food culprits that promote LES relaxation are tomatoes, citrus fruits, and peppermint.

Fried, greasy, and fatty foods hamper one’s digestion and sit in the stomach longer. This puts more pressure on the stomach, culminating in a lazy LES that allows acidic juices to seep out. Alcohol, which encourages more stomach acid production, is another possible heartburn trigger.

Consuming a lot of food at one sitting increases LES pressure. WHEN a person eats plays a factor; eating two to three hours before bedtime is not good for heartburn. Lying down after a hearty meal can worsen heartburn symptoms.

OTHER POSSIBLE CAUSES

Smoking can aggravate heartburn symptoms, the chemicals in cigarettes weakening the LES and restricting blood flow to inflamed tissues. Tight clothes that cling to the stomach can cause flare-ups, the pressure pushing food against the LES and juices up the esophagus.

TREATMENT

Fortunately, there are several ways to treat frequent heartburn. Changing one’s diet and avoiding problematic foods are a good start. Eliminating or reducing one’s caffeine and alcohol intake is suggested. One should stay away from greasy and spicy foods, heavy sauces, and red meat. Unprocessed, healthy foods to consume are raw vegetables and nuts, seeds, grains, and flaxseed. Other suggestions include chewing one’s food slowly and putting down one’s fork before feeling stuffed.

Drinking a glass of water every two hours helps alleviate heartburn episodes, as well as neutralizing stomach acids. Incorporating a glass of cabbage juice into one’s diet can offer relief, its juice soothing the digestive tract. Reducing the amount of aspirin and pain relievers can decrease heartburn. Other changes include eating light, frequent meals throughout the day and losing excess weight.

If dietary changes do not reduce heartburn symptoms, medication is another alternative. For more information on causes and cures for heartburn, be sure to visit Reflux Remedy at refluxremedy.com today!

Aloe has long been known to help with burns, however did you know aloe juice can help put out the internal flames of heartburn? Aloe juice for acid reflux is one of the many natural remedies that can be used to help relieve the pain of heartburn.

Aloe actually has a number of healing properties, and its enzymes help the body in many ways. Specifically when found in juice form, it can help calm the body?s production of stomach acid and return it to a more natural digestive cycle. The problem with reaching for antacids every time you experience acid reflux is they tend to eliminate all stomach acids, and the body does need some acids to naturally break down food and be able to absorb its nutrients. Aloe juice helps to naturally restore balance to the body and ease indigestion.

For frequent heartburn sufferers, prevention is often the key. So, to keep acid reflux at bay, try drinking a quarter of a cup of aloe juice 10 minutes before a meal. That way your body will be ready to receive and break down the food you throw at it.

It?s important to note though that aloe should only be consumed in juice form. It can be found at your local market or organic food store. Consuming aloe gel from a plant you may have in your home, or gel that?s meant to treat sunburns functions as a laxative and will cause diarrhea. Because of that, make sure you only use aloe gel for topical purposes.

Other natural remedies

Aloe juice isn?t the only thing that can help relieve acid reflux. There are a huge amount of things you can do to help relieve acid reflux without taking medications.

First of all, try drinking a cup of tea. Ginger and chamomile tea both have soothing properties and can help relieve heartburn pain, in addition to diluting acids and washing toxins through the digestive system that much faster.

Even a glass of water can accomplish this task easily. Similarly to tea, it will help wash damaging acids away, giving your stomach a chance to settle. If your heartburn is bad, try mixing your glass of water with a tablespoon or two of apple vinegar cider. This will help speed relief to the burning area.

Additionally, some people have found relief by simply consuming an apple. Something about the apple has compounds and enzymes that help relieve acid reflux. They weren?t kidding when they said an apple a day keeps the doctor away!

To keep heartburn away along with your quarter cup of aloe juice, don?t eat too close to bed time. This helps keep food and acids from creeping up into your esophagus where they don?t belong. If you happen to break this rule, try sleeping propped up a bit. Putting a pillow under your head will also help keep stomach acid down in your stomach, which lets you sleep soundly through the night. Additionally, don?t eat large meals. Smaller meals consumed on a more frequent basis help the digestive system deal with food and nutrients in smaller doses, rather than all at once, which can result in the overproduction of stomach acid.

Aloe juice for acid reflux is only one natural way to douse the flames of heartburn. For more on this and may other tips for relieving acid reflux, read The Reflux Remedy Report at www.refluxremedy.com. The Report focuses solely on holistic heartburn remedies, and is sure to have a solution that will work for you!

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.