Heartburn is a common complaint in today’s fast-paced, fast food world.? The feeling of burning in your upper stomach, perhaps in your throat…the tightness in your chest or even trouble swallowing…all can be symptoms of heartburn. When the acid pumps in your stomach are overactive, it starts to erode the esophagus, which is responsible for keeping acid down in the stomach. Esophagitis can occur, where there are tiny fissures (or tears) in the lining of the esophagus, and other more serious ailments can be caused if this condition is left untreated for a long period of time. Treatments for heartburn vary widely, from homeopathic remedies to prescription medication and even surgery, so first of all, see your doctor if your heartburn persists for more than a few weeks.

If your doctor okays, it you can try lifestyle changes first, including switching your diet away from fatty meals and acid-producers, such as alcohol and coffee. Maintaining a healthy weight is another way to combat heartburn naturally, so limiting fatty foods might have two benefits in your lifestyle. Other tricks include eating smaller, more frequent meals, and even elevating your head a couple of inches when you sleep can help keep acid down in your stomach where it belongs. Other specific food culprits that you might want to avoid include chocolate, tomato and tomato-based products, citrus fruits, fried foods, and pepper. Also, try staying hydrated. Eight glasses of water a day is not only good for your whole body, but it can help your body naturally dilute strong stomach acid and give your esophagus a break.

Other treatments for heartburn include over-the-counter medications, including Pepcid and Zantac. These work by decreasing the amount of stomach acid produced and are effective remedies against gastroesophageal reflux disease (or GERD), where acid from the stomach actually makes it past the esophagus into the throat. Other OTC remedies include antacids, which neutralize stomach acid. Brands include Tagamet and TUMS.? However, these medications are not meant as a permanent solution and should not be taken for more than two weeks, unless otherwise advised by your physician.

Prescription treatments for heartburn can include proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), which stop the release of acid in the stomach; this class is frequently prescribed as well for GERD sufferers. Another class of prescription medication is a promotilty agent, which helps patients who have slowed emptying of their stomach.? These medicineshelp hasten digestion, and are often effective against sufferers of GERD.? Prescription medications can often be pricey, and sometimes taking a pill every day for the rest of your life is not the most appealing option.

In that case, there are a number of natural methods for combating this problem on your own. Homeopathic treatments for heartburn include lifestyle changes, as mentioned above, and supplements like calcium carbonate to quell acid, and deglycyrrhizinated licorice (DGL), which can be found in a natural foods or supplements store. This latter product has inflammatory properties, and lines the stomach, intestines and esophagus, forming a barrier between tissue and acid. Fresh ginger can help some sufferers, which you grind up and add to foods or drinks like herbal tea. Chamomile tea is another good one to try, along with licorice root.

For further treatment ideas, the Reflux Remedy Report contains a host of natural ideas.? Visit their Web site at www.refluxremedy.com.

Sometimes before the cure for heartburn can do any good, you need to know more about what triggers heartburn first.

The antacid manufactures have made billions of dollars through the years promising heartburn sufferers quick ways to relief.

Problem is, they don’t work, never have and in fact Swedish scientists proved years ago antacids even make heartburn worse.

In fact it was the antacid manufacturers that invented acid rebound.

If you’ve never heard of acid rebound it’s because they don’t really talk about that one very much. You might hear your doctor mention it just before he up grades you to a proton-pump inhibitor (PPI) product, but otherwise you probably won’t.

Acid rebound is like heartburn on steroids.

Because antacids don’t cure heartburn, they can make the cause of your heartburn worse, which then leads you to getting hooked on even more expensive and dangerous heartburn treatments.

Acid rebound happens when you stop taking proton pump inhibitor (PPI) medications like Prilosec. It’s basically a worsening of your heartburn and acid reflux symptoms. This worsening of your heartburn is caused from your stomach acid producing cells going through withdrawal of the PPI drugs.

Unfortunately, for many heartburn sufferers the only answer for acid rebound is to go back on the medication that caused it and that’s NOT a situation you want to put yourself in, is it?

Even using these dangerous antacid and heartburn medications for as little one month can trigger acid rebound and worsen any gastro-esophageal reflux (GERD) symptoms.

Here are some other pharmaceuticals that can worsen your heart burn:

• Aspirin
• NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) such as ibuprofen and naproxen
• Antihistamines such as Benadryl
• Antibiotics such as tetracycline
• Heart medications such as Procardia, Inderal, Tenormin, and Cardizem
• Anti-anxiety medications such as Valium or Ativan
• Osteoporosis medications, such as Fosamax
• Steroid medications such as prednisone
• Chemotherapy drugs and radiation therapy for cancer
• Nitrates and nitroglycerin
• Anticholinergics such as Antispas and Robinul
• Narcotics such as Demerol
• Iron supplements
• Theophylline
• Synthetic? or corn derived Vitamin C

One of my favorite remedies for heartburn is to drink alkaline water “in-between” my meals all day long. You can spend thousands on a machine to do it, or you can alkalize your water with coral ocean mineral tea bags or sprinkle some Himalayan or Celtic sea salt in your water bottle.

These ocean minerals are almost identical to the molecular structure of your blood and bones. Keeping your tissues and organs replenished with “ionic” minerals is a great way to preserve a healthy stomach acid environment.

For a quick and easy way to relieve heartburn try fresh ginger tea, warm lemon juice and water or raw apple cider vinegar. Personally all that in a cup of warm tea sounds good to me.

You were born to heal,

Todd M. Faass?

Health Ecologist

There are tons of different cures for heartburn available in many forms ranging from simple do-it-yourself options at home to medications either prescribed from a doctor or available over-the-counter.

The more natural cures for heartburn include many options such as drinking apple cider vinegar or eating lemon rinds before eating something that would cause heartburn. Eating almonds or lying on your side are also ways to relieve the pain. Chewing ginger or drinking ginger tea can also help neutralize stomach acid.? Even drinking a glass of water can help flush out harmful stomach acids.? Papayas have also been found to contain a digestive enzyme that can be helpful for preventing and alleviating heart burn.? It helps to break down food faster, preventing pressure from building in the stomach.

One of the most important factors in curing heartburn is to monitor the condition carefully because it affects everyone’s body differently and cures for heartburn vary from case to case. Because different foods trigger heartburn attacks in different people, it is important to keep track of what causes it and the frequency of the occurrences.? Though foods effect everyone different, some common food triggers include caffeine, onions, garlic and citrus.? If there is a pattern showing a certain type of food causes heartburn, you may want to avoid those items completely. If you enjoy the foods that cause heartburn for you, it is easy to be prepared with any of the effective cures for heartburn available when you eat them.

Even a change in the amount you eat and how often you eat it can help.? Eating large meals just a few times a day can cause pressure to build as your stomach tries to digest huge amounts of food.? Smaller, more frequent meals prevent this pressure from building and helps keep heart burn at bay.? Another dietary change that can help is not eating right before bed, and putting a pillow under your head when sleeping.? Both these remedies deal with allowing gravity to keep food and acid in the stomach where it belongs.

Medications and over-the-counter cures for heartburn are easy to obtain as they are sold at any local grocery store or pharmacy.? The problem with over the counter medications is they aren’t meant to be taken in the long term.? They are by no means a permanent solution for heart burn, and only provide a band aid for a problem that may require a tourniquet.? Prescription medications can be very helpful, as they are made to target the specific cause of heartburn by neutralizing acid or stopping its production all together.? However, they are very costly and may even involve taking a pill every day for the rest of the patient’s life.

Finding the best cures for heartburn may be a challenge at first, but once you find the most effective form for you, treatment becomes very simple and easy to handle. For more information on heartburn relief, visit www.refluxremedy.com and view The Reflux Remedy Report.

Chances are, if you have ever been kept up late at night by a burning sensation in your chest, you are one of the millions of people that suffer from heartburn and acid reflux. Heartburn Reflux, also known as gastro esophageal reflux is an irritating and sometimes painful condition that is caused when the stomach’s contents (both food and liquid) leak back into the chest, irritating and inflaming the esophagus.

This condition is something that many people struggle with and spend millions of dollars in prescription and over the counter medications to alleviate. It’s true that if left untreated the excess acid flowing backwards in your digestive system can cause erosion of certain tissues and result in more major symptoms and conditions. However, if chemical medications or medical treatments are not working for you, there are many great natural ways to help alleviate your symptoms and help stem your heartburn reflux.

One of the easiest ways to help reduce excess stomach acid is to make slight changes in your diet. It is projected that the best diet for self managing your acid indigestion is one that is eighty percent alkaline non-acidic foods and only twenty percent foods that are high in acid or lower than seven on the pH scale.

Staying away from foods that are high in acid can prevent more acid from being pumped into your stomach on top of what your body naturally makes. Also, the alkaline foods (which make up most of your diet if managed correctly) are a great resource for neutralizing some of the natural acids your body reduces which only further helps reduce your symptoms.

Foods you should avoid on a low acid diet include things such as citrus, berries, melons, fish, foods with high spice content and most condiments. Condiments such as ketchup and mustard are highly acidic and can easily irritate your condition, while condiments such as mayonnaise and olive oils are more basic although they should be still used sparingly because of their high fat content.

If you are looking for some great at home remedies for managing your heartburn reflux, you should consider reading Bob Barton’s new project, Reflux Remedy Report. It is full of great information and tools for those of us who know that making simple changes to your life can have greater effects than taking costly medications and undergoing risky and optional surgeries. Listed in this resource are many simple and inexpensive techniques for managing your condition.

For example, did you know that sleeping with your head inclined on an extra pillow or two can help prevent night time reflux? Having your head a little higher than normal creates a downward angle for your body and puts your head in position over your stomach. This allows gravity to naturally keep the acid in your stomach and prevents most of it from backing up into your esophagus. Also, learning to manage your stress levels is a great way to keep extra acid from being produced, giving you relief from the heartburn reflux condition.