Two Important Facts You Have To Know About Cures For Heartburn
Heartburn is one of the most common chronic health problems in the United States. Prescription drug usage for heartburn related symptoms is surpassed only by heart disease related medication and pain medication. If you are one of the estimated 25 million Americans suffering from chronic heartburn and would like a natural heartburn remedy, this article is for you.
Heartburn is typically treated with medication. Most folks start with over the counter medication and when they find that doesn’t work they progress to prescriptions. If you every want to experience a long tern cure for heartburn there are two things you need to know.
First, even though all heartburn medication is designed to eliminate excess acid, many cases of heartburn are not actually caused by to much acid. More often than not, heartburn is caused by to little acid! You might ask ‘how is that possible when it sure as heck feels like to much acid’? The real problem isn’t having to much acid, it’s the fact that the acid isn’t staying in the stomach where it belongs but moving up into the esophagus where it doesn’t belong. Even a little bit of acid in the esophagus is a painful experience. The single most common heartburn home remedy is to take some form of vinegar, usually apple cider vinegar, with each meal. Many times this helps the heartburn. This seems strange to a lot of people because vinegar is an acid. If heartburn really is caused by to much acid, why is it that adding more acid reduces the symptoms?
While it doesn’t make sense to have heartburn caused by to little acid here is one possible explanation of why it is usually true. When there is to little acid in the stomach, digestion occurs slowly and inefficiently. This produces more gas than normal which causes increased pressure inside the stomach. That causes acid to leave the stomach and enter the esophagus. Adding acid to the stomach improves digestion, which leads to less gas, which leads to less pressure which leads to less reflux. It’s a sure sign you need more stomach acid if apple cider vinegar leads to less heartburn.
Second, the foods you eat together are critically important to achieve a lasting cure for heartburn. It’s great to live where we have such an abundance of food but it’s a two edged sword. Most people don’t realize that different foods digest better under different conditions. For example simple carbohydrates like potatoes or white bread digest best under different conditions that something like chicken. They shouldn’t be eaten at the same time. Unfortunately, most of us do eat them at the same time and for those of us who already have a weakened digestive system, the end result is often heartburn. Good natural cures for heartburn teach what foods to eat at the same time to avoid creating a problem in the first place.
Want to find out more about permanent cures for heartburn? Visit Dr. Timothy D Annis’s site on how to choose the best natural remedies for heartburn.
