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If you’re someone who gets frequent, or even occasional heartburn, you know how unpleasant it can be.
If you don’t know how it works, heartburn is when food and stomach acid make their way back up the wrong way, leaving you with a burn in your esophagus and general discomfort.
It’s easy to prevent if you know what to do.
- Know your enemies—and stay away. For a lot of people, foods like chocolate, peppermint, mustard, chili, spicy foods, raw onions, tomato, and citrus, can trigger heartburn. Large, fatty meals are some of the biggest irritants as well. Fat opens up your esophageal opening and allows your stomach acids to get back up.
- Drink more water. Chasing meals with water helps you get all the food you can out of your esophagus and into your stomach.
- Sleep at the right time. Easier said than done, right? Not really. The worst time to try and sleep is right after a meal full of fat and alcohol. If you’re just indulged, wait a few hours. If you can’t wait, take an H2 blocker before you go to bed when you eat late. If you don’t wait, your stomach acid will just come right back up when you lay down.
- Mind what you drink. Basically anything other than water can be a trigger for acid reflux. Caffeine relaxes the esophagus, and carbonation can bubble right back up.
- Lose some extra pounds. Being overweight can mean way more digestive problems. Cutting down on the foods that cause your acid reflux may cause you to lose weight anyway, but if it doesn’t, this may be the next place to go.
