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18 wellness<br />
focus<br />
Be Cool About Heartburn<br />
Heartburn, explains ‘World<br />
Journal of Gastroenterology’,<br />
is a signature symptom of<br />
gastroesophageal reflux disease<br />
(GERD), which is a cluster of<br />
symptoms and signs associated<br />
with regurgitation of stomach acid<br />
up to the pharynx and mouth. The<br />
basic cause of heartburn is when<br />
your lower esophageal sphincter<br />
(LES) becomes weakened or<br />
relaxes abnormally. The LES is<br />
a circular band of muscle at the<br />
bottom of your esophagus. It acts<br />
like a 'valve' in the esophagus just<br />
as it enters the stomach. Normally<br />
when you swallow, your LES<br />
relaxes to let food and liquid flow<br />
down into your stomach. Then it<br />
closes again. However, in some<br />
people the LES may open too<br />
often or not close tight enough.<br />
When this happens the acid in<br />
your stomach can flow back up<br />
into your esophagus. Since your<br />
esophagus doesn't have the same<br />
protective lining your stomach<br />
does, the acid can irritate its more<br />
sensitive tissues. This can trigger<br />
heartburn discomfort.<br />
A very common condition,<br />
heartburn had a great impact<br />
on daily activities and a reduced<br />
quality of life. Nighttime heartburn<br />
is also known to lead to sleep<br />
disturbances. Million of adults<br />
the world over suffer from<br />
heartburn on a daily basis. It<br />
is common in pregnancy and<br />
even children and infants can<br />
experience heartburn symptoms.<br />
This condition is associated<br />
with increased severity of<br />
nausea and vomiting but<br />
managing heartburn is not<br />
difficult and may improve<br />
its severity. Here are some<br />
reasons you could be<br />
suffering from heartburn:<br />
Pregnancy, GERD or acid<br />
reflux, weak esophageal<br />
muscles, obesity, anxiety, hiatal<br />
hernia or peptic ulcer.<br />
Habits that trigger<br />
your heartburn:<br />
• Eating large meals or eating too<br />
fast<br />
• Lying down right after eating<br />
• Eating just before bedtime<br />
• Drinking alcohol or smoking<br />
• Pressure on the stomach due to<br />
tight clothes<br />
• Worrying intensely<br />
• Exercising soon after eating<br />
• Taking certain medications<br />
like blood pressure or angina<br />
pills, medicines for asthma or<br />
allergies, muscle relaxants,<br />
prescription painkillers and<br />
antidepressants.<br />
Here’s What You Can<br />
Do<br />
Although you may not always<br />
be able to prevent heartburn from<br />
happening, there are things you<br />
can do to lower your chances<br />
of triggering it. Here are some<br />
lifestyle changes you can try to<br />
help decrease your heartburn<br />
symptoms.<br />
Eat smaller meals – Eating<br />
smaller meals can take some of<br />
the load off your digestive system.<br />
With smaller amounts of food to<br />
digest, less stomach acid is needed,<br />
which lowers your chances of<br />
heartburn.<br />
Avoid certain foods – Food<br />
is often a heartburn trigger. In<br />
fact, 94% of adults surveyed<br />
believed over-eating is a<br />
heartburn cause. Foods like<br />
tomatoes, tomato sauce and<br />
ketchup, oranges, grapefruit<br />
and other citrus fruits and<br />
juices, garlic, vinegar, onions,<br />
chocolate, coffee, tea or<br />
other caffeinated products,<br />
alcohol, fried and fatty<br />
foods, carbonated drinks<br />
and spices can cause or<br />
aggravate heartburn.<br />
Wear looser clothes –<br />
Clothes that fit tightly<br />
around your waist can put<br />
pressure on the stomach.<br />
yourwellness.com • Volume VII • Issue III • <strong>August</strong> <strong>2018</strong>
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