To begin to understand what heartburn is caused by, you must first understand what the lower esophageal sphincter is. The LES is a muscle in between your stomach and your esophagus. This muscle is what keeps liquid and solid mass in your stomach and holds your food “down” in effect. There are certain things that cause this muscle to either relax or simply not be able to function correctly. This LES working improperly is usually what causes heartburn to occur for most people.

Top Causes of Heartburn

1. Caffeine and Chocolate – Any drink that has caffeine in it like soda, coffee, tea and others all can lead to heartburn because, caffeine can lead to the relaxation of the LES.

2. Fatty and Greasy Foods – Foods that are fatty and greasy are also a huge contributor to heartburn for many. Foods like this actually slow down digestion and cause food to stay in the stomach for longer periods of time. In many cases this will lead to excess pressure on the LES and this can cause long-term damage as well as short-term discomfort.

3. Alcohol and Tobacco – Yes, we all know these are not good for us in the first place, but both of these substances contain chemicals that lead to the relaxation of the LES. This is among some of the least damaging factors of these drugs, but they are contributing factors to many heartburn sufferer.

4. Citrus Fruits, Juices and Tomatoes – Any fruit or vegetable that is high in acid can cause heartburn problems, but in most cases it is not the acid that actually makes the burning sensation, it the effect they have on the LES. Again, relaxing the lower esophageal sphincter, these types of foods and drinks allow for your own stomach acids to move upward into your esophagus, thus causing discomfort.

5. Tight Clothes – It does sound a little silly, but true all the same. If you wear really tight fitting clothing around your waistline and stomach area, this may lead to heartburn. In effect, by squeezing your bodies mid-section, you may be putting pressure on the LES and actually forcing this muscle open and stomach acid upward.

Now that you know a little bit more about what actually can lead to heartburn, you may be well on your way to finding a permanent fix to your problem. However, if you do not find the relief you are looking for by making some of the above suggested changes, finding out how to stop heartburn naturally may be the next best solution for you. You can’t always change the way you eat, sleep and dress, but if you had a natural remedy that would cure heartburn, this may be what you are really looking for!

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If you cannot identify specific foods that cause heartburn in your case, it could be the size of the meal that you tend to eat. Overeating is one of the causes of heartburn. When the stomach is overly full, the stomach acid has more of a tendency to leak up into the lower esophagus or throat and cause the burning sensation. Many people experience heartburn after a big holiday dinner.

If you typically eat small meals and avoiding the foods that cause heartburn does not help, look at the beverages that you choose to drink. Coffee and carbonated beverages are causes of heartburn in some people. Alcoholic beverages and citrus drink are causes of heartburn in some people. Chocolate is one of the foods that cause heartburn in some people and drinking a chocolate flavored drink can also lead to heartburn.

If it is not what or how much you eat or drink, it could be the clothes that you wear. Believe it or not, wearing tight clothing is one of the causes of heartburn. Anything that puts pressure on the stomach can cause heartburn, whether it is the excess weight of an obese person, the enlarging abdomen of a pregnant woman or pants that fit too tightly.

If you have looked at the foods that cause heartburn, the beverages that cause heartburn, you eat small meals and wear loose clothing, but still experience heartburn, there are a couple of other things that may be causes of heartburn. Stress or eating quickly in a high-paced environment can lead to heartburn. Smoking can lead to heartburn. And, there are other more serious medical conditions that are causes of heartburn, particularly heartburn that is experienced frequently. Hiatal hernia is one example of a medical condition that often presents with frequent heartburn. If you experience heartburn once or more per week, you should have your symptoms evaluated by your physician to rule out the presence of another health problem.

It may not be necessary to remove all of the foods that cause heartburn from your diet. It may simply be a matter of eating less of them or eating them less often. If you like spicy foods, you may be willing to deal with the symptoms of heartburn in order to keep eating the foods that you like. There are many over the counter and herbal remedies that provide relief for those who occasionally suffer from heartburn. Occasional heartburn is not serious, but frequent heartburn can eventually erode the lining of the esophagus. The frequency and causes of heartburn vary from individual to individual and can only truly be evaluated by you and your doctor.

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Basically, heartburn is a digestive problem where stomach acids come in contact with the esophagus. This causes irritation, which in turn causes us to feel heartburn.

You have to remember that heartburn has nothing to do with the heart as the name may suggest. It is believed to have been named heartburn because of the burning sensation in the chest when the condition occurs.

Generally, heartburn can happen to almost anyone. When you experience heartburn, you will feel a burning sensation that starts in the upper abdomen and works its way up to the breastbone. This feeling will make you feel as if your chest is on fire.

The burning sensation will travel from your diaphragm to your throat and you will taste something sour and bitter on your mouth and feel as if food is reentering your mouth. You feel like vomiting and when you do gag, no food will come out.

Around 20 percent of adults experience a mild case of heartburn. This is easily manageable through changes in diet, antacids, and weight loss. However, for 5 to 15 percent of adults who experience chronic heartburn, home remedies will only provide temporary and partial relief.

If left untreated, chronic heartburn can result in more severe complications.

This is why you have to know how to manage heartburn in order for you to prevent it from developing more severe complications, which can really have a negative effect on your body.

So, how do you manage heartburn?

For starters, you need to know what causes heartburn in order for you to have an idea on how to manage it. Basically, heartburn is caused when stomach acid refluxes or backs up in to the esophagus. This can occur for several reasons.

The first is that it may be because of a weakened lower esophageal sphincter or LES. This is the valve that keeps the stomach acid inside the stomach and prevents the acid from coming in contact with the esophagus. A weakened LES is one of the most common symptoms of GERD or Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease.

You also have to remember that there are certain foods that weaken or relax the LES. Examples of foods are chocolate, peppermint, alcohol, coffee, sugary foods, and fried and fatty foods.

Smoking also weakens or relaxes the LES as well as certain medications.

Pressure on stomach and eating large meals shortly before bedtime can also cause heartburn.  Stress will also cause heartburn as this increases acid production and slow down the emptying of the stomach.

So, in order to manage heartburn, you may want to start by making some lifestyle changes. This means that you have to try eating frequent smaller meals rather than three large ones. Eating slowly can also help as well as avoiding going to bed right after having a big dinner.

You should also start avoiding foods and beverages that triggers heartburn, such as fried and fatty foods, coffee, peppermint, fatty foods, caffeinated and carbonated beverages, chocolates, tomatoes, and citrus fruits.

You should also quit smoking, lose weight, and wear loose fitting clothes.

Drinking warm liquids can also help dilute and flush out stomach acid in the body. Lukewarm water or herbal teas are great examples of warm liquids that you should drink.

These are some of the ways on how you can manage heartburn. Although this may provide relief for mild cases of heartburn, you have to remember that you still need to visit your doctor in case you have a chronic case of heartburn. You will need to take medications in order to control heartburn and also make huge lifestyle changes.

First of all, you need to know that heartburn is in no way related to any heart related diseases. As a matter of fact, heartburn is a digestive condition where stomach acid comes in to contact with your esophagus. This will cause irritation where you will feel a burning sensation starting in your diaphragm up to your chest. It is also often associated with a sour and bitter taste, which is primarily your stomach acid reaching your mouth.

For decades, people have been relying on antacids in order to ease the pain that heartburn causes. Although this is effective, it is only temporary and you will still experience heartburn.

Also, synthetic drugs can cause significant harm to your body. In fact, some antacids have been known to cause diarrhea and even constipation in a lot of people. So, here are natural remedies that will be able to take care of heartburn and eventually lessen its frequency.

You have to remember that heartburn is primarily caused by bad diet habits. These days, people tend to eat more junk, which are very hard to digest. Because of this, the stomach produces more acid in order to digest these types of foods properly, which is primarily what you don’t want to happen as it will increase the likelihood of experiencing heartburn.

So, lifestyle modification is needed in order for you to prevent heartburn or at least lessen its frequency.

The first thing you need to do is to avoid eating hard and crunchy food. These foods are hart to digest and it can also cause damage to your lower esophageal sphincter or LES. The LES acts as a valve that lets food in to the stomach and keeps stomach acid out. When the LES doesn’t function properly, it will let stomach acid flow freely in to the esophagus when you experience acid reflux.

Secondly, you have to drink more water. Stop drinking coffee and avoid drinking carbonated drinks, such as sodas. Water is very effective in neutralizing stomach acid, which will eventually result in lessening the frequency of heartburn.

You should also try eating honey. This is a known natural remedy for heartburn and it can also help heal damaged LES tissue. Try eating around 3 tablespoons of honey during the day and before you go to bed.

Aloe Vera juice is also effective as a natural remedy for heartburn. This is because Aloe Vera juice is a natural alkaline liquid. When you drink Aloe Vera, it will neutralize the acidity in your stomach and it also helps in the healing process of the LES tissue.

These are some of the home remedies that you can do in order for you to treat heartburn effectively. As you can see, you don’t have to be dependent on antacids to help ease the pain caused by heartburn. Through these natural remedies, you will not only ease the pain caused by heartburn but you will also prevent it or lessen its occurrence.