![]() ![]() ![]() If you’re overweight or obese, losing some weight can help.“It’s best to not eat in the hours leading up to bedtime,” says Dr. Stay upright after eating a big meal, to allow for optimal digestion.Spicy, acidic, and fried or fatty foods are more likely to trigger reflux. Avoid foods that trigger reflux for you.Your doctor will likely suggest that you try to treat heartburn by making the following lifestyle changes before medication comes into play: You can generally avoid occasional bouts of heartburn with some lifestyle modifications. A feeling that food is “stuck” in your throat or the middle of your chest.A sour, bitter, or acidic taste in the back of your throat.A feeling of chest pressure or pain that is worse if you bend over or lie down.A burning sensation in the center of your chest that lasts from several minutes to an hour or two.That’s acid reflux, or heartburn.Īccording to the National Institutes of Health, more than 60 million Americans experience heartburn at least once a month. But sometimes the LES is weak or doesn’t properly close, allowing stomach acid to back up, which irritates the lining of the esophagus. What Is Heartburn?Īfter you swallow food, it makes its way down the esophagus and into the stomach, where a ring of muscle, called the lower esophageal sphincter (LES), closes to keep the food in. While it may seem that GERD is just a fancy name for heartburn, they are more like close cousins than identical twins. You can often pinpoint a reason for the burn (that five-alarm chili, perhaps?), but if heartburn happens often - defined as a couple of times a week - it could be a symptom of a more serious condition called gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). “Heartburn is the manifestation - the symptom - of acid reflux, or stomach contents coming back up in your esophagus,” says Matilda Hagan, MD, a gastroenterologist and co-medical director of the Center for Inflammatory Bowel and Colorectal Diseases at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore. Got a burning feeling in your upper chest? If you’re thinking heartburn, you’re probably right. ![]()
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