(1) Eat small meals — no more voluminous than your fist — and don’t drink any liquids from one hour before the meal to one hour afterwards.
(2) Chew each bite of food well, properly mixing it with saliva before swallowing — the stomach’s muscular reaction to unchewed lumps of food can be full or partial regurgitation.
(3) Refrain from lying down, bending over or wearing tight-fitting clothing for at least an hour after eating a meal.
(4) If you suffer acid reflux at night, elevate the head of the bed four to six inches and never get directly into bed from the dinner table.
(5) Lose weight if you are overweight, and if you smoke, stop smoking.
(6) Keep track of what bothers you and avoid the foods, beverages and medicines that seem to bring on heartburn.
(7) Use antacids infrequently and only for occasional heartburn — they may mask an underlying problem that you should have checked by a doctor or may even cause mild heartburn to worsen.
(8) Chew gum after meals, as this increases the flow of saliva, which helps in reswallowing the esophageal contents without having to ingest new liquid. Green Stamps Mail Order
You may have had heartburn from devouring too many snacks during Super Bowl XXXIII. For some 40 million Americans, heartburn is a daily ordeal. Many heartburn sufferers take nonprescription antacids and try to carry on. But that approach, medical experts say, frequently masks serious gastroesophageal conditions.
The majority of people who have chronic heartburn and treat it with common antacids actually have more than simple heartburn. Some have esophageal cancer, ulcers or some form of erosion in the esophagus.
About half of the 150-plus subjects in a recent study done at the University of Oklahoma, University of Arizona and Glaxo Wellcome in Research Triangle Park, N.C., had damage to the lining of the esophagus due to chronic heartburn. More than 50% had a hiatal hernia.
”Gastrointestinal disorders kill relatively few U.S. citizens,” said Dr. Joel Moller of Highland Park, Ill. ”But they exact a heavy toll in human suffering and economic costs. Heartburn and gastroesophageal reflux disease cost Americans more than $ 5 billion a year for Natural Cure For Acid Reflux.
”(At my practice), we’re seeing an increasing number of people with esophageal disease,” Moller said. ”Many patients with heartburn symptoms aren’t actually getting to their doctor when they should.”
