10 Natural Ways To Prevent Heartburn

A night of greasy bar food and beer leaves many of us with a heavy chest, not just because we feel guilty, but also because of heartburn. This unsettling pain can come any time we reach for our guilty pleasures and vices. However, simple diet and lifestyle changes can reduce acid reflux to prevent heartburn before it even starts.

In the video, "10 Natural Ways to Beat Heartburn," Health Magazine offers tips and tricks to beat the burn, from eating smaller meals to chewing gum.

To avoid heartburn, we first need to know its specific triggers, which vary from person to person. Our diet influences the severity and frequency of this acid reflux symptom. High-fat foods tend to sit in our stomach for longer, which causes it to produce more acid, and irritate the digestive system. These foods make our lower esophageal sphincter (LES) — the muscle that separates the esophagus from the stomach — sluggish and relaxed, which allows stomach acids to travel back up our throat.

Health Magazine suggests avoiding foods, including alcohol, a well-known trigger for acid reflux, as well as caffeine and even chocolate. However, diet isn't the only cause of heartburn; our lifestyle habits can also lead to painful chest pain. For example, changing our sleeping habits, like not eating before bed, and raising our head six to eight inches when sleeping, can minimize pain when we lie down.

In the meantime, while we adjust our diet and lifestyle habits, we can chew sugar-free gum for 30 minutes after a meal to relieve any heartburn.

Click on the video above to learn about the other natural ways to treat acid reflux.