Heartburn can be best described as being a feeling of discomfort and pain in the midchest area which occurs as a result of the movement of digestive acid into the tube which carries food from your mouth to your stomach. As its name suggests, individuals who experience this burning sensation are essentially feeling the effects of an inflamed esophagus.

Normally we never feel the effects of our stomach acid because the stomach has special lining which is resilient to the effects of digestive acid. However, dietary and lifestyle choices can cause stomach acid to go upwards through the esophagus, which does not have the same lining the stomach has to dampen the effects of stomach acid. Here are some things you can do to prevent heartburn:

1. Avoid heartburn food triggers
As we get older our dietary choices make us more susceptible to getting heartburn and even lead to us needing heartburn devices. There are several kinds of food you need to be aware of, which can trigger heartburn. One of those kinds of foods are high fat meals such as French fries, butter, whole milk and ice cream. In addition to that, spicy foods are defined as being one of the major culprits of heartburn. The reason as to why stems from an ingredient in peppers by the name of capsaicin. It’s also worth noting that carbonated drinks and acidic fruit such as pineapple and lemons can trigger PAH pulmonary symptoms as well.

2. Don’t go to bed on a full stomach
As mentioned above, gravity helps to keep your digestive acid in the stomach. Heartburn occurs when said acid goes upwards through our unprotected esophagus. When we go to bed, gravity no longer holds everything straight down. Therefore, when you go to bed with a full stomach, it can lead to symptoms of heartburn. This can lead to long term damages to the esophagus. Therefore, if you notice that you tend to get heartburn whenever you go to lie down and sleep, it’s highly recommended that you stop eating at least 4 hours before going to bed.

3. Eat smaller portions
Another simple thing you can do to prevent heartburn is to eat smaller sized portions throughout the day. Large meals can cause your stomach to expand and increase pressure upwards against the LES (lower esophageal sphincter). As such, most doctors recommend that people who experience heartburn continuously should eat six smaller sized meals instead of three larger sized meals. By doing this, you will prevent your stomach from becoming too full as well as to prevent excess production of digestive acid.

4. Eat slowly and chew thoroughly
A study which was published on WebMD demonstrated that eating slowly can minimize your chances of experiencing heartburn. In fact, fast eating has been proven to increase your risk. During the study 10 individuals were asked to eat their meals within 5 minutes and 30 minutes on alternate days over a period of two weeks. The study demonstrated that speedy meals lead to 15 instances of heartburn, as opposed to slow eating which lead to 8.4 instances of heartburn. The scientists proclaimed that they believe fast eating leads to acid reflux because rapid food intake may cause the brain to increase digestive acid production due to an anticipation of an abundance of food.