Heartburn

Occasional heartburn is quite common. It is simply a discomfort that goes away when you either take over-the-counter medications or use household herbs. It becomes a problem when

• You begin to experience heartburn more than twice a week.
• Medications and herbs don’t bring comfort.
• It becomes difficult to swallow.
• There is a persistent feeling of nausea and vomiting.
• You begin to lose weight.
• You have a poor appetite.
• You find it difficult to eat.

There can be many other symptoms that are directly or indirectly related to heartburn.

What causes heartburn?

When you swallow food, a band of muscle (lower esophageal sphincter) relaxes to allow the food and the liquid to go down into your stomach. When the food or the liquid goes down, the muscle tightens again. When your stomach is digesting your food, lots of acid is generated. The band of muscle that separates your esophagus from your stomach sometimes becomes loose but doesn’t close properly or doesn’t close in time. The acid then comes up to your food pipe and causes a burning sensation.

There are also certain foods that can trigger heartburn including citrus fruits and vegetables, spicy and oily foods, fatty and fried foods, chocolates, carbonated beverages, coffee and caffeinated beverages and large and fatty meals. Overweight and pregnant people also experience heartburn more often.

Heartburn is also called GERD (gastro-esophageal reflux disease).

A heartburn test shouldn’t be taken lightly because the symptoms are quite common with other serious diseases.