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A Digestive Health Guide: Acid Reflux vs. Heartburn

November 11, 2009 by Suzanne Costa 11 Comments

Too Much Chili Pepper

As the season of decadence, calories, and over-eating approaches I thought that it might be the perfect time to review some common conditions relating to your body’s digestive health, the differences between these conditions and how to prevent and treat them.

Acid Reflux

Acid reflux occurs when stomach acid splashes up from the stomach into the esophagus. According to WebMd near the entrance to your stomach is a valve that normally closes as soon as food passes through it. If this valve doesn’t close all the way or if it opens too often, acid produced by your stomach can move up into your esophagus causing symptoms such as burning chest pain otherwise known as heartburn. If your acid reflux symptoms happen more than twice a week, you may have acid reflux disease.

Risk factors that can cause acid reflux include:

  • Eating large meals or lying down right after a meal
  • Being overweight or obese
  • Eating a heavy meal and lying on your back or bending over at the waist
  • Snacking close to bedtime
  • Eating certain foods, such as citrus, tomato, chocolate, mint, garlic, onions, or spicy or fatty foods
  • Drinking certain beverages, such as alcohol, carbonated drinks, coffee, or tea
  • Smoking
  • Being pregnant
  • Taking aspirin, ibuprofen, certain muscle relaxers, or blood pressure medications

Symptoms of acid reflux disease:

  • Heartburn — a burning pain or discomfort that may move from your stomach to your abdomen or chest, or even up into your throat
  • Regurgitation — a sour or bitter-tasting acid backing up into your throat or mouth
  • Bloating
  • Bloody or black stools or bloody vomiting
  • Burping
  • Dysphagia — a narrowing of your esophagus, which creates the sensation of food being stuck in your throat
  • Hiccups that don’t let up
  • Nausea
  • Weight loss for no known reason
  • Wheezing, dry cough, hoarseness, or chronic sore throat

Heartburn

Heartburn is an irritation of the esophagus that is caused by stomach acid. Heartburn is the symptom that you feel when you have acid reflux. Occasional heartburn isn’t dangerous, but chronic heartburn can indicate serious problems and can develop into gastro esophageal reflux disease, otherwise known as GERD.

One in 10 Americans experiences heartburn symptoms at least once a week and up to 50% of pregnant women suffer from heartburn. The basic cause is when the valve at the entrance of the stomach doesn’t close all the way allowing stomach acid to enter the esophagus. Other causes include too much food in the stomach (over-eating) or too much pressure on the stomach (usually from obesity or pregnancy.)

Foods that may trigger heartburn:

  • Tomatoes
  • Citrus fruits
  • Garlic
  • Onions
  • Chocolate
  • Coffee
  • Alcohol
  • Caffeinated products
  • Peppermint
  • Dishes high in fats and oils (animal or vegetable)

Stress also increases acid production and can cause heartburn as well as smoking.

In order to prevent and manage heartburn you may need to make some simple lifestyle and diet changes. Here are some suggestions from WebMD:

  • Don’t go to bed with a full stomach– Eat meals at least 2 to 3 hours before lying down — this will give food time to digest and empty from your stomach, and acid levels a chance to decrease before you lay down.
  • Don’t overeat– Decrease the size of portions at meal times or try eating four to five small meals instead of three large ones.
  • Eat slowly– Take time to eat — don’t rush, try putting your fork down between bites.
  • Wear loose-fitting clothes.
  • Avoid heartburn triggers– Stay away from foods and beverages that trigger your heartburn symptoms. A good way to figure out what foods cause your heartburn symptoms is to keep a food diary.
  • Shed some pounds– If you are overweight, losing weight can help relieve heartburn symptoms.
  • Stop smoking– Nicotine, one of the main active ingredients in cigarettes, can weaken the lower esophageal sphincter, the muscle that controls the opening between the esophagus and stomach, allowing the acid-containing contents of the stomach to enter the esophagus.
  • Avoid alcohol– If your aim is to unwind after a stressful day, try exercise, meditation, stretching, or deep breathing instead of drinking alcohol.
  • Keep a diary or heartburn log– Keep track of when heartburn hits and the specific activities that seem to trigger the incidents.

Heartburn vs. GERD

If your heartburn or acid reflux symptoms are severe and chronic you may suffer from gastro esophageal reflux disease or GERD. GERD is a severe or chronic acid reflux that can lead to complications, such as cancer.

Occasional heartburn and acid reflux is often treatable with over-the-counter medication or lifestyle modification. To make sure that you don’t have anything more severe such as GERD, reference below.

  • Is your heartburn occurring more than twice a week?
  • Has the pattern of your heartburn changed? Is it worse than it used to be?
  • Do you wake up at night with heartburn?
  • Have you been having occasional heartburn that is associated with difficulty swallowing?
  • Do you continue to have heartburn symptoms even after taking non-prescription medication?
  • Do you experience hoarseness or worsening of asthma after meals, lying down, or exercise, or asthma that occurs mainly at night?
  • Are you experiencing unexplained weight loss or loss of appetite?
  • Do your heartburn symptoms interfere with your lifestyle or daily activity?
  • Are you in need of increasing doses of nonprescription medicine to control heartburn?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, your heartburn may warrant attention from a medical professional. People with long-standing chronic heartburn are at greater risk for serious complications including stricture (narrowing) of the esophagus or a potentially precancerous condition called Barrett’s esophagus.

Filed Under: Disease Prevention, General Health, Nutrition Tagged With: acid reflux, digestive health, eat, esophagus, heartburn, stomach

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Coreen Zaidi says

    February 12, 2010 at 9:46 pm

    I have had acid reflux since I used to be a teenager. I’m at the moment in my thirties and what has appeared to succeed best for me is apple cider vinegar in a. I ingest it as a hot tea.

    Reply
  2. Pearlene Shuecraft says

    March 25, 2010 at 7:17 am

    Although I would’ve preferred if you went into a little bit more detail, I still got the gist of what you meant. I agree with it. It might not be a popular idea, but it makes sense. Will definitely come back for more of this. Great work

    Reply
  3. Health Nutrition Expert says

    April 8, 2010 at 12:28 am

    Very interesting post, I really enjoyed reading it – thank you for the information.
    Health Nutrition Expert´s last blog ..The Fundamentals Of Optimum Health Nutrition

    Reply
  4. Isuz Dervis says

    April 10, 2010 at 2:02 am

    Hartburn is absolutly something that you don’t want to have. make sure that you don’t eat large meals before going to sleep to avoid it.

    Reply
  5. Carroll B. Merriman says

    April 10, 2010 at 2:26 am

    Acid Reflux is a very anoying problem, I have for the last year at the moment it is getting better due to the diet that the Doctor recommend.

    Reply
  6. Shaun Filarecki says

    April 29, 2010 at 3:18 am

    A number of the natural homemade remedies to cure bloating are pop in some seeds of celery and chew on them. You can also take some chamomile, prepare some tea with it and drink it. This will give instant relief to your bloating. Such teas can be made from other things like ginger, peppermint and ginger. As these teas are made from the natural products they are very healthy and they have no side effects at all.

    Reply
  7. Dymatize Elite Whey Protein says

    May 1, 2010 at 11:47 am

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    Great site, Ive got another great blog id like to share with you been following the articles these guys are writing about protein supplements and the like and Ive spoken to Chris who owns the company and they are testing all of their supplements and reviewing them, he is currently using Dymatize Elite Whey and is writing a month review of the results hes getting. Have a look at the site and hope its some use to you.

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  8. Nichelle Bunce says

    May 2, 2010 at 5:21 am

    Hey may I quote some of the information from this blog if I link back to you?

    Reply
  9. Jim Sabbo says

    May 9, 2010 at 10:21 pm

    Natural Heartburn Relief Such as
    Apple Cider vinegar and ginger root are excellent ways to stop heartburn.

    Reply
  10. Garry Sahota says

    May 14, 2010 at 1:50 pm

    Used it for a week so far and all I can say wow. The appetite is the first thing I have noticed. After few days you can feel you have more energy and you are not tired through the day. I would be hungry all the time before I was using this and I could not get low body fat with 3 to 5 days at the gym because of my calorie intake. With this it should not be a problem. At this price you can’t say its not worth trying. I also take a multivitamin and Omega 3.

    Reply
  11. Heath Laino says

    May 18, 2010 at 12:52 am

    I am pretty sure that any or almost any disease could be cured with a natural remedy, if the environment is rightI f sugar and water can work, (placebos ) why not the right stuff?

    Reply

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Enjoy a full years subscription of Healthy Revelations and discover life-changing health secrets you won’t find anywhere else.

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  • And More…

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