Heartburn: Fight Pain with These Tips

Heartburn is more than what you get after you eat the whole enchilada. Or bucket of wings. Or fettuccini chased by an espresso or three. It's a symptom. It's that painful burning sensation you feel in your chest area when you experience acid reflux—stomach acid creeping back up into your esophagus.

Normally, a muscular valve at the end of the esophagus, called the lower esophageal sphincter (LES), helps keep what you eat and drink—as well as digestive juices—in your stomach, where it all belongs. But when the LES is weak or otherwise doesn't work right, acid reflux occurs. Stomach contents move back up into the esophagus, and you experience what is known as heartburn. Heartburn hurts because your esophagus doesn't have the same protective lining that your stomach does.

About 60 million people in the U.S. experience heartburn once a month, and as many as 15 million people may experience heartburn every day.

6 reasons you get heartburn

Your lower esophageal sphincter (LES) often does a fine job of keeping stomach contents from moving back up into your esophagus, but not always. In fact, this muscle can be weakened and your risk of heartburn may be higher if any of these apply to you:

You gain too much weight: Carrying around extra pounds increases pressure in your abdomen, which strains the LES. Overweight people (BMI of 25 to 29.9) suffer from frequent heartburn one and a half times more often than thinner people (BMI under 25). Obese people (BMI of 30 or higher) experience frequent heartburn at twice the rate of thinner people. A BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 is considered ideal.

You have a hiatal hernia: This condition occurs when the top of the stomach and the LES push through the diaphragm (the muscular barrier at the top of the abdomen) and reach part way into the chest cavity. Most of the time, the condition does not produce any symptoms. But in some people, a hiatal hernia encourages acid reflux and frequent heartburn. The risk of a hiatal hernia increases with age.

You take certain medications: Medications used to treat depression, high blood pressure, heart conditions, anxiety and asthma—just to name a few—can relax the LES, allowing stomach contents to move back up into the esophagus. Taking antihistamines, birth control pills, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or antispasmodics can increase the risk of heartburn, too.

You are pregnant: Hormones and weight gain during pregnancy affect the LES and increase the risk of heartburn. Heartburn in pregnancy occurs in about 30 percent to 50 percent of all pregnancies.

You're stressed out: Stress can boost the production of stomach acid and slow digestion, both of which make it easier for acid to reflux and come into contact with the esophagus. Stress also lowers the threshold for experiencing heartburn pain—you're more likely to feel the acid reflux if you're stressed.

You smoke: Although smoking does not cause acid reflux, studies show that it can exacerbate it.

Best home remedies for heartburn

What to do if you have heartburn right now and you don't have any antacids on hand? Try these pill-free remedies:

Chew some gum—but not mint. Chewing gum (make it sugar-free) for an hour stimulates swallowing, which reduces acid reflux. Just choose any flavor but mint, which is actually a heartburn trigger. It can relax the valve that's supposed to keep stomach acid from creeping upward into your esophagus.

Drink milk. For persistent heartburn, sip a little skim milk every one to two hours. Casein, the protein in milk, binds capsaicin—the hot stuff in many dishes—and the milk helps wash acid back down into the stomach.

Take a walk. It's a great way to burn off some of the calories you just consumed, and it cuts the amount of time that stomach acid touches the esophagus. Incentive to keep going: The benefits last as long as the walking does. So if you can walk and chew gum ...!

Of course, even better than stamping out roaring heartburn is preventing it in the first place. Refraining from downing a bucket of wings during the 9th inning is a good start (it'll improve your love life that night, too). Normally, your esophagus enters your stomach at a sharp angle that keeps food from coming back up. But large meals (and extra weight) stretch this angle, allowing acid to flow up. There are sneakier causes, too. Certain meds can weaken the valve at the bottom of the esophagus, including ibuprofen, aspirin, antihistamines and birth control pills. If you suspect a connection, talk to your doc.

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