Chew Gum Douse Heartburn - MSN Health & Fitness

Health Topics: Digestive Health: Heartburn & GERD

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If you can walk and chew gum, you may be able to douse your heartburn without any medication. Researchers have shown that chewing sugarless gum and walking after dinner both lower the acidity in our throats.

Gum chewing stimulates the production of saliva. And because saliva is alkaline, it can help neutralize the acid.

"When you swallow the saliva, it neutralizes the acid in your esophagus," says Dr. David C. Metz, a professor of medicine in the division of gastroenterology at the University of Pennsylvania Health System in Philadelphia. "Sucking on hard candy might also help for the same reason."

The increased saliva also may help tidy up the esophagus, says Dr. Bennett Roth, a professor of medicine and chief of clinical gastroenterology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California at Los Angeles.

"When you swallow the saliva, it tends to wash and cleanse the esophagus of everything, including acid," Roth says.

For people who have occasional heartburn, gum chewing after meals might do the trick, Roth says.

People with more frequent heart burn might need to reach for something stronger, he added.

Works better than walking

A study that followed 12 people with gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD, and 24 healthy volunteers found that acid levels after a meal were reduced both by walking and by gum chewing.

Baseline levels of esophageal acid were measured for all 36 people at the beginning of the study. Then the 36 were given breakfast and their acid levels were recorded for four hours after the meal.

The next day, after breakfast, the study subjects were asked to walk for an hour after their meal and then sit for another three. Again, the researchers monitored acid levels for four hours.

The following day, researchers asked the 36 people to chew gum for an hour after breakfast and then sit down for three hours. Acid levels were again monitored for the whole four hours after eating.

When the researchers compared acid levels from all four parts of the experiment, they found that walking was mildly beneficial in reducing GERD, but the effect was short-lived. Gum chewing, on the other hand, worked better and its effects lasted as long as three hours. Acid levels were reduced in all 36 volunteers.

Antacid gums versus antacid tablets

For those who want an even bigger effect, experts suggest a gum that contains antacid, experts say. A study published last March found that when people chew sodium bicarbonate-containing gum they end up with more alkaline saliva than those who chew regular gum.

Antacid gums may even outshine antacid tablets.

One study that compared the acid-reducing properties of chewable antacids and antacid gums found that the gums did a better job of neutralizing acid. Twenty-four people with heartburn were asked to try antacid gum or tablets after eating a meal that typically caused reflux. The researchers monitored the effects of both treatments and found that the gums provided faster and more prolonged relief from heartburn symptoms. They also determined that the gums lowered acidity better than the chewable antacids.

A beneficial side effect of the gum-chewing self-therapy is that it may also help protect your teeth.

Republished with permission from MSNBC.com

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