If you suffer from frequent or chronic heartburn, you know how uncomfortable the symptoms can be. The painful burning that you can experience in your chest and throat, and the acidic taste that can creep into your mouth can keep you up at night, and even prevent you from enjoying certain activities during the day. The good news is that you can enjoy a heartburn free life by following a few simple steps that will reduce your symptoms and improve your quality of life. Many of the solutions to living heartburn free are steps that you can take in modifying your diet and lifestyle. Others will involve medications that can either be found over the counter or by prescription. In some of the more severe cases, it may require your doctor's help to learn how to live a heartburn free life, but rest assured that this goal can be achieved.
Lifestyle Modifications
Many of the lifestyle modifications that will help you achieve a heartburn free life are easy to begin and simple to follow. For example, you can help prevent heartburn by waiting at least two hours before lying down after a meal. This allows the acids in the digestive system to do their job properly while gravity is still in your favor by remaining in an upright position. You can also avoid food and beverages at night that are known heartburn culprits, such as coffee, alcohol, chocolate and fatty foods. If you experience symptoms overnight, you can find your way to heartburn free sleep by raising your head and chest with the aid of a foam wedge that can be placed in your bed.
Diet Modifications
If you suffer from frequent heartburn symptoms, it might be helpful to keep a journal to help you determine which foods are causing your heartburn. By avoiding these food choices, you can be on your way to more heartburn free days. Common culprits have already been discussed, but other potential problem foods include citrus fruits and juices as well as tomatoes and tomato products. You can also help yourself to a heartburn free life by limiting the portions that you eat in a sitting. Instead of indulging in three large meals every day, you can eat five or six smaller meals with plenty of time in between for effective digestion to take place.
Medications
If lifestyle and diet modifications are not sufficient in bringing about heartburn free days, there are a variety of medications on the market today that can help treat and prevent your heartburn symptoms. Many of these medicines can be found over the counter, and others will require a prescription from your doctor. These are generally used when enough heartburn has occurred to cause damage to the esophageal lining. While heartburn can be a difficult condition to live with, the good news is that there are many options available that will help you enjoy more heartburn free days and nights.
