hiatal hernia : Ways to Reduce Heartburn

There are many ways to reduce heartburn frequency. There are some pretty safe foods for heartburn sufferers. However, it may be necessary to evaluate your lifestyle and overall health in order to prevent the frequency of heartburn. Sometimes it is necessary to keep a food diary or at least a mental note of what foods you ate before you experienced the heartburn symptoms. Most people experience heartburn occasionally. It is next to impossible to avoid everything that can cause heartburn all the time, but there are ways to reduce heartburn or at least the likelihood of experiencing heartburn symptoms.

Some ways to reduce heartburn include dietary changes. If your diet is high in fat and acidic foods like tomatoes and citrus fruits, reducing this and including more safe foods for heartburn sufferers may reduce the frequency of your heartburn. Experts may not always agree on what are safe foods for heartburn sufferers, but most agree that they are foods that are low in fat and low in acid. For instance, apples, bananas and pears are better choices than oranges. Baked, grilled or boiled skinless, white meat chicken and baked, boiled or broiled seafood are better choices than hamburgers and fried chicken. It is a sensible diet that you are looking for, not just a list of safe foods for heartburn sufferers.

Most treatment plans or recommended ways to reduce heartburn include lifestyle changes along with dietary changes. For example, eating several small meals every couple of hours is better than eating one or two large meals. Even if you only eat supposed safe foods for heartburn sufferers, but you overeat, you may experience heartburn. If you are overweight, eating smaller meals more frequently may help you lose weight by increasing your metabolism and maintaining proper blood glucose levels. People who are overweight suffer from heartburn more frequently than people who are at their ideal weight, so losing weight may be one of the ways to reduce heartburn.

If you experience heartburn at night, one of the ways to reduce heartburn is to eat your last meal three to four hours before going to bed. Elevating the head of your bed or sleeping on a specially designed wedge are other possible ways to reduce heartburn that is experienced at night. Overweight people are more likely to experience heartburn at night, it may interfere with their sleep or they may be unaware of it. Nighttime heartburn can lead to respiratory problems, as the acid can be inhaled. If you are eating small meals, trying to lose weight and including mostly safe foods for heartburn sufferers in your diet, but you know or believe that you are suffering from nighttime heartburn, it is advisable to see your doctor, before the problem becomes worse.

All of the above recommendations for ways to reduce heartburn assume that a person is in otherwise good health. Heartburn can be a symptom of more serious medical conditions including acid reflux and hiatal hernia. Treatment plans still generally include the above mentioned lifestyle changes and eating more safe foods for heartburn sufferers, but other medications may be recommended.

by Patsy Hamilton