Read
onto know more on why this happens and how to get
quick relief
People
often suffer from heartburn. Actually statistics
indicate that most people suffer from occasional
heartburn in their life. But the good news is
that, most heartburn cases go away on its own or
requires little medication at the most. But in
some cases, such heartburn can cause a lot of
problems - it can be both agonizing and dreadful.
It indicates the onset of a disease that is
medically known as gastroesophageal reflux disease
or GERD. The bad news is, such severe
heartburn cases may be difficult to treat with
conventional medication.
What
causes the problem?
Though
GERD may be linked to various genetic factors, it
usually occurs when the one-way valve (sphincter)
situated at the end of the esophagus (the tube
through which food passes to the stomach) gets
weak or becomes unstable, thereby allowing part of
the stomach content along with the stomach acids
to flow back into the esophagus. The result
obviously is heartburn due to ulceration of the
esophagus from the backflow of the acidic stomach
contents. Chronic heartburn due to the ulcerous
esophagus may lead to a per-cancerous condition
that is clinically termed Barrett's
Esophagus, requiring immediate medical
attention.
Associated
discomforts of heartburn
When
the backward flow of acid reaches the upper
regions of the esophagus, it also causes
hoarseness, dry coughs and wheezing. This is
sometimes wrongly diagnosed as asthma and thus
further complicating the
condition.
Who
is more prone to experience such
heartburn?
People
who suffer from certain medical conditions are
prone to suffer from severe heartburn. These
include several autoimmune diseases like Raynaud
Phenomenon, CREST syndrome and sceloderma as well
as from hiatal hernia and diabetes. Also affected
by heartburn are those who do not maintain regular
mealtimes and indulge in too much of fast food.
Heartburn
treat
Since
most of the prescribed medications addressed at
relieving heartburn are only short-term treats
having long-term side effects, they create more
harm than good. Yes this is what happens with
conventional medicines that try to address the
symptoms of heartburn, rather than find the root
causes of this.
Modern
research have proved that a regulated diet,
healthy lifestyle and a holistic approach by way
of taking supplements of specific herbs and
vitamins can bring about permanent relief to GERD
related severe heartburn. Those
who suffer from the condition should also keep
away from foods that are high in fat content,
drinks that are high in caffeine, restrict the
intake of alcohol, eat less chocolate, avoid mint
or mint-based tea or sherbet, and eat less of
those foods that are high in acid like tomato and
orange, spinach, cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli
and Brussels
sprouts.
