Causes of Heartburn - and what you can do about it

The gradual signs of heartburn make you dread it with every breath. Your chest and stomach burn, your throat aches, and it can ruin a perfectly nice evening, it keeps you wake at night, and wakes you up like a bad alarm clock. You know the drill, but what are the causes of heartburn?

If you are like me, you like to snack at night. Something about going 8 hours without a meal can make a person gorge and then crash. However this is a recipe cause for heartburn. A big meal digesting in your stomach is not likely to stay down if you are lying down. At least try to prop yourself up.

Now that we have covered big meals, let’s talk about the foods that we eat. Diet can also contribute to heartburn. I love a good cup of strong caffeinated tea in the morning. Others may like coffee, but watch out. Chocolate is also one of my downfalls. Do you tend to find spicy, fried, and fatty foods on your menu? Do you drink alcohol on a regular basis? Guess what my friends; these are all causes of heartburn!

A person’s weight can be a touchy subject, but along with big meals and bad diet comes potential weight gain and obesity. Unfortunately you cannot eat those delicious fatty foods that you have always loved forever because diet does catch up with you. Significant weight on the body can also be one of the causes of heartburn.

If you are very health conscious, and exercise a lot, your actions can literally be the causes of heartburn. If you constantly put pressure on your stomach when you are working on those abs. If you are lifting too much or bending too far. Ladies, I know you love to wear tight clothes, but corsets do not leave many choices for your digestive juices to go so where might they end up? You want to feel the burn, but not the heartburn.

If you are a smoker, I know you hear the argument to quit all the time. Besides being the number one preventable killer in this country it is also a cause of heartburn. No pressure on the stomach or anything though.

Stress is a big cause of heartburn because when you work yourself into knots, you are working your stomach into one as well.

Commercials will often give you the side effects for medications, and if you actually listen to them, then you would hear that some can be the cause of heartburn. Throat valves, if too comfortable, can also have trouble keeping the stomach acids in their rightful place. Then there is always the chance you might have a hernia. Talk to your Doctor about causes of heartburn if it occurs daily or weekly. If untreated, heartburn can cause serious problems. The causes of heartburn are here, so do not let them burn you.