A Pain in Your Chest

Since Dawn's latest post was about neck pain, I thought it would be appropriate to discuss another type of pain: heartburn. 

In Digestive Wellness, Liz Lipski reports that Gastro-Esophogeal Reflux Disease, or what is more commonly known as heartburn is a digestive disorder that effects 1/3 of Americans (Lipski; 2004).  This occurs when the lower esophageal valve, a muscle that acts as a gate between the esophagus and the stomach opening to allow food to enter the stomach and closes to keep it there, fails to work properly.  When this happens, the contents of the stomach, including partially digested food and stomach acid, flow back into the esophagus, causing a painful burning sensation.  Over time, the constant irritation of the esophagus can cause chronic inflammation and lead to scarring, ulceration, and even esophageal cancer.

Common Signs and Symptoms  
Symptoms usually occur after a meal and last for a few minutes to a few hours after eating.  The most common complaint of GERD sufferers is heartburn; a sharp burning sensation in the lower chest or throat.  Other symptoms include:

• regurgitation
• burping
• chest pain
• persistent sore throat
• sour taste in the mouth

Foods That Can Make You Feel Worse
There are certain foods that can worsen the symptoms of GERD.  Trigger foods will vary-- find out which foods trigger your symptoms.  You may want to begin with the following provocative foods:

• Citrus foods
• Peppermint
• Fatty foods or spicy foods
• Coffee
• Chocolate

How to Feel Better Fast

• Eat smaller meals.  Overeating can easily bring on some of the symptoms.
• Try to eat 2-3 hours before lying down.
• If you're a nighttime heartburn sufferer, raise the head of your bed 4-6 inches by placing a telephone book under you pillow. 
• Drink plenty of water (away from meals).
• Eat 1/2 a banana.  Banana calms the stomach acid and can have a natural antacid effect.
• Try demulcent herbs such as comfrey root, marshmallow root, slippery elm, and licorice.  These help soothe an irritated throat and stomach.  One of my favorites is Yogi Tea's Egyptian Licorice.

A Warning about antacids: Tums and other antacids can provide some fast relief but I don't think they are good long-term solution.  Antacids neutralize stomach acid.  Stomach acid is necessary to digest protein and to kill unfriendly bacteria before they can get into the rest of the body and potentially cause more serious problems.