Home Remedies For Heartburn

It's good to know that many home remedies for heartburn are often based around foods that are readily available in many kitchens. However, understanding just what is going on when heartburn hits will often help to minimize and cure heartburn in itself.

Heartburn happens when the strong acid in the stomach, that is used to digest and break down the foods we eat, finds its way up the oesophagus (food tube). It is this acid that burns the lining of the oesophagus, causing the familiar and unpleasant sensation of burning. There is a muscle that is suppose to keep the acid in the stomach where it belongs, but if for whatever reason this muscle malfunctions, then it leaves the way open for the acid to escape into the oesophagus.

One of the most common home remedies for heartburn has to be the eating of soda crackers. The soda cracker remedy has been handed down through the generations for one reason, it works! As long as the crackers are salt free, since salt increases the sodium in the body, which further influences the amount of acidity in your stomach, soda crackers are a convenient and useful snack that aids digestion. The crackers contain bio-carbonate soda which works by lessening the acid. Incidentally, for the same reasons, a mixture of water and baking soda is also a quick and simple aid to digestion.

Some, who sufferer with heartburn, also swear by eating a handful of blanched almonds. This works because almonds have properties that neutralize the symptoms of heartburn and calm the unpleasant burning sensation. What also works in exactly the same way as almonds is eating boiled plain brown rice. Not only that, but plain brown rice is also one of those home remedies for heartburn that falls into the category of foods that are 'easy and simple to digest'. Any foods that are easy and simple to digest will often help diminish the risk of heartburn because not so many digestive juices and acid is needed to break down these foods.

The other home remedies for heartburn that are often used, are centered around the avoidance of practices that will encourage the acid from the stomach finding its way into the oesophagus. These remedies start by doing some obvious things like not eating too close to bedtime and so give the body time to fully digest the foods that have been eaten before retiring. Also simply elevating the head when asleep is another remedy that can be successfully used. Sleeping in this position will naturally help gravity keep the acid down in the stomach where it belongs.

A general rule of thumb where heartburn is concerned, is to keep an eye on your diet and remain at a healthy weight. Drinking plenty of water between meals, rather than during meals, which can lead to the stomach over filling and so encourage the escape of the acid back up the food tube.