What causes heartburn
Many Americans are taking drugs for heartburns. While this may alleviate their pain, most of these pharmaceuticals work by shutting down the stomach acid- a dangerous thing. Since I do not advocate the conventional methods for dealing with heartburn, I would like to propose methods to prevent having acid reflux from ever happening. To achieve this aim of prevention, I will list the practices that result in this ailment.
There are mainly three causes for heartburns, overeating, overdrinking, and insufficient chewing. To better aid you, let's look at the mechanics behind why these elements disturb the stomach and esophagus.
Most people picture the stomach as a sack filled with acid waiting for food to digest. That’s actually not the case. When empty, the stomach very little acid. As food enters and rubs the gastric walls, secretive tissues are stimulated and acid is released. It is vital you grasp that the stomach is stimulated to produce acid only as you eat.
When you eat a lot of food, you are giving the stomach more food than it has acid to handle. The stomach is especially vulnerable after long periods without a meal because its acid content is at its lowest. When indigested food sits in the stomach, it ferments and decomposes. This fermented gas then creates bloating and acid reflux.
Another common cause of acid reflux is drinking too much water during a meal. It is common custom for Americans to drink a bottle of water, juice, or soda along with their meal. That is not wisdom. Fluid consumption while eating should be kept minimal. Too much fluid in the stomach makes your food content too watery, rendering difficult for the chemical process of digestion to take place. This causes indigestion, which the stomach tries to remedy by expelling the excess water via the esophagus, creating painful heartburns.
Drink only a few sips of water during your meals. This will keep the chyme moist but not watery, enabling smooth chemical and mechanical digestion to happen in your stomach.
Eating too fast
I believe the most common cause of heartburns in American society is too much fluid with meals. A very close second however is eating too fast. The average person eats way too fast. They are unaware that a vital portion of digestion happens in the mouth. That is because the stomach itself cannot digest carbohydrates, only the saliva in your mouth can. Through some magical chemical process, the saliva in your mouth chemically transmutes carbohydrates into a compound called chyme. Without this preliminary step by the saliva, the stomach will not be able to digest complex carbohydrates.
When you eat too fast, you are not giving the saliva enough time and surface exposure to properly pre-digest the food. This results in unprocessed carbohydrates entering the stomach, rendering indigestion once again. As usual, the indigested food ferments, creating bloating and heartburns as the stomach tries to expel the food back into the mouth for rechewing. The best way to avoid heartburns is to not stress your stomach. This can be done by properly chewing. Take your time when eating, chew until the food becomes near liquid.
The importance of digestive health cannot be overstated. It is the core of your vitality and immune system. A person with a healthy stomach is a rich man or woman. To sum it all, let's recap the healthy digestive practices: 1) Never eat until you’re full. 2) Do not drink a lot of water with your meals, only a few sips. 3) Chew your food well and slowly, take your time.
For you health nuts interested in further boosting your digestive health, I recommend a small book called Talks about People’s Stomach. This work is a masterpiece. If you found this article useful, please support me by subscribing. I put out empowering information all the time.