What's the best way to relieve heartburn, and what causes it? Doctors break down common myths about the burning sensation.
Maybe it was the chili cheese dog you wolfed down at the tailgating party. Or perhaps you went to bed too quickly after eating a big meal. Or you're pregnant, and feeling like an elephant is sitting on your chest is just a regular occurrence these days.
Whatever the cause, heartburn — that burning sensation in your chest, often after eating — can be pretty miserable. It’s also very common. According to the American College of Gastroenterology, “almost everyone will experience heartburn at some point, especially after a heavy meal.” Heartburn is also a symptom of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), which is thought to affect 20% of Americans.
While heartburn — whether occasional or chronic — is something many people have experienced, there's still a lot of confusion about what it is, what causes it and the best way to treat it. (And despite the name, it's not a heart issue but rather a digestive one caused by rising stomach acid.)
Yahoo Life spoke to gastroenterologists to clear things up. Here's the truth about heartburn — including why you shouldn’t always reach for a glass of milk to treat it.
Myth No. 1: Heartburn and acid reflux are the same thing
While heartburn can be a symptom of acid reflux, the two terms are not interchangeable. “People who are experiencing reflux do not always have the classic lower chest discomfort that we have come to describe as ‘heartburn,’” Dr. Joseph Jennings of MedStar Health tells Yahoo Life. “Furthermore, discomfort over the lower part of your chest can be due to reflux, but not all ‘heartburn’ is coming from the gastrointestinal tract.”
Acid reflux can also cause symptoms such as coughing, swallowing issues and chronic throat clearing, he adds.
Myth No. 2: Diet choices are the only cause of heartburn
Doctors (and Google) have encouraged people prone to heartburn to avoid caffeinated drinks, chocolate, spicy foods and citrus fruits. But Dr. Michael Schopis of Manhattan Gastroenterology in New York City tells Yahoo Life that how a person eats — not just what they eat — matters.
“First, not everyone has the same trigger foods, so eliminating these may ignore what actually may be causing the issue,” he says. (Why miss out on chocolate and coffee unnecessarily?)
He also emphasizes the importance of taking your time when eating. “The more you chew, the more you take your time eating, the more saliva and enzymes are produced to begin breaking down the food, which means your stomach doesn’t have to work as hard,” Schopis explains. “It doesn’t have to produce as much acid, which obviously is a root cause of reflux.”
Myth No. 3: Milk is a fast cure for heartburn
Drinking dairy milk has several health benefits, such as strengthening bones and fueling the body with protein. But it’s not a quick fix for treating heartburn. As Verywell Health notes, milk doesn’t “coat” or protect the stomach, and the high fat content in some dairy products (like whole milk) can stimulate further acid production. Jennings adds that milk can even worsen gastrointestinal symptoms for people with dairy issues such as lactose intolerance.
Others may find milk with less fat content soothing, but it’s not a cure-all. “Low-fat and nonfat milk can have a transient neutralizing impact on acid in the stomach and esophagus, but this can vary greatly [among] patients,” Jennings says.
Myth No. 4: Experiencing heartburn during pregnancy means you’re having a hairy baby
Is there any truth to this old wives' tale? Beyond one small 2006 study published in Birth which did associate reflux symptoms with hairier babies, there’s little research to support this claim, and most of the evidence is anecdotal.
Jennings notes that many pregnancy changes can contribute to heartburn (if not hairy babies). “Whether you can truly expect a head full of hair on a newborn because you had a lot of reflux symptoms during pregnancy is hard to know, but we do know that hormones elevated in pregnancy, like progesterone, also impact the gastrointestinal tract and can cause a person to [experience] reflux more than they would outside of pregnancy,” he says.
Jennings adds that pressure on the abdomen and pelvis can also contribute to increased heartburn during pregnancy.
Myth No. 5: Taking antacids regularly is helpful
Popping an antacid every few hours can keep heartburn at bay. Schopis says the medication works as a great spot treatment, but it can actually cause a problem known as rebound acid if it’s taken too often.
“The problem is, if you take it too frequently — like every few hours, multiple times a day, for an extended period of time — the body actually starts trying to produce more acid because the body can sense that you don’t have as much acid as you should in your stomach,” Schopis explains. “So, long story short, if you take too much antacid, it’ll actually cause more acid production, and then you’ll get more reflux and then have to take more Tums. And so it creates this vicious cycle.”
What does help?
Want to get through dinner without a side of heartburn? Some natural ways to prevent heartburn from happening include not overeating or rushing through a meal; eating ginger and high-fiber foods; avoiding food triggers; not lying down after eating (aim to stay upright for about 90 minutes post-meal) and sleeping on a slight incline. And if heartburn is something you’re frequently dealing with, talk to your health care provider about treatment options.
