The Fastest Cure for Heartburn

Do popular home remedies work as cure for heartburn? A heartburn specialist weighs in

You may have heard that eating or drinking certain foods—like milk, bread, or apple cider vinegar—will ease heartburn.

 

But when the burning sensation starts, will these home remedies actually work? 

Nope, according to specialist, Patrick Hyatt, M.D. They’re just old wives’ tales, and they might make your heartburn worse. 

 

Heartburn occurs when stomach acid—the fluid that’s produced when you eat to help break down food—backs up into your esophagus, Dr. Hyatt says. 

 

It’s often triggered by consuming acidic foods, like wine, coffee, or spicy meals, he says. The acids in those foods combine with your stomach acid, resulting in an extra potent mixture that burns if it seeps into your esophagus. 

 

Overeating can also prompt heartburn, says Dr. Hyatt. When you’re stuffed to the point of bursting, your stomach contents press against your esophageal sphincter, which can cause the mixture to leak through. 

 

In either of these cases, eating extra bread or milk would only add to the bulk in your belly and prompt your body to produce more stomach acid, Dr. Hyatt says.

 

So what does work?

 

Your drugstore is stacked with options, but Dr. Hyatt says the quickest relief comes from over-the-counter histamine blockers like Pepcid or Zantac.

 

Those drugs work by blocking histamine, a chemical that triggers the production of stomach acid, he says. They can provide relief in 15 to 30 minutes, according to the drugs’ websites. 

 

If you get heartburn more than twice a week, tell your doctor, Dr. Hyatt says. Frequent heartburn can increase your risk for esophageal cancer, but your doctor can monitor your symptoms and give you preventative treatment if necessary.

 

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