The Most Effective Ways To Prevent Heartburn

Wear Loose Clothing

It is important to wear loose clothing and avoid the use of certain types of clothing garments to prevent heartburn. The area of the body in concern when it comes to heartburn is the abdominal region anywhere underneath the location of the breastbone. Any garment that compresses this region even a small bit can increase the likelihood of experiencing heartburn. These clothing articles include things such as belts, sashes, tight shorts, slacks, skirts, any type of belly binder or waist trainer, and any kind of garment designed in a corset-like fashion.

These articles of clothing put pressure underneath the stomach that pushes food up against the esophageal sphincter. These clothing articles also counteract any force being put on the stomach contents by the natural force of gravity. Both factors cause the already compromised function of the esophageal sphincter to be even less effective and allow food to reflux. Tight clothing garments around the abdominal area can also make a small amount of food feel like a full meal because it restricts the amount of expanding the stomach can do.

Eat Smaller Meals

An excellent tip for individuals who have chronic heartburn is to eat smaller meals. A stomach, when empty, has a volume of only about two and a half ounces. When an individual consumes food, the average adult stomach can stretch and expand to accommodate up to one full quart of food, which is the same volume as the quart size carton of milk or juice commonly seen in most grocery stores. Although the stomach is able to expand to accommodate such volume of food, this does not mean the sphincters on either end of it have the same amount of pressure on them as they do when there is no food in the stomach.

The more food consumed, the higher the pressure on the esophageal sphincter becomes. If an individual who has chronic heartburn already has a weakened or compromised esophageal sphincter, the increased pressure of a more substantial meal can make heartburn more likely to occur. This mechanism can cause heartburn with the consumption of a large meal of any type of food, not just foods that trigger heartburn.