4 things which make your heartburn worse

We all have had heartburn in our lives. It starts with a burning sensation that feels in your chest with a bitter taste in your mouth. Heartburn is generally caused due by the acid reflux that your body faces due to consumption of spicy and fatty foods.

Although, we may have felt heartburn in our lives sometimes, it generally occurs in some people more often, when you have bad food habits and an unhealthy lifestyle.

Here are 4 things which are making your heartburn worse

• Caffeine

The acid reflux can be caused due to the relaxation of the sphincter muscles present in the oesophagus that prevents the stomach acids from emerging to the throat. One should be careful about the foods which causes the sphincter muscles to relax causing heartburn. Tea, coffee and chocolate can make your heartburn worse in you consume it on a daily basis.

• Gum

Gum just like coffee has peppermint which causes the sphincter muscles to relax causing the backflow of acids from the stomach to your mouth. Therefore, if you experience heartburn more often avoid gum which contain peppermint oil in them.

• Heavy feasts

When we eat more, the stomach starts digesting the food by creating more acids in the stomach. The more you eat, the more time and acid is required to flush the food to the intestine. Therefore, this increase the chances that there may be backflow of excess acid from the stomach to the oesophagus causing heartburn

• Late night delicacies

Late night food causes you heartburn because you lie down after eating the food; the body posture makes the stomach acids to flush out into the oesophagus.

• Alcohol

You should avoid drinking if you have heartburn. Alcohol has a dehydrating nature there it decreases the level of saliva in your mouth. Saliva plays a big part in clearing your mouth of the acids produced. With the decrease in the amount of saliva in your mouth, the chances of acid buildup also increases which in turn increase the risk of severe heartburn.