Heart Burn

Project #7: Research Your Topic
Manual: Competent Communicator (CC)
Oct 19, 2007

Ohhh! That fiery feeling! The feeling of liquid coming back to your mouth! The bitter taste in your throat! The burning in your chest! If these symptoms sound familiar to you, you may be among the millions of Americans who suffer from heartburn. Statistics indicates that about 25 million experience heartburn daily and 60 million monthly. How many of you suffer or have suffered from these symptoms? Well, Good evening toastmasters and fellow guests, this speech educates you about heartburn, one of the common health problems, the causes and preventive tips.

Well, what is heartburn? Before that, let’s take a quick look at our digestive system. The mouth, throat, esophagus, and stomach. The junction or valve between the esophagus and stomach is called the Lower Esophagus Sphincter (LES). Heartburn is the common ailment of esophageal disorder. The digestive stomach acid (a.k.a., gastric acid) that helps the body in food digestion often remains in stomach. However, when LES does not close the stomach acid can reflux upward. This reflux irritates or injures esophagus and result in a sensation known as heartburn.

What causes the heartburn? When functioning normally, the LES opens like a door that allows food into the stomach but not out the same way. However, at times the LES relaxes and allows stomach juices to flow upward into the esophagus. This relaxation exposes the esophagus to the harsh acid from the stomach. Various lifestyle and dietary factors can contribute to heartburn by

1. increasing the relaxation of the LES, allowing it to open
2. increasing the amount of acid produced in the stomach
3. increasing stomach pressure, or
4. by making the esophagus more sensitive to harsh acid.

These triggers vary from person to person. The most common contributing factors include the following:

Eating/Dietary Habits

• Eating foods such as citrus fruits, chocolate, peppermint, tomatoes, raw onions, garlic, black pepper, fatty or spicy foods
• Drinking beverages such as coffee, tea, citrus juices, and caffeinated or carbonated beverages
• Drinking alcoholic beverages, particularly before bedtime
• Eating less than two hours before bedtime

Certain positions

• Lying down, especially within two hours after eating
• Bending over

Medical reasons

• Pregnancy
• Taking certain antibiotics and pain medications
• GERD (gastro esophageal reflux disease)

Lifestyle habits

• Being overweight
• Smoking
• Hectic lifestyle
• Wearing restrictive or tight clothing around the waist

How can you avoid heartburn? First, let’s see what can be done if you have heartburn. Talk to your physician and assess the situation. He/she will be able to guide you to appropriate recovery path. I would highly recommend this. However, if for some reason you are unable to talk to your physician then my suggestion would to control your diet, which means, no food and beverages that cause heartburn. Second, elevate your whole upper part of the body – not just the head – while sleeping. Elevating just your head could cause neck pain. Third, take a brief stroll or walk before your sleep.

As the saying “Prevention is better than cure” goes, we should prevent before anything bad occurs. How can you prevent yourself from getting heartburn? First, have healthy eating habits. Refrain from eating fast food items. Take non-spicy and non-fatty food. Eat regularly at the appropriate time. Refrain from taking food items/beverages that induce heartburn. Second, do not lie down or sleep immediately after having food. It is recommended to wait at least 2 hours before lying down. If you absolutely cannot wait for couple of hours, take a stroll/walk. Elevating your upper body also helps. Third, shed some pounds. Quit smoking. Reduce your stress, by doing meditation.

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Copy of this presentation can be found here.