How Does Gum Help Heartburn

Peppermint Reduces The Contractions In The Lower Gastrointestinal Tract

Chewing Gum: natural cure for Acid reflux and GERD.

A mixture of peppermint and caraway oils helps in reducing the motility of the stomach and the intestine by reducing the contractions and inducing relaxations.

This is probably another reason why peppermint shows an immediate soothing effect on heartburns and other inflammations caused due to poor gut health.

Patients suffering from chronic GERD usually undergo endoscopy to treat that which even if successfully treated poses additional post-surgery problems.

One of them is spasms in the oesophagus which induce pains.

Peppermint oil has been shown to be an effective antispasmodic natural drug after endoscopic surgeries, reducing the pain of both heartburn and endoscopy .

What Does Research Say About Mastic Gum

In a double-blind controlled clinical trial of mastic gum in patients with duodenal ulcer, researchers found that it had an ulcer-healing effect and was well tolerated without any side effects.

In a study involving 148 patients with functional dyspepsia, researchers from the Chios Island found that mastic gum significantly improved symptoms. Another study found that it influenced the growth of Helicobacter pylori which has been implicated as the root cause of acid reflux. Overgrowth of H. pylori causes inefficient indigestion. This, in turn, may give rise to a variety of chronic health conditions, including GERD . H. pylori infection can also cause stomach ulcers.

In a study performed at the dental school of the Cukurova University, Turkey, researchers observed that mastic gum had significant antibacterial activity against Streptococcus mutans the primary oral pathogen that causes dental caries. They saw a strong relationship between bad oral health and a variety of health conditions, including endocarditis and cardiovascular diseases. They also claim that periodontitis is linked to premature birth and low birth weight.

Another study, which has assessed the liver-protective effects of mastic gum showed that it was able to significantly decrease total serum cholesterol, SGOT, and SGPT levels.

Elevate Your Upper Body

Lying down can make heartburn worse. When it comes time for bed, adjust your sleeping surface to raise your upper body.

According to the Mayo Clinic, lifting your head with extra pillows isnt usually enough. Instead, the goal is to elevate your body from the waist up.

If you have an adjustable bed, set it at a suitable angle to provide relief. If your bed isnt adjustable, you can change the angle of your sleeping surface by using a wedge pillow.

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What Are The Causes Of Acid Reflux

Diet:

Weight: Speaking of putting pressure on your stomach, being overweight is a wonderful way to do just that. Losing weight if you need to, can help you squash acid reflux conditions without the indefinite loss of your favorite foods. So get outside and get your tail moving!
Stress: Ah, stress. Who needs it? No one, right. And yet, we all deal with it from time to time some more than others. Stress is a definite cause of acid reflux, and a host of other maladies of all sorts. It really is a bummer, stress work on reducing it as best you can.
H. pylori: If H. pylori doesnt ring a bell, dont fret its role in illness of the gut is fairly new. In fact, a few scientists risked their own lives not too long ago on a hunch that it was the true cause of ulcers. Turns out it plays a role in acid reflux as well. A simple breath test your doctor can administer will tell you whether or not this bacterial strain is the reason for your acid reflux issues and, its a good test to get as well, because there is evidence that points to H. pylori being a contributor to stomach cancer.

Peppermint Helps In Indigestion

Peppermint has long been used for the treatment of non-ulcer and functional dyspepsia or indigestion.

In numerous clinical trials done, it has been shown to reduce the symptoms of indigestion and pain caused due to it without showing any side effects.

However, there has not been any study conducted as to how it actually works to reduce indigestion.

Several other effects of peppermint stated later can be correlated with its overall ability to cure indigestion but the basic digestive action is yet to be discovered.

Peppermint oil along with caraway oil has been proven to be most effective as compared to all other preparations of peppermint to cure indigestion .

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Eating Bananas May Help To Settle Your Stomach

A portable healthy snack, bananas can sometimes aid in reducing the frequency of heartburn. Dr. Nusbaum told INSIDER that a bananaâs natural pH can help settle the stomach and he said he recommends them to those who suffer from acid reflux.

However, Dr. Nusbaum said about 1% of patients with acid reflux find that their condition is actually worsened by bananas. So before using bananas as your go-to solution to acid reflux symptoms, you may want to test how your body reacts to them first.

Cinnamon & Acid Reflux Trigger Foods

Since cinnamon is a spice with versatile use, it can be present in many spicy foods, fried foods fast foods, baked foods, chocolate, ice-creams, candies, puddings, desserts, and caffeine- containing products and teas.

Such foods are common heartburn trigger foods because they have been proven over time to provoke acid reflux and heartburn in sensitive people.

Those who have heartburn after eating cinnamon might actually experience symptoms because of some other ingredients in their meals.

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Soothe Your Stomach With Aloe Juice

Aloe is a plant used to soothe burns, and people often think of using it to help something like sunburn, but it can do more than that. It may be able to help with heartburn too because it reduces inflammation. This means when your tummy starts getting irritated and inflamed, or your esophagus is getting eaten away at, a nice glass of aloe vera juice may be just the thing to help calm it down.

You will need-1/2 cup aloe vera juice

DirectionsDrink a ½ cup of aloe juice, cool or room temperature, before meals. Keep in mind that aloe can act as a laxative, so unless youre looking to fit in a few extra bathroom Sudoku puzzles, look for a brand that has the laxative component removed.

Best Type Of Gum For Acid Reflux Symptoms

Mastic Gum WORKED IN 3 DAYS for H Pylori, Acid Reflux and Ulcers

Ginger Gum

Ginger provides added acid reflux relief. Ginger is beneficial in relieving many digestive problems including acid reflux symptoms like heartburn and nausea.

Cinnamon Gum

Cinnamon aids in digestion by stimulating enzymes to break down food.

Fennel Licorice Gum

Fennel helps soothe heartburn and is an herbal antibacterial that is helpful in killing off harmful bacteria like with Candida overgrowth or SIBO.
Licorice contains properties that can coat and protect the digestive tract to promote healing and reduce acid reflux symptoms.

Related Content:Deglycyrrhizinated Licorice for Acid Reflux

Bicarbonate Gum

Bicarbonate helps neutralize stomach acid. The bicarbonate component provides greater antacid relief than the bicarbonate found in saliva alone.

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The Doctors: How To Avoid Sugar

Anne Alexander, the author of The Sugar Smart Diet, also dropped by The Doctors stage to talk about how we can avoid sugar in our diets. Many diseases can be prevented by avoiding sugar, including heart disease, obesity, and diabetes. Studies show that people are eating 130 pounds of added sugar a year. Anne Alexander said that sugar is the first or second ingredient in a number of different foods. Sugar satisfies a craving temporarily, but it also doesnt fill you up. So the more sugar you have, the more cravings you have and the more youre hungry.

Sugar now goes by more than 50 names, so you have to be a sugar detective, Anne Alexander said. She said shes seen healthy cereals that have ten different kinds of sugar. She said our diet has been sugar-jacked.

How To Cure Heartburn Four Quick Fixes And Long

How to cure heartburn you ask? Well, theres no easy answer to that question.

If youve been struggling with acid reflux for any length of time, then you know there isnt a quick fix to this disease as a whole. GERD has many symptoms, one of which is heartburn. At the crux of this disease is the lower oesophageal sphincter . Located at the junction of the oesophagus and the stomach, the LES can weaken and no longer function as an effective barrier, allowing the acidic contents of the stomach to back-flow up into the oesophagus. When this happens, heartburn often follows. This weakening of the LES is progressive, so the more often you reflux, the more frequent the episodes become.

Learn more: GERD explained: The role of the LES

Medications can help relieve a cid reflux symptoms by making the contents of the stomach less acidic however, they dont stop reflux from happening. Thats why managing GERD requires commitment and diligence: Watching what and how you eat and making lifestyle choices aimed at minimizing reflux can reduce your symptoms AND help stop the progression of the condition.

But sometimes, despite your best efforts to manage your GERD, heartburn strikes and you need relief . So though we cant provide a definite answer to how to cure heartburn? We can offer four quick fixes to help you cool the burn.

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Eating Oatmeal And Whole Grains Can Help Reduce The Acid That Builds Up And Causes Heartburn

“Acid is the irritating factor in heartburn and the fiber in oatmeal and whole-grain products like whole-grain bread and pasta can help reduce it. The high fiber content of these foods helps to absorb and reduce the acid that builds up and causes heartburn,” registered dietitianEmily Wunder told INSIDER.

When cooking these whole grains, you may want to avoid pairing them with ingredients that are known to trigger heartburn, like tomato or garlic.

Some Users Experiences Of Gum With Acid Reflux

The only comfort i get is from chewing gum and laying on my left side. Just wish i didnt get it while i was at working, making my life difficult at the min

Facebook group

I drink water and chew gum. Chewing gum helps digest your food which helps it for me.

Facebook group

Most of the time chewing gum helps me. Got an endoscopy and they found nothing wrong with my esophagus but do have an ulcer. But chewing gum is saves me most of the time.

Facebook group

Also Check: How To Repair Leaky Gut

The Claim: Chewing Gum After A Meal Can Prevent Heartburn

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THE FACTS

The list of ideas for easing heartburn is long and filled with home remedies, many unproved. But one of the simplest, chewing gum, may be among the most effective.

Heartburn results from digestive fluids traveling from stomach to esophagus in a process known as gastroesophageal reflux. When scientists set out to study whether this could be countered by chewing gum, they assumed the answer would be no. Instead they found that the saliva stimulated by chewing seemed to neutralize acid and help force fluids back to the stomach.

In a study published in The Journal of Dental Research in 2005, researchers had 31 people eat heartburn-inducing meals and then asked random subjects to chew sugar-free gum for 30 minutes. Acid levels after the meals were significantly lower when the participants chewed gum.

A similar study in 2001 compared the effects of chewing gum after a large breakfast in people with gastroesophageal reflux and in those without it. It found that the beneficial effects of chewing gum on heartburn lasted up to three hours, with a more profound effect in refluxers than in controls.

Another option is antacid chewing gums. One study in 2002, by scientists at the nonprofit Oklahoma Foundation for Digestive Research, found that antacid chewing gum was more effective after a meal than chewable tablets.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Possible Side Effects And Precautions

There are a number of precautions to be taken while consuming peppermint alongside other drugs.

If peppermint is taken with antacids, it may cause heartburn, instead of relieving it.

Antacids reduce the level of acid in the stomach, making peppermint capsules dissolve earlier and exert and opposite heartburn inducing effect on the stomach.

Thus both peppermint capsules and antacids should never be paired up together.

Peppermint also reacts with immunosuppressive medicines like cyclosporine by reducing the speed of breakdown of this drug, causing immune system related problems.

Peppermint has a synergistic effect with antihypertensive drugs and anti-diabetic drugs.

Taking peppermint along with these drugs might reduce blood pressure and blood sugar at a greater extent than required, giving rise to hypotension and hypoglycemia.

Peppermint in large quantities positively exacerbates heartburn and thus it is advised to start with the lowest possible doses to test if there is any relief or increase in the discomfort.

Other than that, there are no side effects that peppermint is known to cause.

However, it is advised to always consult a doctor before taking any kind of natural or synthetic drug to avoid any further discomforts .

Forcing Fluids Down The Gut

In a study conducted in 2005, it was demonstrated that chewing gums induce frequent swallowing, thus forcing the fluids down the gut.

This helps create a pressure on the sphincter to inhibit its relaxation and thus opening to give way to acid to come up.

Also, since the fluids are forced down, the contents of the stomach are also digested properly and pushed down towards the intestine instead of flowing back up.

Since gum makes the salivary fluids more alkaline, when it goes in the stomach, it neutralizes the acids to reduce its burning effects which are the primary symptom of heartburn.

Health Benefits Of Cinnamon

Heartburn and Indigestion: What’s the Difference? With Dr. Richard Onishi | San Diego Health

carbohydrates of which more than half is dietary fiber
protein and fat come in very little quantities 4% and 1% respectively
for micronutrient content, cinnamon is an excellent source of calcium providing for 100% of the daily value
it is also a rich source of iron and vitamin K
cinnamon also contains bioactive compounds like cinnamaldehyde, which are responsible for its aromatic properties and have numerous health benefits

The following are some health benefits of cinnamon:

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Worst Type Of Gum For Acid Reflux Symptoms

Mint Gum

Chewing mint gum can give you acid reflux. Mint is a heartburn trigger that can relax the lower esophageal sphincter allowing stomach acid to reflux into the esophagus. Avoid mint, peppermint, and spearmint gum to prevent acid reflux.

Nicotine Gum

Like the mint gum mentioned above, nicotine gum will also relax the LES and should be avoided.

Can Bananas Relieve Heartburn

Some fruits are acidic and can trigger heartburn, but others may provide relief. Bananas are a low-acid fruit. They can help soothe your irritated esophageal lining and are high in fiber, which helps keep your digestive tract healthy. Beyond bananas, honeydew melons and cantaloupe are also good for heartburn. They contain magnesium, an ingredient in many over-the-counter heartburn medicines. Eat them on their own or add them to a smoothie.

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Chewing Gum Helps Treat Earworms

Earworms are incredibly common90% of us are victims of the earworm at least once a week. An earworm is a catchy piece of music that gets stuck in our heads and no matter what we do, we cant seem to dislodge it. While earworms are not harmful, they can be really distracting and totally unpleasant sometimes. Most of us are helpless against them, and just suffer through it. But, you dont have to suffer through it. Researchers at the University of Reading, UK have identified a cure for earworms. The best way to treat earworms is to chew gum. Now that is something to chew on!

Reducing Stomach Pain And Heartburn

6 Effective Home Remedies For Instant Heartburn Relief

Mastic gum may help with certain digestive problems.

For example, one study found that people who used mastic gum had an improvement in certain types of indigestion and stomach pain. They had less stomach pain in general and less stomach pain from anxiety. They also reported less heartburn.

The people in the study took 350 milligrams of mastic gum three times per day.

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How Do I Treat Heartburn During Pregnancy

When youre growing a human being, you dont have time for that yucky acid reflux. But your usual go-to methods for treating it may not be safe for your unborn baby.

Instead, here are some of the safest and best ways to get rid of heartburn when youre pregnant:

Dip into some yogurt. Its probiotics and soothing texture make yogurt a great option for extinguishing heartburn or at least dousing the flames a little.

Drink milk with honey. According to the American Pregnancy Association, a tablespoon of honey mixed in a glass of warm milk may be just what you need to neutralize heartburn-causing acid.

Snack on almonds. Munching on a handful of almonds may provide heartburn relief since these nuts have a lower acidity level than others.

Eat pineapple or papaya. For some women, the digestive enzymes in pineapple and papaya have helped ease symptoms. Eating these fruits after your meals can aid digestion and reduce your chances of heartburn.

Try a little ginger. You probably knew ginger was a good remedy for an upset stomach. Well, that makes it a helpful candidate for fighting off heartburn, too. Among gingers many benefits, it can reduce inflammation and prevent stomach acid from traveling up the esophagus.

Chew sugar-free gum. Another effective method for taming the burn is to chew some sugar-free gum. One study found that chewing sugar-free gum for 30 minutes after a meal can reduce acid reflux.

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