Written by Catherine Saxelby
on Wednesday, 01 July 2015.
Tagged: diets, guides, health, healthy eating, tips
Indigestion and/or heartburn is a weekly occurrence for about one in five of us. It’s that burning, painful and uncomfortable feeling we get at the top of the abdomen after eating. It’s technical name is Acid reflux or GORD (Gastro Oesophageal Reflux Disease), which is a more scientific way to describe heartburn.
Symptoms of heartburn include: burning pain, irritation, nausea, coughing (or just clearing the throat especially after eating), wheezing, asthma symptoms and eroded tooth enamel. Unfortunately, heartburn also increases your chances of oesophageal cancer.
People who are overweight or older tend to be affected more since abdominal fat interferes with oesophagus function. Plus, the oesophageal sphincter, which prevents the backup of acid, weakens with age.
Here’s what you can do to minimise the acid reflux which causes that sharp burning sensation.
Never ignore persistent heartburn. Left untreated, chronic acid reflux can scar and narrow your oesophagus. At its worst, untreated chronic heartburn -- a symptom of GORD -- can develop into oesophageal cancer.
Photo credit: shutterstock.com
Catherine Saxelby has the answers! She is an accredited nutritionist, blogger and award-winning author. Her award-winning book My Nutritionary will help you cut through the jargon. Do you know your MCTs from your LCTs? How about sterols from stanols? What’s the difference between glucose and dextrose? Or probiotics and prebiotics? What additive is number 330? How safe is acesulfame K? If you find yourself confused by food labels, grab your copy of Catherine Saxelby’s comprehensive guide My Nutritionary NOW!
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