Do you get the familiar burning sensation in your chest after a big hearty meal? Is it often accompanied by discomfort and pain? Do you feel acid rising in your throat and experience a sour taste in your mouth? You have what is known as heartburn or acid reflux.

What causes heartburn?
Heartburn is more of a symptom than an actual illness. Sometimes consumption of caffeine, chocolate, carbonated beverages, and over-the-counter medicines such as aspirin or ibuprofen can cause acid reflux that leads to heartburn. Acidic food such as oranges, grapefruit or tomatoes and juices such as orange juice, pineapple juice or grapefruit juice can be triggers for heartburn. These lead to an increase in the production of acid in the stomach and can cause acidic juices to reflux back into your esophagus. This reflux is the main cause of the discomfort and burning sensation in your chest.

Other causes of heartburn include consumption of food that has a high content of fat, smoking, overweight, pregnancy, hiatal hernia and diseases such as sarcoidosis and scleroderma. Heartburn also occurs if you eat your meals quite close to your bedtime.

How to treat heartburn?
Chronic heartburn is known as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). If you experience acid reflux after every meal, you need to treat heartburn after consulting with a medical practitioner. This is because chronic heartburn can be a symptom of another illness, which may require immediate medical attention.

However, if you experience acute acid reflux periodically, you can easily treat heartburn with over-the-counter antacids. You can also use home remedies that are effective treatments for heartburn that occurs occasionally.

Home remedies to treat heartburn
To treat heartburn, you need to deal with the excess acid produced during digestion. If you are wondering how to treat heartburn, there are certain lifestyle habits that can help to prevent acid reflux. Also, there are certain ingredients that you can find in your kitchen to treat the occasional heartburn. Here are seven home-based remedies that can help to treat heartburn.

• Avoid food that triggers heartburn: As mentioned earlier, there are certain food items that are triggers for acid reflux. Avoid including them in your meals or try to reduce their intake. Replace these with food that does not aggravate the symptoms of heartburn.
• Eat food items that alleviate heartburn: One of the effective ways to treat heartburn is to control what you eat. Along with avoiding food that causes heartburn, include these food items that help to prevent acid reflux: fresh vegetables, probiotic-based food such as yogurt, soothing teas, animal-based proteins such as grass-fed beef and free-range chicken, coconut oil, raw, unpasteurized cheese, almonds and so on.
• Chew sugar-free gum: This is a treatment for heartburn that provides immediate relief. After a meal that has the potential to cause acid reflux, chew sugar-free gum for at least 30 minutes. This will increase the flow rate of saliva in your mouth, which will wash away the excess acid that is produced in your gut. The excess acid is cleared away, and acid reflux is prevented, and there is no heartburn.
• Weight loss: The best way to treat heartburn and to avoid a lot of lifestyle-related ailments is to lose weight if you are obese. Make a daily exercise routine and eat healthily. If you have a sedentary lifestyle, try to incorporate simple physical activities in your day that keep your muscles active and help burn calories. For instance, take the stairs instead of the elevator.
• Baking soda and water: This is another way to treat heartburn and get immediate relief. Baking soda neutralizes the acid produced due to acid reflux. A solution of baking soda or sodium bicarbonate helps to alleviate the burning sensation. Mix half or one teaspoon of baking soda in one glass of water. Drink this solution slowly to curb the symptoms of heartburn. Do not drink this solution for more than a week, since it has high saline content that can lead to potential side-effects.
• Change sleeping posture: Many people experience heartburn at night, especially when they sleep. When you lie down, digested food and acid tend to go back through the food pipe causing reflux and heartburn. It is recommended to sleep with the head elevated by a few inches from the body. Avoid sleeping immediately after a meal. Also, try to have light dinners so that there is no pressure on your digestive system before you go to bed.
• Keep track of your triggers: Although there are common triggers for heartburn, different things can cause heartburn in different people. The best way to treat heartburn is to keep track of the triggers that cause acid reflux in your body. Pay attention to what you eat and what you do that causes you to experience heartburn. Once you get a rough idea of the triggers, it becomes easy to know how to treat the heartburn.