30 May Heartburn Solutions

by Melanie Gray

Heartburn is unfortunately one of those symptoms that is very common for women to experience throughout their pregnancies. It can be attributed to hormonal changes throughout the body in the first two trimesters and then a result of the lack of room in the stomach due to the enlarged uterus pressing upward. Some things to try with heartburn:
• Eat smaller and more frequent meals through the day.
• Avoid causative foods such as: spicy foods, coffee, orange juice, lemonade, tomatoes, chocolate, fatty or greasy foods and alcohol or very sugary foods, processed foods, or carbonated drinks.
• Avoid very hot or very cold foods and drinks.
• Try eating a pat of butter 30 minutes before your meal (a pat is less than the amount you would put on a piece of toast). This very small amount of fat can help to sooth excess gastric juices.
• Eat more raw foods.
• Chew gum after meals.
• During meals, drink only a glass of water with 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar.
• Once heartburn occurs, try having a small amount of yogurt, raw almonds or a glass of milk.
• Try placing a block of wood under the head of your mattress to elevate your head or use extra pillows, especially if the heartburn is happening more in the evening or nighttime.
• See your acupuncturist to help alleviate heart burn
• Acupressure points: try stomach 36 and pericardium 6 if you’d like to try acupressure on your own
• Getting adjusted. This can help to get your diaphragm into place so that it’s not pressing on your stomach.
• Try papaya enzymes or fresh papaya (papaya enzymes can be found at most co-ops and Whole Foods, and work great with mild to moderate heart burn).
• Marshmallow root tea, peppermint tea, catnip tea, or ginger tea are all great antacid herbs to try.
• Over the counter remedies: Zantac (category B), Gavison (category B), Maalox (category B), Tagamet (category B), and Pepcid AC (category B) are all okay to try when other remedies are not working for you.