Knowing how to avoid heartburn can go a long way toward improving your quality of life. A great way, obviously, is Prevacid®24HR. It prevents the acid that causes heartburn in the first place. But here are a few other tips that can help…
1. Enjoy Smaller Meals. An overly full stomach from a super-sized meal leads to more acid, and the chance for more heartburn. Moderately sized meals help prevent this problem. They also have the added benefit of helping you with Tip #2.
2. Lose a Little Weight. Easier said than done, of course, but even a small drop in weight, say 5%, can be extremely helpful in preventing heartburn.
3. Avoid Your Trigger Foods. If you know that certain foods bring on heartburn, don’t eat them. The usual suspects are chocolate, onions, garlic, citrus fruits, and tomatoes.
4. Eat Dinner Early. Eating a big meal close to bedtime is a recipe for disaster. Give yourself plenty of time to digest before you lie down.
5. Limit Alcohol. Alcohol can relax the muscle (the LES) that keeps the acid in your stomach.
6. Quit Smoking. Like alcohol, smoking relaxes the LES. Plus it’s really, really, really bad for you in many other ways.
7. Loosen up. Tight-fitting clothes around your stomach can make heartburn worse. Wear something looser instead. You’ll be more comfortable in more ways than one.
8. Wait at Least an Hour After Eating Before Exercising. Common wisdom holds that you should wait an hour after eating before swimming. The same holds true for the rest of the gym. Exercising too soon could worsen heartburn.