Heartburn is a terribly painful condition. Almost everyone knows the discomfort of periodic heartburn. If it happens more than occasionally, you will want to know how to stop it. Though the cause of heartburn, acid in the esophagus, is the same for everyone, the way the acid gets there varies from person to person.

The esophagus is the pipe that carries your food from your oral cavity to your stomach where it is digested with the help of gastric acid. The doorway between the stomach and the esophagus is a sphincter that opens up to allow food in and closes to keep acid in. The various reasons that your sphincter may have a problem containing the acid are numerous and until you pin down the reasons, you won’t know how to stop the problem.

Sphincter Muscles

When the muscles of the sphincter close, pressure builds up in the esophagus. As there is less pressure in the stomach it normally makes it difficult for the acid to wash back up through the sphincter. The times when it is easier is when the sphincter is either open or when the muscles are relaxed. The sphincter usually only opens when you are swallowing food. If you have the habit of eating on the run, you may have a persistent problem with heartburn, so one way to stop heartburn is by sitting still and carefully chewing and swallowing.

The sphincter also opens when pressure builds up in the stomach. This happens when the stomach can’t empty fast enough to keep up with the food intake - in other words, when you may be eating too much. When that happens, the sphincter opens to let out extra air and make more space. The polite word for this is ‘belching’. However, when the air comes out, a little acid usually comes with it. Some air is no problem, but a lot of air means enough acid can rise to cause at least mild heartburn. The simple answer is to eat slowly, don’t swallow a lot of air and don’t eat too much at one sitting.

Some problems with the sphincter muscle might be beyond your control. A too full stomach isn’t always due to overeating. Some stomachs take longer than average to empty. This situation is common for those with diabetes. Asthma sufferers can take medicines to relax the muscles of the esophagus to allow better air flow. Obviously, this kind of medication can also relax the muscles of the esophageal sphincter causing increased acid flow.

Even if the muscles don’t relax enough to open the sphincter wide, the pressure can equalize making a tight waistband enough to cause acid reflux. So, when sitting down to eat, make sure you wear something loose around your waist or risk that awful feeling in your throat afterwards.

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