Nothing kills the buzz of devouring a delicious meal quicker than a bout of heartburn.
It’s that feeling of pain or discomfort, escalating from your chest to your mouth that can vary from mild to severe.
According to the team, the sensation of heartburn, which was first written about 2,000 years ago, now affects on a regular basis.
“Some sufferers blame it on an excess of stomach acid but that's actually pretty rare,” says medical expert on episode three of Trust Me, I’m A Doctor – the last show in the current series airing on SBS on Monday 18 March at 8.30pm.
“Others claim just the opposite, that too little acid [in your stomach] is the problem.
“Some even think you can top up your levels by drinking vinegar. Let me save you that particular taste sensation: very few of us have low stomach acid, and drinking vinegar is not going to help.”
Heartburn is actually a symptom of GORD (gastro-oesophageal reflux disease) and is caused by acid that reverts back into the oesophagus via a faulty valve at the top of the stomach.
Spicy food causes heartburn: fact or myth?
Heartburn is typically blamed on the consumption of spicy foods. But is this fact or fiction?
attempted to answer this question by studying 126 Korean patients with GORD to determine the food items that caused heartburn and other symptoms. The study's results, published in 2017, revealed that hot spicy stews, rice cakes, ramen noodles, fried foods, and topokki induced GORD symptoms like heartburn.
Yet, even though the consumption of spicy and acidic foods has been proven to aggravate heartburn and other GORD symptoms, they're generally not the cause.
Heartburn is actually a symptom of GORD (gastro-oesophageal reflux disease) and is caused by acid refluxing back into the oesophagus via a faulty valve at the top of the stomach.
Dr Yeo speaks to the director of The Functional Gut Clinic, , about GORD on the show. He also gets a tiny probe placed down his oesophagus for the purposes of science, to show viewers what’s really going on inside of us.
As we see, Dr Yeo’s food pipe is considered healthy and ‘normal’. That means there’s a barrier at the bottom of the food pipe that makes sure all the contents within the stomach stay there, preventing heartburn.
However, we also learn that when there is no oesophagus barrier, pressure from the stomach pushes upwards. Contents of the stomach will come up and result in heartburn.
What can you do to prevent heartburn?
Dr Hobson stresses that avoiding trigger foods is important in preventing heartburn.
The biggest culprits are fatty foods because they sit in your stomach for longer, increasing your chance of an attack. A study published in the confirms that high dietary fat intake was associated with an increased risk of GORD symptoms. Meanwhile, a high fibre intake correlated with a reduced risk of GORD symptoms.
Other trigger items include coffee, alcohol, soft drinks and overly processed meals.
Dr Hobson adds that changing the way you eat your food could also help relieve heartburn.
“Anything you can do to take pressure off the stomach and off the valve is great, so eat slowly, chew your food well, that gets digestion going, sooner,” says Dr Hobson.
“Eat smaller meals, all of those things just give your body a helping hand to reduce the amount of pressure on the barrier that protects your from acid reflux."
According to walking regularly can also help with digestion. It suggests avoiding eating large meals, eating late at night or lying down straight after eating.
How about antacids?
The Trust Me, I’m A Doctor team confirm that antacids are a great quick fix for heartburn. However, they’re so fast acting and highly effective that the concern is people will become too reliant on them.
“I think the problem is that it suddenly becomes some kind of lifestyle drug so it allows you to eat and drink what you want and you mask the symptoms,” says Dr Hobson.
“But if you had a headache and you took painkillers continuously then you would probably want to go to the doctors and it's the same thing with antacids.”
Essentially, GORD is a digestive problem. So to manage the symptoms of GORD, it is best to implement diet and lifestyle changes to nourish your gut.
“Long-term, heartburn could be your gut's way of telling you there's something else wrong," says Dr Yeo. "So it's best to get checked out.”
The new three-part series of will air on Mondays on SBS from Monday 4 March at 8.30pm, and stream on SBS On Demand after broadcast.
Watch episode one of the new series on SBS On Demand below.
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