Heartburn

A colleague, who never struck me as herbally inclined, dropped by my office one morning and surprised me by asking what sort of herbal concoction I might recommend for heartburn. He said he'd had it on and off for several months. But he'd started taking ginger about a week earlier, and he said he felt considerably better.

I was delighted that he'd tried an herb, but I was also a little surprised at his success. Studies show that ginger prevents nausea caused by motion sickness as well as morning sickness in pregnant women. That's how it has earned its well-deserved reputation as a stomach soother. But heartburn does not occur in the stomach.

Heartburn develops when the muscular opening from the esophagus into the stomach doesn't work properly. This set of muscles--the lower esophageal sphincter (LES)--opens to allow food into the stomach but then closes to keep stomach acids from washing up into the esophagus. In heartburn, the LES doesn't close completely, and the burning feeling in the chest is actually acid burning the esophagus.

I'd never heard of ginger for LES problems, but I didn't doubt him. I simply suggested that he add peppermint to his ginger tea. Peppermint has an age-old reputation for relieving upset stomach and heartburn, and a good deal of research validates the folklore.

Heartburn is very common. An estimated 30 percent of adults experience it at least once a month. Diet and lifestyle often contribute to it.

Heartburn is more likely to develop when you eat hurriedly, on the run, standing up or wolfing down your food without chewing it thoroughly. Fried foods, saturated fats, sugar, alcohol, cigarettes and coffee have all been associated with heartburn. To help prevent it, try to have meals and snacks when you're relaxed instead of on the go. It also helps to have a diet of fruits, vegetables and whole grains and avoid fried foods.

Natural Herbal for Heartburn

In addition to avoiding aggravating foods and eating habits, here are some herbs that can help.

Camomile (Matricaria recutita). Joe and Terry Graedon, co-authors of The People's Pharmacy and Graedon's Best Medicine, share my opinion that camomile is the first-choice herb for heartburn and stomach distress.

Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra). I agree with Michael Murray, N.D., co-author of Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine and several other scholarly books on nutritional and naturopathic healing, that deglycyrrhizinated licorice (DGL) successfully treats both heartburn and ulcers of the stomach and esophagus. Many studies show that licorice is an antispasmodic and that it reduces production of stomach acid, thereby decreasing heartburn. The caveat is that while licorice and its extracts are safe for normal use in moderate amounts (up to about three cups of tea a day) long-term use (more than six weeks) or ingestion of larger amounts can produce headache, lethargy, sodium and water retention, excessive loss of potassium and high blood pressure. A cup of licorice tea now and then to relieve heartburn is safe.

Peppermint (Mentha pipe-rita). A while back, my daughter spent a vacation week with us, and we celebrated by grilling up big slabs of spareribs, which gave me heartburn. So I headed out to the garden and grabbed two handfuls of peppermint and one each of spearmint, lemon balm (also known as melissa) and bee balm, along with some basil, sage and oregano, and brewed up a tasty tea that helped. I know you might prefer a more specific recipe--one teaspoon of this, two teaspoons of that--but I never measure herbs that are generally regarded as safe.

There is a controversy about the use of peppermint for heartburn. I agree with herb advocate Andrew Weil, M.D., professor at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Tucson and author of Natural Health, Natural Medicine, who strongly recommends this herb. Herbal lore certainly supports peppermint. Traditional cultures from ancient Egyptians to present-day Icelanders use peppermint for all sorts of digestive problems, including heartburn. A few esteemed herbalists, however, contend that peppermint can aggravate heartburn. If that happens to you, don't use this herb, but personally, I doubt that you'll have problems. Many, if not most, mints have the ability to ease digestion, with peppermint and spearmint tops in my book.

Cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum) and cinnamon (Cinnamomum, various species). Both of these herbs help eliminate gas. When Mrs. Duke suffers occasional heartburn or acid indigestion, one thing she does with my blessing is sprinkle one or the other of these two powdered herbs on her toast. (We rarely have cardamom around the house, though; it's too expensive.)

Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare). Fennel has been used as long as dill, and for the same reasons. I'd use it, too.

Papaya (Carica papaya) and pineapple (Ananas comosus). These fruits are loaded with digestive enzymes and have been widely used to relieve heartburn and indigestion. papaya with a little honey may even prevent it if eaten before a meal or between courses. Some nutritionists suggest that kiwifruit might help as well.

 Don't Die from "Heartburn"

Sometimes heartburn hurts so much that people think they're having a heart attack, although actually they're not. But the reverse can be true as well: Sometimes what you think is heartburn is actually a heart attack or angina.

Heartburn typically develops during or shortly after a meal and produces pain or burning in the chest. Heart attack and angina can strike at any time. Frequently, the pain they produce is not limited to the chest but radiates up under the jaw or along an arm. Heart attack and angina may also produce faintness and sweating. When in doubt about chest pain, call 911 and describe your symptoms.

Cabbage- Cabbage and potato soup help me with heartburn. I boil cabbage and cut up potato (with peel) in a pot of water for 20 minutes. Cabbage also help stomach acid-induced ulcers, which often accompany chronic heartburn 1.

Eating - have you ever noticed heartburn after belching? What happens is you eat too fast, swallowing air. When it warms to body temperature it expands, and the force required you to burp, this can push stomach acid into the esophagus 2. When you eat, always take small bites and chew thoroughly.

Magnesium - Antacids are little help to the heartburn sufferer. They neutralize the acid in the stomach, not the esophagus, where the pain is, and they interfere with digestion, risking much more than acid burn. Besides, the body just secretes more, and a vicious cycle begins. Some medications can cause heartburn. Instead, try magnesium. Because magnesium is very alkaline, it acts as an antacid and can be used in place of over-the-counter antacid compounds.

Heartburn Healing Nutrients

For maximum absorption, take supplements with meals

Nutrient Suggested Dosage

Ages Garlic: 1 tablet three times daily

Licorice DGL Chews: 1-2 chewable before meals

Enzymes:1 capsule before meals

Peppermint leaves:1 capsules after meals daily

Magnesium: 400 mg. daily

Ask the Expert about Digestion Supplements (click)

Reference

1.Balch, James F., M.D., and Balch, Phyllis A., Prescription for Nutritional Healing, Avery Publishing Group, Garden City Park, N.Y., p. 197, 1990

2. Gerras, Charles, et al, eds, The Encyclopedia of Common Diseases, Rodale Press, Emmaus, PA, p. 481, 1976