When someone asks me what causes heartburn, I gladly tell them the story of my daughter Vi. We had an emergency one night when she woke up in extreme pain. She had trouble breathing and felt spasms in her chest. While we were calling 911, she ran to the bathroom to vomit, which of course made me extremely worried. She was crying from the pain and believe me, my 15-year old is one tough teen. That was definitely not normal for her. If anyone questions what does heartburn feel like, I describe that night.
If you need to ask, “What does heartburn feel like,” then you’re one of the lucky ones. That means you don’t overeat or put too much pressure on your abdomen, which usually results in having a weak sphincter. Combine these two abuses with highly acidic food like coffee, tea, citrus, or tomatoes, spicy food like garlic, chili and onions, or just your basic chocolate bar, then you really have hell on your hands – or in your stomach. What causes heartburn could also be the most common condition of the era: stress. And if these highly stressed people relax themselves by smoking and drinking alcohol, well, you get the picture.
For Vi, what causes heartburn is actually her hectic lifestyle. She’s a typical busy teen that wakes up early to get to school, is pressured to perform to the limit by her teachers and peers, is on the go the whole day so is forced to take the school diet of fast food and soda, and is so impatient she wants things now, now, NOW. It’s that constant push that we consider normal that is the main cause of heartburn today.
What’s funny was Vi had actually studied what causes heartburn but she didn’t think that it could happen to her! She didn’t bother tempering her junk food diet with the healthy food that was available in the cafeteria and at home, and she constantly burned her candles at both ends with her late nights and early morning. Apart from the fact that she binged on potato chips a few nights a week, she drank coffee at night to stay up and chat with her friends over the internet.
A supremely stubborn attitude is what causes heartburn. That position of superiority and the “well, I’m smarter than you” feeling is definitely a major reason. People hate being told what to do, especially when it comes to changing a major part of their lifestyle. Try telling a smoker to quit or cut down, or a fast food addict that his diet is harmful, and they feel like you’re itching for a fight.
The knowledge that a change of lifestyle can cull any type of diseases should have made it easier for doctors to help their patients have a longer and healthier life. Unfortunately, the knowledge is not nearly good enough, it has to be something that has to be experienced, and once that heartburn is felt, then the panic sets in. Hopefully man will learn from painful lessons on what causes heartburn later on, but maybe not today.
Cyndi Funaldi talks about solutions for heartburn at her blog where you can find out more about symptoms of gerd and what causes heartburn.
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