Whenever you eat your favourite food, you body breaks it down into a form that it can use to nourish cells and provide energy.

The digestive system is much more complex than this. It consists of a series of hollow organs joined together in a long, twisting tube. The digestive system starts at the mouth and ends at the anus, including the oesophagus, stomach, small intestine, and large intestine. The digestive system also includes the liver, gallbladder, and pancreas that produce juices to aid in digestion.

Heartburn is one side effect of inefficient digestion.

You have probably experienced heartburn more than once in your life. You may have felt painful burning in your chest or throat. Heartburn that occurs more than twice a week is called gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD. It is also possible to have GERD without experiencing heartburn.

HEARTBURN CONFUSION ABOUNDS

There are a number of theories behind the cause of heartburn and what triggers this unpleasant digestive issue. Pregnancy may increase the risk of heartburn. In the vast majority of cases, some medications, alcohol, and especially food cause heartburn.

A doctor may recommend avoiding heartburn trigger foods and trying over-the- counter medications like antacids to ease discomfort. Yet even a minor condition like heartburn can take a turn for the worse. If heartburn continues and becomes chronic, prescription drugs or surgery may be required.

The medical community continues to chase rabbit trails on the search for heartburn relief. Doctors are on the right track when they recommend avoiding heartburn trigger foods. Foods that cause chronic heartburn must be eliminated first before antacid medication and invasive surgery are ever considered.

Antacid use seems like a quick fix for a chronic condition. Antacids are eaten like sweets throughout the Western world. Antacids merely put a band-aid on a more serious health wound in the body.

If heartburn is chronic, then something is triggering it again and again. An underlying digestive issue is most definitely the cause, and certain trigger foods continue to make the problem worse.

Not only are antacids marketed to look like sweets, but they are pushed by the medical community. If you take a closer look at the ingredient label, you may not like what you see. Antacids contain active ingredients like calcium carbonate, known to cause constipation and increase acid reflux with overuse.

Antacid ingredients like aluminum hydroxide, magnesium hydroxide, and magnesium oxide can cause constipation and diarrhoea and contribute to existing kidney problems.

Listen to what your body is telling you. If you experience heartburn regularly, it may be directly linked to the foods you eat. Your digestive health may be suffering, and heartburn is the “help” message that your body is sending to you. Digestive health must be restored to relieve this discomfort. Antacid overuse is never the answer for a chronic problem that stems from digestive distress.

IMPROPER FOOD COMBINING IS TO BLAME

Before you reach for that antacid, give a second thought to how you ate your last meal. Most of us don’t consider how we prepare our meals, as long as they are served hot and ready to eat. But improper food combining is one of the top causes of digestive distress, including gas, upset stomach, and heartburn.

Though these issues may be managed with over-the-counter meds like antacids, digestive problems over the long-term can cause malnutrition. This point is important to emphasize: even if you are eating a Really Healthy Foods diet, improper food combining could rob you of the nutrients your body needs.

Change how you eat, restore digestive health, and watch heartburn disappear. You can calm heartburn by first eliminating the trigger foods from your diet. This includes inflammatory foods typical of the Western diet, like starchy carbohydrates, high sugar foods, processed foods, and dairy products.

You can support the way your body digests the Really Healthy Foods you eat with food combining at each meal. Food combining focuses on the best way to digest each food. This will ensure that every critical nutrient reaches your digestive system to do the job it was designed to do. Foods can be categorized as proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. The guidelines for food combining are simple and straightforward:

• Avoid eating protein and starchy carbohydrates at the same meal. Protein and starchy carbs cancel each other out and inhibit proper digestion. It’s best to cut starchy carbs out of the diet or wait two hours after eating starch to eat protein.
• Avoid eating fruits and vegetables at the same meal. Sweets should not be eaten directly after a meal, no matter what Western culture tells you. Fruit is best eaten up to 60 minutes before dinner; acidic fruits do not combine well with starchy carbohydrates.
• Eat protein with non-starchy vegetables at any time. Healthy fats can also be eaten with protein and vegetable meals, though not with starches.

If you regularly experience digestive discomfort, like heartburn, food combining can help. A Really Healthy Foods diet with food combining is the first step. You can also support your digestive process from beginning to end with the right digestive enzymes.

A digestive enzyme supplement can assist in the breakdown and digestion of food. An effective digestive enzyme containing inulin will help to stimulate the growth of friendly gut bacteria. This will increase the body’s ability to absorb and synthesize vitamins and minerals found in the food you eat. With the proper support of digestive enzymes and Really Healthy Foods, heartburn can become a thing of the past.