Oh the Holiday Season -full of Holiday food -YUM!  But sometimes, it can cause the dreaded heartburn -YUCK!

Heartburn is that painfully burning feeling you can get in your stomach, throat and chest.  There are many issues that can cause heartburn -but if you get heartburn just occasionally, these are some natural remedies you can use to avoid and treat the heartburn…

PREVENT:

1.  Avoid foods that you know cause you heartburn 🙂 -popular heartburn causing foods include: chocolate, onion, coffee, spicy food, alcohol and tomatoes.

2.  Drink water –drink a full glass of room temp water 30 minutes before a meal.  This helps prepare the belly for the food to come.  Just an FYI, too much water can cause you some problems -water can dilute the enzymes that help digest food.

3.  Wait to go to sleep -wait 2-3 hours after eating before you lie down.

4.  Eat slowly -take time to chew your food!

5.  Eat some weeds -dandelions are known to help your body digest food better.  You can eat dandelions straight or perhaps more appetizing, have some dandelion tea 30 minutes before eating.

6.  Eat licorice – I know lots of people don’t like licorice but I totally heart it!  Regular licorice can help but the best kind is deglycyrrhizinated licorice.  Chew 30 minutes before eating.

7.  Probiotics– probiotics are the “good bacteria” that can be found in yogurt.  You can get them in capsule form too -it is best to take both lactobacillus (works in small intestines) and acidophilius (works in large intestines).  They will help your body digest food better.

TREAT:

8.  Chew licorice and drink dandelion tea-these help treat too.

9.  Drink aloe vera –mix the gel with some low-acidic juice or take capsules.  Aloe vera soothes the intestinal tract and aids in digestion.

10. Eat some papaya-or you can use papain tablets.  Papaya promotes digestion and soothes the belly.

I’ll stop at 10 -there are many more natural remedies and home remedies -please share yours!