Heartburn, what is it?   If you suffer from heartburn, you will know the feeling well.
A burning sensation, that starts from the stomach and travels all the way up your throat.
Eventually it reaches your mouth, leaving an unpleasant taste.
The culprit is stomach acid, which has found its way out of the stomach and is now burning the sensitive parts of your gullet.
The tube that connects your mouth to your stomach is called the esophagus, and at the point where it joins the stomach there is a flap that keeps the stomachs contents strictly where they belong.
However, under certain conditions this flap can be overcome allowing the contents to make their way back up the esophagus.
This is partly digested food that is coated with acid, and it is this acid that burns the esophagus.
This condition has nothing to do with the heart, despite its name, but boy can it burn.
Another name for this condition is acid reflux, because the acid reflux-es (or travels back) up the esophagus.
  There are a number of things that can make you more prone to heartburn.
Amongst them are being overweight, wearing tight clothing and eating large meals.
Each of these puts extra pressure on the stomach, pushing partly digested food upwards past the flap and into the esophagus.
Smokers are more prone to heartburn because cigarette smoke contains chemicals that weaken the muscle which holds the flap closed.
Finally, as any mother will tell you, heartburn goes hand in hand with being pregnant.
Again, it is the extra pressure on the stomach that forces the acid laden food back up the esophagus.
  Ten tips that will help you tackle heartburn

1. Avoid the temptation to lie down, standing keeps gravity on your side in keeping stomach acid where it belongs.
   For the same reason, avoid eating for the three hours before bedtime.
   Heartburn during the night is common amongst those who have had a meal too close to bedtime.
   
2. Another thing not to do is bending over after you have just had a meal.
   Again, this puts pressure on the stomach that in turn forces the stomach contents past that flap.
   
3. If you do feel heartburn coming on, try drinking a large glass of water to dilute that acid and ease the burning.
   
4. Grate some root ginger, and add a teaspoon of it to a cup of hot water.
   Let it stand for about ten minutes and then drink.
   The ginger helps to combat the effects of heartburn, and can also be effective if you add it to you meal during cooking.
   
5. Saliva is very effective in helping with the fight against heartburn.
   The more you chew your food before swallowing, the more saliva you will produce.
   So chew plenty before you swallow, also a bit of chewing gum after a meal helps produce more saliva that can reduce the risk of heartburn.
   
6. Some vegetables are very effective at fighting heartburn because they are alkaline (the opposite of acidic) and can really help especially if eaten raw.
   Try having carrot, cucumber and beetroot in your side salad.
   
7. A large glass of milk can also help with the effects of heartburn.
   
8. Another popular remedy is to eat an apple when heartburn strikes.
   This helps most people with the symptoms.
   
9. Instead of eating three large meals throughout the day, try having six.
   Do remember to make each one a lot smaller.
   
10. For those that suffer from heartburn during the night, try raising the head of your bed by a few inches.
    Placing some books under the feet of the bed will create a downward slope that will help stomach acid stay put.