Health Watch is a Public Service of the Office of News and Publications and is intended to provide general information only and should not replace the advice of a medical professional. You should contact your physician if you have questions about any of these topics.
This week on Health Watch, we’re talking about heartburn and what we can do about it. While there are medications that can help ease heartburn symptoms, there’s another way most people can avoid heartburn: avoid the foods that cause problems.
Dr. Stuart Spechler, a digestive diseases expert at UT Southwestern Medical Center, says he tells his patients to consider the trade-off: is the food going to taste good enough to be worth the heartburn it causes? Sadly, the way to tell if a food is going to cause heartburn is pretty simple. If it tastes good, it’s likely to cause heartburn because it’s probably high in fat. Chocolate is also a big heartburn trigger. If you simply must eat these foods, there are medicines you can take to reduce your chances of developing heartburn.
Next: Heartburn medications.
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July 2007
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