Have you ever experienced heartburn? If you have, your first time probably made you feel like you were dying a painful death. Naturally, the first thing anyone ever things when they have their first bout with heartburn is that they're having a heart attack. Even though heartburn is all through your chest and around your heart, it has nothing to do with the heart itself. Instead, it's most likely your stomach complaining that you've been putting the wrong things into your mouth. Of course, there are other causes of heartburn that are much more rare, but what you eat, drink, ingest, and inhale have a lot to do with how your stomach reacts.

Heartburn happens when the valve between your stomach and your esophagus malfunctions allowing stomach acid to flow back up into the esophagus. The problem can be episodic due to eating the wrong foods at the wrong times, or it can be the result of a faulty valve which means you'll have chronic bouts of the disease. For those who only have a bout with heartburn once in awhile, the best idea is to avoid spicy foods, citrus fruits, and alcohol in your diet. Acidic foods, like tomatoes, pineapple, and fruit juices also need to removed from the list of foods you eat. Other foods you shouldn't eat, and this one's the hard one, are chocolate and other high-fat foods.

Sometimes it's only the ingredients in a certain food that will cause heartburn. For example, anything with caffeine in it can trigger an episode. This includes caffeinated coffees and teas as well as colas. In addition, certain medications can be a problem, like aspirin or hypertension medicines. If this seems to be the case, you'll need to discuss the situation with your doctor to see if he can prescribe something different. Another substance you take in through your mouth also contributes to heartburn, and that's the smoke you inhale while smoking.

As you can see, what you put into your mouth can make a world of difference when it comes to having bouts of heartburn. Even though it isn't the only reason for heartburn, the best place to start when trying to avoid future bouts is by controlling what you eat, drink, ingest, and inhale.