The Best Heartburn Helpers

'Tis the season for giant, festive meals. Here's how to enjoy your holiday favorites minus the discomfort.

- JIHAN MYERS

If you’ve ever felt a tightness, a burning sensation or a pain in your chest after a big bowl of chili or spicy takeout, you’re probably familiar with heartburn. The uncomfortable sensation occurs when acid in your stomach sloshes up into your esophagus and irritates its lining. If excessive stomach acid repeatedly goes into your esophagus, your doc might tell you that you have gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Fortunately, “acid reflux is treatable, and the medications used are considered extremely safe,” says Bianca Chang, M.D., a gastroenterologist and the assistant medical director of gastrointestinal motility at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles. Try these strategies to put an end to post-meal pain.

Lifestyle Tweaks

These behavioral changes can be a good place to start.

Limit alcohol; quit smoking. Both habits may trigger heartburn by relaxing the lower esophageal sphincter, letting more acid come up.