Gastric Reflux Symptoms – What Are The Common Reasons For Heartburn

The popular name of the gastric reflux is heartburn and this is a condition that many of us have experienced at least one in our life. It manifests especially after a large meal by bringing a very unpleasant burning sensation behind the breastbone.

The sufferers usually feel this sensation near the heart and that´s why this digestive disorder got the name of heartburn. Don´t worry! Heartburn doesn´t mean that there´s something wrong with your heart.

Whenever the stomach acids come back to the esophagus you´ll feel the symptoms.

To be more precise, the main cause for this disease is a digestive tract disorder. The esophageal sphincter (LES) is actually a valve that separates the stomach from the esophagus.

If this valve gets weak, it won´t function at normal parameters and won´t stop the reflux of food juices causing the stomach acids to return to the esophagus.

The people that don´t suffer from heartburn have a lower esophageal sphincter that remains closed after each meal. But they are the lucky ones and are not the subject of this article.

With gastric reflux, the valve opens after each large meal and the stomach juice comes back into the esophagus causing the burning sensation.

The main reason for this condition is a malfunction of the LES because the stomach acids reflux into the esophagus causing the gastric reflux condition.

The stomach acids cause an inflammation called the reflux disease. The walls of the stomach are pretty strong and they have no problem with the acids but unfortunately the esophagus is very sensitive and it´s affected by the stomach acid´s corrosion. In other words the esophagus is severely damaged and it feels like it´s on fire.

Living an unhealthy life and having bad eating habits will lead to gastric reflux. That´s why if you want to avoid this nasty burning sensation it´s recommended that you eat only moderate meals and avoid as much as possible eating at night.

In addition to all that, other factors that can cause this disorder are: stress, pregnancy, anxiety, indigestion, obesity and lifting heavy objects.

The gastric disease sufferers usually don´t eliminate bad food from their menu and that´s why the heartburns keep coming back. That happens because in most cases tasty foods contain some compounds that increase the stomach acid levels.

In conclusion, if you suffer from gastric reflux it´s recommended that you don´t eat citrus foods, tomatoes, caffeine-based products, sodas, alcohol, cigarettes, etc. The list is very long and you should know that all these foods will relax the LES allowing the stomach acids to return to the esophagus.

Discover what are the common gastric reflux symptoms and how to stop them with home remedies for heartburn.