Heartburn is a terribly painful affliction. Pretty well everyone knows the discomfort of occasional heartburn. If it happens more than occasionally, you will want to know how to stop it. The cause of heartburn, acid in the esophagus, is the same for everyone, but the way the acid gets there varies from person to person.

The esophagus is the pipe that carries your food from your oral cavity to your stomach where it is digested with the help of gastric acid. The valve between the stomach and the esophagus is a sphincter that opens to allow food in and closes down to keep acid in. The potential reasons that your sphincter may have a problem containing the acid are numerous and until you pin down the reasons, you won’t know how to stop the problem.

Sphincter Muscles

When the muscles of the esophageal sphincter close, pressure builds in the esophagus. As there is less pressure in the stomach it usually makes it difficult for the acid to wash back up through the sphincter. The times when it is easier is when the sphincter is either open or when the muscles are relaxed. The sphincter usually only opens when you are swallowing food. However, if you have the habit of eating on the run, you may have a persistent problem with heartburn, so one way to stop heartburn is by sitting still and carefully chewing and swallowing.

The esophageal sphincter also opens when pressure builds up in the stomach. This is usually when the stomach can’t empty its contents fast enough to keep up with the food intake – in other words, when you may be eating too much. When that happens, the sphincter opens to let out extra air and make more space. The polite word for this is ‘belching’. When the air comes out, a little acid comes with it. A small amount of air is no problem, but a lot of air means enough acid to cause at least mild heartburn. The answer is to eat slowly, don’t swallow a lot of air and don’t eat too much at one time.

Some problems with the sphincter muscle will be beyond your control. A too full stomach isn’t always due to overeating. Some stomachs take longer than average to empty. This situation, for example, is common for those with diabetes. Asthma sufferers can take medicines to relax the muscles of the esophagus to allow better air flow. Obviously, this kind of medication can also relax the muscles of the esophageal sphincter causing increased acid flow.

Even if the muscles don’t relax enough to open up the sphincter, the pressure can equalize making a tight waistband enough to cause acid reflux. So, when sitting down to eat, make sure you wear something loose or risk that awful feeling in your throat afterwards.