Juicy Fruit is a surprisingly effective heartburn remedy. Lightly-flavored non-mint gums work best to relieve heartburn symptoms.
If you have to deal with heartburn regularly, no doubt you have wondered if it was possible to get relief from heartburn via home remedies. There are hundreds of heartburn remedies all reported to provide relief anecdotally, but how does the evidence stack up?
We found one site in particular, Heartburn Remedies, which hands-down offers the best exploration of the validity and possible mechanisms behind some popular heartburn remedies. The two remedies that they recommend are chewing gum and vinegar.
The evidence behind the use of chewing gum seems to be extremely convincing. There are a few proposed mechanisms through which it can contribute. Firstly, chewing gum produces saliva, which is then swallowed, which can then aid digestion in the stomach by helping to break down food. Indeed, researchers have found that those who chew their food appropriately are significantly less likely to experience heartburn than those who do not chew their food much as all.
However, saliva not only aids digestion but has other significant contributors to remedying heartburn. After a time of chewing gum, the saliva released appears to increase in pH, moving from a neutral liquid to a base. This base then coats the esophagus as it is swallowed, giving the esophagus a basic pH. This is an amazing protective mechanism.
If you are not familiar with the pH scale, allow us to explain. Neutral solutions have a pH of 7, and are in the middle of the pH chart. Acidic solutions have a pH less than 7, on a scale of 0-7. The lower the number, the more acidic the solution. Stomach acid has a pH in between 2 and 3, which is quite acidic. Acids are produced when a solution has a lot H+ (hydrogen ions), whereas bases are produced when a solution has a lot of OH- (hydroxide ions).
When acids and bases meet, they cancel each other out in a process called neutralization. H+ combines with OH- to form H20, also known as water. Since H+ and OH- have opposite charges, they cancel out as well, leaving us with a harmless solution of water.
Back to the example – when the OH- in our basic saliva comes in contact with the H+ ions in our stomach acid in the esophagus, they neutralize one another. This of course depends on relative content; you will need a lot of saliva to neutralize just a small amount of stomach acid. Fortunately, chewing gum produces large amounts of saliva and acid reflux is often caused by a very small amount of acid (often diluted by being mixed with the stomach’s contents). As a result, there is a lot of strong evidence that chewing gum is an effective heartburn remedy.
The only side-note is that peppermint and spearmint gums should not be used. Mint can stimulate the production of HCl (stomach acid) in a lot of individuals and should be avoided if you experience heartburn regularly.
The other heartburn remedy promoted by the site in question is vinegar. The idea is that taking a small amount of vinegar compels the salivary glands to produce massive amounts of saliva, even more than you might experience from chewing gum. The protective effects work in quite the same way and there is merit to this approach as well.
All in all, there are some effective home heartburn remedies, and you do not have to open up your wallet to get access to them – both of these items are already in most homes or can be obtained for 1$ or less.
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