Live & Learn -- Heartburn Home Remedies

Sometimes I like to pretend that I'm a hippie and jump on the clean eating, vegetarian, environmental, yoga practicing bandwagon. And being pregnant has given me more incentive than ever. Obviously while you're knocked up you want to be extra careful about dumping garbage or chemicals into your body, and this also includes most medications.

Acid indigestion (heartburn) is a common discomfort experienced during pregnancy. Basically it's a horrible burning sensation that extends from the bottom of the breastbone to the lower throat, and I seem to get it every single time my stomach gets empty. For me, eating a meal usually resolves it pretty quickly, but I've also discovered a few other home remedies that have been super effective.

Although antacids like TUMS can provide relief, I learned from my yoga instructor that they can actually make the problem worse. Because you actually need that acid to help break down your food, and TUMS breaks it down, which can cause other digestive discomforts and problems.

This is where the hippie stuff comes in. Some of these natural remedies help to treat the uncomfortable symptoms of heartburn without eliminating the acid that your body needs to help break down food. Most of these I heard about in my prenatal yoga class...

{1} Papaya

Natural, fresh papaya is best, but if you can't find it Trader Joe's carries a dietary supplement of natural papaya & pineapple enzymes in tablet form. I find chewing one of these to be effective about half of the time. And I did also once find fresh papaya at Trader Joe's, but I thought it was slimy and tasteless so I didn't buy it again. But the tablets are easy to carry around in my purse for an emergency, and they taste yummy, too.

{2} Yogurt

Make sure you're only using plain yogurt, because sugar will make the problem worse. This has probably been the most effective quick fix for me. One big spoonful of plain Greek yogurt pretty much immediately cures that horrible burning sensation for me. It's obviously a little harder to have on-the-go, but I was shocked at how effective it can be.

{3} Almonds

Plain, natural, unsalted are best, and you don't need many... just a small handful (five or six) will do the trick. For me this one has been about as useful as the papaya tablets... maybe a little better because for me just getting something in my stomach seems to alleviate the symptoms. But if you have heartburn at night I hear that popping a few of these before bed can be a life saver.

So there you have it... some hippie heartburn remedies I learned in my hippie preggo yoga class. And now I'm off to buy some Birkenstock sandals and a hemp necklace.

 

This has been another edition of
Live & Learn Thursday!

Join the party... follow your hosts and link up your post!

And as a special treat this week, each person who links up an appropriate post (see Rules below) will be entered to win a Go!Sac -- an awesome, lightweight, durable bag for toting all of your necessities around town, to the gym, or on vacation. It's the ultimate full size bag that conveniently folds into itself to store as a small pouch. Good luck!