SOUTHERN LIVING USA

Who among us haven’t bolted straight up in the night, awakened by a sudden and terrible burning sensation in the pit of your stomach? Whether you indulged in some overly spicy chili, or overdid it on those late-night leftovers, these quick heartburn remedies can soothe your fiery stomach and help you get back to a good night’s sleep!

1. The first thing you’ll want to do when you’re awakened by heartburn pain, is to stand up. This helps keep the acid at bay while you go and get a full glass of cool water.

2. Drink the whole glass of water, and follow it with a mixture of 1 tablespoon of baking soda, and half a glass of water. Be careful though, if you have high blood pressure or are pregnant, this can cause water retention or increase your blood pressure.

3. DON’T drink milk or suck on mints to relieve heartburn. Milk might feel nice and cool going down, but it actually contains fats and proteins that cause your stomach to secrete MORE acid, and make your heartburn even worse! Mints, while they may feel soothing, actually relaxes the small valve between your esophagus and stomach, whose purpose it is to actually KEEP acid at bay! When this valve is relaxed, more acid can seep up and aggravate heartburn symptoms!

4. This is going to sound strange, but downing a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar can help soothe heartburn immediately! Why give your stomach MORE acid when it already seems to have enough, you ask? Sometimes, heartburn is caused as a result of too little acid, and vinegar helps quell indigestion by giving your stomach a little extra “juice” (no pun intended!) to do its job!

5. Certain foods can cause nighttime heartburn, including: soda or beverages with caffeine (which you shouldn’t drink before bed anyway!), alcohol, garlic, chocolate (sorry), citrus fruits, tomatoes and tomato-based products. Avoiding these types of food can help ease your indigestion if you frequently find yourself awakened with that intolerable burning!

6. Eating a banana each day works as an antacid to soothe heartburn. If you’re already stricken with indigestion, eating pineapple or papaya (or drinking the juice) can help settle your stomach naturally. Some people also claim that eating a teaspoon of mustard (ick!) can work immediately.

7. Avoid eating at least two hours before you go to sleep. Those late night snacks can keep your stomach busy all night and prevent you from easing into a deep, restful sleep. You may also find that sleeping on your left side or sleeping at a somewhat upright angle can keep acid down where it belongs.

If you are awakened by heartburn on a regular basis, or the pain is severe, or if you have heartburn with vomiting, you should consult your doctor immediately, as it may be a sign of a more serious condition… such as an ulcer. Above all, avoid spicy, fatty and caffeine-containing foods before bed, and you should be able to drift off to sleep pretty easily.

Pleasant dreams!

Varicose veins are generally the result of slow blood flow through the veins of the legs. The veins gradually stretch and become ugly. Fluid leaking through the capillaries results in swelling of the lower legs and ankles and further aggravates the problems with blood flow.

In time, additional veins develop, but these actually aggravate the problem of slow flow.

Lack of exercise and prolonged standing (without support hose or stockings) are the major culprits. Pregnancy is also a risk factor.After varicose veins have been present for awhile, walking and other exercises is not as helpful as it would have been earlier. However, walking and exercising can still be helpful in the prevention of additional veins, but early prevention is the best.

Smoking can contribute in an additional way to development of blood clots. Overweight and obesity are substancial contributing factors in most cases because the extra weight requires a larger blood flow and puts pressure on the soft-walled veins.

The larger blood flow and increased pressure prevent efficient return of the blood toward the heart.

For prevention, lose some weight, walk, exercise, and wear support hose or stockings.

Hernias can occur through a combination of weak abdominal muscles and increased pressure within the abdominal cavity. They can result from obesity or coughing.

As a result, small parts of the bowel herniate or rupture outward through the inguinal or femoral canals in the general area of the groin.

Exercise is vital to maintain the strength of the abdominal muscles. Walking, jogging, running, bicycling, and swimming are at least as important as direct exercises to strengthen the abdomen.

Weight control helps improve muscle tone and desrease stress.

Quitting smoking is extremely important because the chronic smoker’s cough more than doubles the risk of a hernia.