Heartburn
How to relieve the discomfort
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Chances are you've experienced heartburn — that uncomfortable burning sensation in your chest and throat. Heartburn is a common digestive response to overindulging in a big meal or eating spicy food.
Occasional heartburn is generally nothing to worry about, but heartburn can be more than a passing nuisance. Many people battle heartburn regularly, even daily.
Burn out
Frequent heartburn most often is a symptom of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), a condition in which digestive acid flows back (refluxes) into the tube (esophagus) that connects your mouth and stomach.
Normally, digestive acid remains in your stomach, kept there by a ring of muscle at the bottom of the esophagus that functions like a purse string, opening only when you swallow. But sometimes this ring of muscle — called the lower esophageal sphincter — relaxes or weakens. This allows stomach acid to regurgitate back into your esophagus and cause a burning sensation that may be accompanied by a sour taste in your mouth.
