What is heartburn - and how can you fix it?

 

Ever experienced a burning sensation in the chest or throat? Chances are, you've been a victim of heartburn.

Yep, heartburn - also known as acid reflux, a form of indigestion - sure does suck. You might have experienced it directly after eating or later at night when you're lying down. Either way, it's pretty painful when experienced first hand.

Heartburn is caused by acid from your stomach flowing up into your oesophagus (hence 'acid reflux'). Put simply, unlike the tough, thick wall of your stomach, your poor old oesophagus isn't built to stand up to corrosive digestive acids. It becomes inflamed and irritated (understandably), and you're left with a burning pain that can last several hours. And at its worst, heartburn can last long into the night, causing restless sleep.

Heartburn and other tummy troubles such as bloating, gas, constipation and diarrhoea, are often a sign of an unhealthy gut. But there is good news ahead: there is much you can do to avoid heartburn, and, if your symptoms are gut-related, you can improve your gut health in one simple step.

 

3 Easy ways to reduce your risk of heartburn

1. Improve gut health

Your gut is made up of trillions of bacteria, both good and bad. When the bacteria get out of balance, you're more likely to experience heartburn.

Taking a probiotic daily can help. Probiotics are the good guys – the good bacteria that live in our gut and are beneficial for our bodies.

You can find them in the food you eat or take them as supplements, or even - gasp - drink them in fermented drinks such as kefir and probiotic waters.

2. Avoid certain foods

While you might love a late Friday night curry, your heartburn sure doesn't. Spicy, fatty and acidic foods can all cause an unwanted flare up.

Other common heartburn triggers include chocolate (yes, we cried a little when we discovered that, too), caffeine, onions, peppermint, carbonated drinks, and alcohol.

3. Eat smaller meals, more often 

Eating half a lamb roast for dinner may sound delicious (and imminently do-able if you ask us), but overloading your tummy with a big meal could lead to acid reflux.

Filling your belly to the brim (especially with fatty food which tends to linger longer in the stomach), can cause the muscle at the top of the tummy to open, allowing acid to seep up the oesophagus.

Try consuming smaller meals, more frequently, to allow digestion to do it's thang and reduce pressure on your tummy muscle.

Looking for a quick fix?

 

If heartburn is proving to be a pain in the neck (literally!), first, know this: There are ways you can reduce your chance of experiencing heartburn simply by improving your gut health.

A healthy microbiome (a fancy way of talking about your good gut bacteria) is your first stop shop to decrease the risk of that familiar painful burning feeling we associate with acid reflux.

Scientists suggest that drinking a daily, non-acidic probiotic, such as water-based kefir, can help improve the health of your gut microbiome and reduce your instances of heartburn. However, it's important to choose a kefir containing healthy bacteria that can make it all the way to your insides.

Yep, we hate to say it, but not all kefir is created equal. Some commercial kefirs contain bacteria that can barely make it out of the fridge, let alone survive on the shelf. That's why it's important to look for a specific strain of bacteria in the ingredients list. Scientists say that bacillus coagulans are your best bet for making it safely to your gut. They're extra tough to make it all the way to your intestines and do the work that's needed to help promote a healthy gut.

Brands like Nexba, the creators of naturally sugar free probiotic drinks, are champions of bacillus coagulans. They only use this strain of live, immunity-boosting probiotics in their kombucha.

 

Learn more about

Nexba Kefir

Nexba Strawberry Peach Kefir is a lightly sparkling naturally sugar free probiotic drink made with only natural ingredients.

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The Nexba Difference

Naturally Sugar Free

While some probiotic drinks still contain sugar, Nexba drinks are independently assessed and contain NO sugar. None, nada, nope and nuthin'.

No Artificial Sweeteners

We use a special blend of NATURAL sweeteners and source only NATURAL ingredients, so we don't need anything artificial in our drinks, ever. Period.

Amazing taste

Some folk think that natural and healthy has to taste bland and blehh. Not the Nexba Crew. We promise full flavour and awesomely delish combos all day, errrry day.

Smart and robust probiotics

Have you met our superhero probiotic, Bacillus Coagulans? Without need of refrigeration he's capable of making it from bottle to gut in a single inhuman bound.

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