Natural Heartburn Treatment:
Best for You and Baby
Natural heartburn treatment is a way to ease or stop heartburn with lifestyle changes. Since pregnancy and heartburn often go hand-in-hand, it is important to know what you can do to treat it. One reason it is so healthy to treat heartburn with lifestyle and dietary changes, is because many of these changes are helpful for reasons other than controlling heartburn. For example, eating a lower-fat diet also helps with appropriate weight gain during pregnancy and reduces risk of heart disease. Even if you still need to take medication to ease the heartburn in pregnancy, you should make some changes in your diet and lifestyle.
Make these changes in your diet:
- Eat smaller meals, more frequently (for example, eat six small meals instead of three regular meals)
- Eat leaner meats, such as skinless chicken grilled or baked, turkey (white meat only, skinless), fish (not fried), lean pork or beef (in moderation)
- Replace french fries with baked potatoes
- Replace fried meats with grilled or baked meats
- Use fat free or light salad dressings in place of regular dressings
- Eat more bland foods in place of spicy foods
- Drink water or other low-calorie beverages in place of carbonated beverages
- Choose decaf coffee or caffeine-free drinks instead of regular
- Cut back on chocolate
- Eliminate alcohol
- Cut back on tomato products (note: tomato products have nutrients that protect against cancer, so if you do not notice a difference in your heartburn when cutting back, continue to include these in your diet)
Other changes you can make in your lifestyle for natural heartburn treatment
- Eat in a more relaxed setting
- Eat slower
- Be especially careful about what you eat at bedtime
- Sleep with the head of bed elevated
- Stop smoking
- Find ways to reduce stress in your life
- Wear clothes that fit loosely around your waist
- Manage weight (for heartburn in pregnancy, you should gain the appropriate amount of weight)
- Avoid bending over for long periods of time
- Remain upright for at least 2 hours after eating
Some of these suggestions may make a big difference in the way you feel. Natural heartburn treatment is always ideal with heartburn in pregnancy, since you are cutting back on medication use.
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Return from Natural Heartburn Treatment to Heartburn in Pregnancy
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