Heartburn is a condition wherein gastric acids are regurgitated back up the air passage or esophagus. The episode creates a very painful pain in the chest area and branches out to neighboring body parts such as the neck or the face. It is a relatively harmless condition unless it is a symptom of a more serious disease. Heartburn is also a non-permanent disease and often comes and goes on its own. However, often the cause and relief is associated with the food that a person eats. Changing your lifestyle often causes heartburn to disappear and prevent it from coming back.
One of the bad habits that can cause heartburn is smoking. This is because smoking lessens the production of saliva, which is a defense against esophagus damage. Bicarbonates have also been found to be present in the saliva. It is a known acid neutralizer and its presence helps control the production of excess stomach acids. Stopping the habit causes you to salivate more and have more control on your acid production, as smoking also encourages the production of more acids. Stopping the habit also strengthens your digestive valves. This will prevent the acids from your stomach from going back up the esophagus, thereby preventing heartburn.
Smoking has also been observed to promote bile salt movement from the intestine to the stomach. This action makes stomach acids more harmful contributing to more heartburn episodes. Stopping the habit will also stop bile salts from harming your stomach. In addition, smoking injures the esophagus and this adds to the damage that is done by gastric acids. The habit also decreases your ability to digest food properly. Less digestion means it takes longer for the stomach to empty thereby contributing to heartburn.
Aside from curing your heartburn, stopping your smoking habit also brings with it innumerable health benefits. It gives you a stronger cardio pulmonary function and strengthens the body’s ability to fight a disease. With these added benefits, quitting on the habit makes you more healthy and vigorous, giving you more defenses against other more serious diseases. This gives you the ability to stop heartburn from reoccurring.
