Let me start this post by saying that I do not have a medical degree nor am I a medical practitioner.  I’m writing this post as one who used to suffer terribly from heartburn during the holiday season.  Year after year it seemed like I had an internal the alarm clock that was set to activate my bout with heartburn each and every year beginning in November with Thanksgiving and it wouldn’t shut off until after New Years.

When heartburn gets really bad, you feel like you just want to throw up.  The burning is so uncomfortable that all you want to do is eat ice or ice cream or anything cold.

Old-fashioned Heartburn Remedies

To cure my bouts of heartburn I did what everyone else did.  I grabbed antacids like Rolaids, Mylanta, drank cold soothing drinks like ice cream Sundays or sat with a bowl of ice cream in an attempt to sooth the burning beast.  My last two remedies created another problem because of lactose intolerance (I was a true pleasure to be around during the holiday season).

All of my old-fashioned heartburn remedies lasted for as long as the I was consuming the cure.  In other words, once I finished the ice cream or ate the Rolaids, the heartburn was back with a vengeance.

Tackling Heartburn Once and For All

Once the holiday season was over, my eating and drinking habits returned to normal and the heartburn would miraculously go away.  Over time, as I learned about pH and its effects on the body, I started to eat more alkalizing foods such as fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains.  I started transitioning from processed foods towards natural foods.  Over time, I found that when the holiday time came around, I was not affected by my annual bout of heartburn.

It wasn’t something that I consciously decided to tackle, it was a serendipitous side effect of eating better (just like my hay fever symptoms and annoyed big toe – that’s a whole ‘nother post).

Do the pH Test

If you are one who suffers from heartburn during the holiday season or any other time of the year, get yourself a pH strip and test your pH.  I can bet that your pH levels are pretty low.  You probably not only suffer from heartburn but have other issues such as lactose intolerance, allergies, headaches, or other annoying/painful conditions that have been bothering you for years.

Spend some time reading about how the pH affects your body.  My original intent was to do a whole series on the benefits of balancing your body’s pH but there’s plenty of information online already.  Here are a few online articles to get you started:

• Balancing Act: Why pH is Crucial to Health
• Natural Body Healing: Restoring Health and Harmony to Your Body
• The Truth about Alkalizing Your Blood

After you spend some time learning and understanding what balancing your pH is all about, implement a few changes throughout the year. Take it slow, don’t make drastic changes because you’ll soon give up and go back to the old way of eating. Make small manageable changes.

You won’t notice a change overnight but I as you continue to improve your diet and stick with it, you will definitely notice a change. Next year you’ll be to enter the holiday season and enjoy yourself and not have to worry about the burning effects of heartburn. During the holiday season, I eat and drink whatever I want without a hint of heartburn (I quickly get back to eating right shortly after the holidays are over).

This is just one person’s experience.  Give it a shot.  You’ve got nothing to lose (except heartburn) and much to gain.