About 20% of the UK population struggles with “severe” acid reflux, the NHS University Hospital Southampton Foundation Trust says.
“About 3% of all GP visits are for symptoms associated with reflux,” King Edward VII’s Hospital adds.
So it’s no wonder we’re always on the hunt for tips to prevent the agonising burn.
While some advice ― avoiding citrus, tomato, or spicy foods, staying away from the fried stuff, and sleeping on your left side ― are pretty well known, gastroenterologist Dr. Will Bulsiewicz told gut health company ZOE’s podcast there’s another simple hack.
It really matters how much time you leave between eating your dinner and hitting the hay, he says.
So how long should I leave it?
“Ideally, we want to go to bed with an empty stomach, so when you lay down flat, gravity stops helping you because you’re laying flat, and so anything that’s in your stomach could start to reverse up into your esophagus, into your chest while you’re lying there,” the doctor said.
So, to ensure your stomach isn’t brimming with agonising juices, we should have our dinner “Three or even better four hours before bedtime because that’s how long it takes for most of the food to exit our stomach.”
The longer you leave it, of course, the more likely your stomach is to be empty.
And once you do lie down to sleep, as we’ve said before, you’re better off kipping on your left-hand side.
That’s because a curve in your digestive system keeps stomach acid at bay, adding a much-appreciated extra step before it can rise out of its natural habitat and into your oesophagus.
By the way, heartburn isn’t caused by excess acid
I was pretty surprised to learn that nope, your late-night indigestion probably isn’t caused by too much stomach acid.
But Dr. Bulsiewicz said that’s a “common misconception.”
Instead, the problem is two-fold; “The first involves compromise or weakness of the valve that separates your oesophagus from your stomach,” he said.
Secondly, your stomach and oesophagus are meant to move in tandem as part of a process called motility. But when you disrupt that rhythm, “you ultimately get inappropriate backward flow from the stomach.”
That’s why proton pump inhibitors, common in most OTC heartburn meds, only address the symptom and not the problem.
The gastroenterologist even goes so far as to say that because stomach acid is part of digestion, “Those who regularly consume heartburn medications could potentially become deficient in vitamin b12, calcium, and iron, just to name a few.”
In the long term, he says watching what you eat is a much better approach.
And if nothing else, at least watch the clock after you’ve eaten...