Health Watch is a Public Service of the Office of News and Publications and is intended to provide general information only and should not replace the advice of a medical professional. You should contact your physician if you have questions about any of these topics.
From backyard cookouts to ballpark hotdogs, the food of summer celebrations may help create the perfect conditions for heartburn. This week on Health Watch, we’ll learn about what causes heartburn and how we can stop it.
Heartburn — that burning sensation in the chest — is caused when acid from the stomach flows up into the esophagus, the tube that carries food from the throat into the stomach. Dr. Stuart Spechler, a digestive diseases expert at UT Southwestern Medical Center, says it’s the high fat content in foods such as burgers and hot dogs that makes them more likely to cause heartburn. Fat keeps the stomach from emptying well, so there’s more in there to reflux, and it may prevent the valve that’s supposed to keep stomach contents in the stomach from working properly.
Next on Health Watch: Preventing heartburn.
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July 2007
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