There exists a wide variety of home remedies providing natural relief for heartburn. This article provides an overview of those most commonly recommended by practitioners of alternative medicine.
Herbal Home Remedies for Heartburn Relief
Several herbal teas are known to provide relief for heartburn. Ginger tea or candied ginger can sometimes alleviate heartburn symptoms, but can also sometimes cause them, so these are best avoided.
Chamomile tea is known to have soothing properties for the stomach in addition to its sedative properties. It is best taken last thing at night.
Anise tea is a cure for both heartburn and gas, so is a good solution if you are unlucky enough to suffer from both at the same time.
Slippery Elm bark, taken in tea form, helps sooth inflamed mucous membranes in the digestive system. It is also known to relieve diarrhea.
Fennel seed tea was prescribed by Hippocrates, author of the Hippocratic Oath, to treat infant colic. The seeds can also be used as a cooking spice, going particularly well with fish, and is thought to prevent bloating and gas after meals.
Homeopathic Home Remedies for Heartburn Relief
Homeopathic remedies are often based on herbs, but are not the same thing as herbal remedies, as they are highly diluted. Homeopathy is based on the principle that “like cures like” in tiny dilutions, so that if, for example, a healthy person were to take the undiluted homeopathic remedy for heartburn, they would actually suffer from heartburn as a result.
Nux Vomica seeds contain copper, which produces stomach cramps when taken undiluted. A homeopathic remedy containing Nux Vomica should be taken after eating spicy foods. Vegetable charcoal is prescribed after eating rich or fatty foods and wine, while Zinc is recommended after eating too fast. 10 drops of arsenic in a wine glass of warm water after meals is another common homeopathic remedy for heartburn.
Acupressure as a Home Remedy for Heartburn Relief
Acupressure is a traditional Chinese therapy based, like acupuncture, on the principle that energy travels along certain meridian lines in the body and that ailments are caused by blockages along these meridian lines. Applying pressure to certain designated pressure points, either with your finger or with specially designed acupressure tools, can ease these blockages.
The pressure points associated with heartburn are as follows: Stomach 36 (located about 3 inches below the knee), Spleen 6 (just above the ankle), Pericardium 6 (just below the wrist) and Conception Vessel 12, located on the spine. The latter should not be pressed during pregnancy, or just after a meal. Pressure point charts can be found in various reference books on alternative medicine, and online.