Luckily there are many ways to stop heartburn some of which can be used continuously for good effect and others which can be used for a short period of time and maybe even stop it for good depending on your situation.

The most well known way to stop heartburn is to use an antacid. These range in strength from an ordinary acid neutralizer to medication-strength acid blockers. There is a large range readily available in stores which act in varying ways, but the essential idea is that they reduce or block acid in the stomach.

At first this may seem like the ideal solution. Just pop a pill and get on with your life. However, did you know that most of these medications are only recommended for about six to eight weeks? Read the labels and ask your doctor.

It gets worse. These medications often contain ingredients that may be harmful. Aluminium is one which has been linked in scientific research to Alzheimers. Not only that, suppressing stomach acid means that the food is no longer properly digested which leads to malnutirition and possible infestation from harmful bacteria.

Antacids have helped many, many people and that is great, but it should not be considered a cure. It is only a way of alleviating the pain until a proper solution is found.

Find out about other options by reading on...

Surgery is becoming an increasingly popular solution to stop heartburn and in particular a procedure called a Nissen Fundoplication.

The idea is that stomach acid is refluxing into the bottom of the unprotected throat and burning it. The implication is that this is due to the muscle between the stomach and the throat (called the LES) has become weak and is no longer able to hold the stomach acid down in the stomach.

The procedure involves cutting of the top of stomach, pulling it up and over the base of the throat where the LES is and stitching it tight again to apply more pressure to the LES.

The operation is widely thought to be a good way to stop heartburn. And so it should be for the money it costs. If you and your doctor agree this is the best and only course of action for you then I would recommend you watch the video below first. It's not pretty!

Unfortunately, there are reports that the operations are not always that effective and symptoms can recur not too long afterwards. Also, some have complained of difficulty in swallowing food.

It is worth discussing in great detail with your doctor before having an operation because once you have had it you can't go back.

Read on to find out why a weak LES is not necessarily the cause of severe heartburn symptoms...

Rather than a life hooked on pills or resorting to gruesome surgery, perhaps it is worth looking at what is the most likely cause of severe heartburn symptoms in order to try and tackle them.

If you think about it, excess stomach acid or weak LES muscles are unlikely to be the real reason for heartburn. Antacids and surgery seem like workarounds which seem to be relatively successful.

Perhaps the real reason for the increasingly large number of people desperately suffering lies in our rapidly changing diet and struggling digestive system. Many people have found longer term relief from heartburn through digestive supplements and slight alterations to their diet. We are not talking lentil and mung bean diets!

Digestive aids include:

Aloe vera juice
Apple cider vinegar
Digestive enzyme supplements
Herbal teas

As for diet, cutting out sugar as much as possible is probably the most effective method. You will probably be surprised how much sugar is actually in most of the pre-prepared foods we eat. Check those labels and try and cut down as much as possible. You might be pleasantly surprised by the results.