The foods we eat are primarily one of the causes of heartburn, especially today where the food available is not always healthy for our stomach and for our overall health. The key to managing and treating heartburn is to make some lifestyle changes. This means that you have to quit the bad habits you have. Firstly, you have to realize that heartburn is caused by a backflow of stomach acid in to the esophagus. This happens because the muscles in your stomach relax because of the hormonal changes in your body during pregnancy. The best thing that you can do is to avoid eating large meals. Instead of eating 3 large meals a day, try to eat 6 smaller meals daily. You also have to remember that there are certain foods that weaken or relax the LES. Examples of foods are chocolate, peppermint, alcohol, coffee, sugary foods, and fried and fatty foods. Smoking also weakens or relaxes the LES as well as certain medications. Pressure on stomach and eating large meals shortly before bedtime can also cause heartburn. However, if you are suffering from a chronic heartburn, you may want to take this more seriously as this can cause severe complications that can really have a devastating effect on your body. If you have been diagnosed with GERD or Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease, the heartburn you will experience will be chronic and severe. You feel like vomiting but nothing comes out but just a bitter taste in your mouth. You ve just experienced heartburn or also known as pyrosis or acid indigestion. Basically, heartburn is often associated with regurgitation of gastric acid or also known as acid reflux. This is why you feel a burning sensation in your chest and in your throat. When compared to liquid antacids, antacids in tablet form are less powerful in neutralizing stomach acid. If you constantly experience heartburn, antacids will be very useful to you because they offer instant relief from heartburn especially if it is caused by foods or certain activities. But, you have to remember that relief will only be temporary and over the counter heartburn drugs will not prevent heartburn from returning and it will also not allow an injured esophagus to heal.