Do you suffer from exercise-induced heartburn? It can really be miserable, not to mention put a serious kink in your efforts and sap your motivation to work your hardest. So in order to stave it off completely, or deal with it most effectively when it does strike, try these tips:

• Pay attention to your diet, and do some problem-solving
• Eat something small that you know helps reduce your chances of heartburn right before you workout.
• Experiment and find the ideal time to eat before working out -- whether it's 30 minutes or 2 hours, everybody is different.
• Pay attention and experiment to see if all exercise, or only certain kinds, trigger heartburn attacks.
• Don't be afraid to treat heartburn symptoms, for example taking a small sip of vinegar can neutralize the acid.
• Try commercial over-the-counter treatments like TUMS or some other calcium-based antacid. Experts say it certainly can't hurt to try.

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Although summer holidays bring thoughts of sun and fun, for many people they also bring the dread of miserable heartburn symptoms and discomfort. If you're one of those unfortunate souls then review these 5 ways to avoid heartburn this summer, and anytime:

• Avoid trigger foods. Heartburn triggering foods differ for everybody, but generally speaking some of the worst ones are ice cream, mac & cheese, French fries, raw onions, cranberry juice, wine, and chocolate. Also download a free brochure from the National Heartburn Alliance for more information.
• Avoid eating too much in one sitting. Eating smaller amounts more frequently will help keep the stomach from becoming too full, which can increase the risk for heartburn.
• Avoid eating before going to bed or lying down, or if you must then raise the head of the bed a few inches with books or cinder blocks.
• Lose weight. Having excess fat around and in the midsection puts extra pressure on the stomach, increasing the risk for and severity of heartburn symptoms.
• Adopting all-around healthy lifestyle habits, such as quitting smoking and reducing stress can help reduce heartburn by association.

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Obese caucasians are at higher risk for developing acid reflux disease than obese individuals of other races. In a group of 80,000 patients obesity was found to increase risk by a fairly significant amount for Caucasians, while it seemed to have little or no effect on acid reflux for African-Americans or Asians.

I'm interested to know why this is, but unfortunately experts have no idea. What they do know is that Caucasians with the largest waists are as much as 85% more likely to get heartburn -- that's a big number! Seems unfair, but what ya gonna do? Try to slim down, that's what.

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People who experience heartburn in the evenings or overnight can experience severe side-effects beyond just the usual culprits associated with GERD. As many as 4 out of 5 people who get heartburn get it at night, which obviously disturbs sleep, which then in turn causes fatigue and lowered productivity the next day.

So if you suffer from heartburn at night, or anytime really, read through these 28 tips for beating nighttime heartburn and see if there are any new suggestions you haven't tried yet. I'm sure many of them you already have tried, but even just one little thing that works could mean so much!

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Whether Dunkin' Donuts, McDonald's, or the infamous giant Starbucks serves up your favorite cup-o-joe, the war of the coffee brands isn't over yet. Folgers, who has been quietly but steadily selling on supermarket shelves for years, has introduced a new "stomach friendly" decaffeinated coffee.

Simply Smooth came out last spring and is geared for those people who suffer heartburn or other stomach problems when they drink coffee.

Some experts seem to think it's all just myth when it comes to coffee causing stomach issues, and there seems to be conflicting data (as always, of course!) on where the truth really lies -- guess you'll just have to decide for yourself.

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In a recent poll, 8 out of 10 people suffering from heartburn stated that they're kept up at night at least once a week by their symptoms. This is a problem not only because of the obvious sleep deprivation, but also because when you're lying down your stomach acid can do more damage and increase your risk of getting cancer.

If you suffer from nighttime heartburn read this article for ideas you can start this evening to reduce your chances of suffering through symptoms tonight. It includes tips on everything from when to workout, how much and when to eat, and how to position yourself when you do finally hit the sack.

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