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American Morning

Heartburn Doesn't Have to Ruin Holiday

Aired July 04, 2002 - 08:50   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Now, if you plan to be downing a lot of hot dogs today like our buddy Eric "Badlands" Booker today, you may later have a very unwelcome visitor -- heartburn.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta is spending the holiday at CNN Center, and he is joining us now with some advice on how to avoid the big H -- Sanjay.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I can eat about 25 hot dogs, I think, over five years, Leon. That's my record.

Heartburn, yes. The name is sort of a misnomer, it actually, obviously has nothing to do with your heart. A lot of people used to confuse that sort of pain with chest pain from heart pain, and really two totally different things.

Obviously, it's an acid that actually comes from your stomach, bubbles up into the esophagus, and causes an indigestion-type pain. Why does that occur? Usually because people eat a lot of food, and sort of keep the things open between the esophagus and the stomach, and that allows acid to pop back up.

Now, there's a few things you can do to try and prevent that. Unfortunately, hot dog guys over there are going to violate two of the golden rules. They are supposed to eat slowly and not eat too much. Looking at those guys, looks like they are going violate those rules absolutely.

Don't go to bed with a full stomach. Try and avoid eating just before bedtime. That certainly helps as well.

And wear loose-fitting clothes. That sounds a little surprising, but actually loose-fitting clothes will actually push on your stomach and possibly force some of the acid back up into -- back to your throat as well, which can be a problem.

HARRIS: Hey, Doc, let me ask you one quick question. Is there a difference between this and say, acid reflux?

GUPTA: Really, very similar things here. Acid -- in fact, a lot of people use those terms interchangeably. Acid reflux is basically that same sort of acid popping up from the stomach into the esophagus, giving you that burning feeling. And you know, that can be a real problem, especially in people who also are at risk of having heart disease or heart attacks, because a lot of times, people can get those things confused.

A few things you can do about it, Leon. There are some things, A, to prevent it happening in the first place, and two to treat it, we actually have some of the products that we've brought here. Just to give you an idea, certainly to try and treat heartburn after it occurs, you know, just simple Tums is something that you can use, Mylanta. A lot of people who are at barbecues actually carry this stuff around with them.

Pepcid, Zantac, medications like that actually will treat heartburn -- I'm sorry -- and prevent it as well. So, that might be something you want to take before you eat all those hot dogs or eat any of the other foods.

HARRIS: Well, we'll make that suggestion to Mr. "Badlands" Booker once we catch back up with him. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thanks a lot. Hey, buddy, have a good holiday, OK?

GUPTA: You too. Good seeing you.

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