The first thing you need to do is to avoid eating hard and crunchy food. These foods are hart to digest and it can also cause damage to your lower esophageal sphincter or LES. The LES acts as a valve that lets food in to the stomach and keeps stomach acid out. When the LES doesn t function properly, it will let stomach acid flow freely in to the esophagus when you experience acid reflux. While mild heartburn can be treated easily through lifestyle modification and over the counter antacids, chronic heartburn is far more complicated to treat. This is because chronic heartburn may indicate that you may be suffering from other medical conditions that are far more serious, such as Barrett s esophagus, Hiatal hernia, esophagitis, or GERD. Antacid tablets may be effective but they are slow to act. 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, if you have a severe case of heartburn, you may want to get it checked and treated by a doctor immediately. This is because chronic cases of heartburn can cause severe complications. It can cause scarring of the esophagus, which can make it difficult for you to swallow food and even liquids. Leaving it untreated can also lead to a condition called Barrett s esophagus. You will often find that heartburn is associated with a sour taste in the mouth. This is actually the stomach acid that you taste, which explains the sour taste. Eating big meals will worsen your heartburn problem because your body or your stomach will produce excess acid in order to digest huge amounts of food. You really don t have to give up on foods like this but you may want to limit it in order for you to decrease the frequency of heartburn. Besides, you wouldn t want to give up eating oranges or grapefruit, would you? These things are not only delicious but they are also rich in vitamins. Remember these things and you can be sure that you will be able to control heartburn more effectively.