Even if many popular information sources and the media suggest that aspects of lifestyle and eating particular foods are at fault, the real causative agents of heartburn are somewhat more numerous with genetic, lifestyle and dietary elements interlinked. Just like other chronic ailments, heartburn is a result of complex and many-dimensioned causes.

Although people in good health may experience heartburn once per week or less, if heartburn happens twice per week or more, this may indicate a graver medical condition known as acid reflux disease, and also referred to as GERD (Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease). Heartburn can be identified as the sensation of burning or searing in the area of the chest or throat. This feeling often comes after having eaten.

GERD comes about because of two physiological problems: the first is excess acidity in the stomach; and the second is a weakened sphincter (LES, Lower Esophageal Sphincter) which no longer acts properly to block off the stomach from the esophagus. Normally, the LES only opens to let food and drink flow into the intestinal system and should not let gastric juices escape backwards. Nevertheless, in reflux situations, the LES is debilitated and stomach contents can reflux or splash back to the esophagus, corroding the lining and causing the feeling of pain.

As indicated earlier, several inter-linked factors make for a weak LES or excessive stomach acidity. These factors include:

1. Genetically inherited characteristics.

2. Lifestyles, where digestion is ruined by habits such as smoking, which preys on the digestion, ambushes the immune system and pushes Candida into replication, which then leads to the problem of acid reflux. Stress from lack of sleep, emotional strain or workaholism also brings forth these problems.

3. Infections from Candida. In certain circumstances, Candida microbes grow fast and spread throughout the body. These microorganisms then ferment and cause stomach contents to be rejected back into the esophagus, where inflammation and degradation of the esophageal cells then takes place. Note that Candida is normally present anyway in the human body, including the intestinal and genital areas. Under normal conditions, Candida is balanced out by friendly bacteria with no negative impact to the body.

4. Diet patterns, as in the regular and frequent eating of foods that provoke acid production, such as chocolates, peppermint, tomatoes and citrus fruits. Also, eating foods that are fatty or spicy and that weaken the LES, or foods that are hard to digest, can worsen acid reflux.

Whereas conventional medicine has only a superficial action, limiting any effect to purely the symptoms, a holistic, all-natural program focuses on the basic reasons to put in place the only real secure and workable acid reflux remedy. To halt heartburn and halt its return, the basic contributing factors must be addressed and this is what the holistic principles do.