Millions of people around the world suffer from acid regurgitation, nightly bouts of heartburn and acid reflux. They wake at night, in agonizing pain, a bitter taste in their mouth, and fear that something even more serious lurks behind their suffering.

Frequent episodes of heartburn can be painful and ruin your quality of life. But did you know it can also leave you vulnerable to more serious illnesses such as Barrett’s Esophagus, a serious pre-cancerous condition, or even esophageal cancer?

When you lie down at night, the stomach’s position can enable corrosive bile and acid to back up into the esophagus. The symptoms can last for days and may get worse each time you lie down again, especially if it is soon after eating. This back up can cause serious, life-threatening damage – in extreme cases, it can even be tasted and cause damage to teeth enamel, cause pneumonia, and reactive airway disease.

Doctors can prescribe over-the-counter medications that relieve only some of the symptoms but even these medicines, if used for long-term relief, can cause dependency and overuse can also cause long-term damage and serious side effects. This can also become expensive, as you must continually buy medication. As soon as you stop the medication, the painful agonizing burning sensation will likely return.

Others try home remedies, change their eating or sleeping patterns (often without success) and whatever anyone can suggest.