Hi guys, I have a bad case of heartburn whenever I eat my meats. I was wondering if it was still ok to still take my tums. Do they have any sorts of sugar in them or anything???

Elly

Hi there......

Yes, unfortunately, I suspect that Tums DO have sugar in them to make them palatable. Do all proteins give you heartburn? I'd suggest finding the ones that don't bother you and sticking to them until you get through induction. I suspect that you will find that eventually, on LC, the heartburn will quit.

HTH
Marlaine

You may also check to see if a sugar-free antacid is available. There are so many diabetics out there that I would be shocked if a product did not exist. I had a bad sore throat a few weeks ago, and I was pleased to find that Hall's makes sugar-free throat losenges.

Digestive enzymes, usually help me when my stomach acts up from heavy meat. You usually can get them at a health food store.

They don't have any sugar or artifical sweeteners in them as the natural source for the enzymes are plants. Hope you can use this info.

Hi RC,
I have heartburn when I eat LC also. Tums makes a sugarfree then there is 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/2 glass water really does the trick for me.

Heartburn is the symptom, the pain you get behind the breast bone when you get a reflux reaction of acid flowing into the oesophagus.

It is unlikely that LC, as such, is the cause of the heartburn. There is likely to be some other trigger or problem and most likely you had heartburn symptoms before LC.

Just being overweight in the first place can be a cause and therefore LC can be the cure not the problem.

Heatburn at night is the most common form. Eating late is the likely cause. Going out for a meal in the evening and having a big meal will do it. It is not the meat but when you are eating that causes the problem.

For me what I thought was heartburn turned out to be a gallstone problem (pre LC), This is unlikely unless you are the four "F"'s Fair,Fat,Forty, and Female.

Other triggers are:

Smoking
Alcohol
Chocolate
Coffee
Peppermint
Hot Peppers (sometimes)

Taking antacid like Tums will help but if the problem persists it is best to have a medical check up.

I would not like people to think that a higher protein, lower carb diet will lead to heartburn.

Hi
I see that digestive enzymes have been suggested. I would also suggest betain supplements. Your trouble might actually be too LITTLE acid! Many people who have had chronic "heartburn" problems have been miraculously helped by betain. It is something that you don't hear about because the money is in the antacids.

Colin

Weird, because when I started eating LC, my heartburn went away completely. Until then, I was on prescription medication to control the heartburn, but I haven't had to take any of it since starting Atkins. Before Atkins, I've always felt that meats (especially red meats) caused me to have heartburns and constipation, but that obviously wasn't the case for me. When I was on a vacation to Vegas and ate a bunch of sugar and flour for the last 3 days, I had the meanest heartburn that I thought would kill me. I'm also taking Atkins Basic Enzymes which is supposed to be formulated especially for low carb/high fat/high protein diets. Now that I'm back on track, I don't have heartburn at all even though my main staple is meat.

It could actually be your gall bladder no matter what your age.
Whenever you're consuming more fat your gall bladder has to work a bit harder to help your body digest it all (or so my doctor told me). I had my gall bladder removed 2 years ago (I was 25)