AN ORDER OF CHICKEN LIVERS AND A SIDE OF TUMS

WRITER: FRED HILTON

Ilove fried chicken livers. They are incredibly tasty, but my wife thinks they’re disgusting. She’s probably right. When I eat chicken livers, I try not to think about what they really are. (I do the same thing when I eat calamari or eel sushi.)

Unfortunately, chicken livers don’t like me as much as I like them. In fact, they hate me. A few hours after devouring a plateful of chicken livers, my stomach starts doing flip-flops and I develop an achy burning sensation around my heart. The same thing happens during the holiday season when I enjoy mass quantities of wonderful rich food and festive beverages.

The culprit here, as we all know, is heartburn. And, as we all also know, heartburn is something of a misnomer.

“Heartburn is a symptom that rarely has anything to do with your heart,” according to Dr. George Krucik in Heartline.com. “It occurs when you feel a burning sensation in your chest that is often accompanied by a bitter taste in your throat or mouth. Symptoms of heartburn may get worse after you eat a large meal or when you are lying down.”

Heartburn is caused by a food backup.

“Normally when food or liquid enters your stomach, a band of muscle at the end of your esophagus closes off the esophagus,” the “MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia” says. “If this band does not close tightly enough, food or stomach acid can back up into the esophagus. The stomach contents can irritate the esophagus and cause heartburn and other symptoms.”

SOURCES:

“What is heartburn? What causes heartburn” Medical News Today , Sept. 5, 2014, medicalnewstoday.com/articles/9151.php; “What causes heartburn? 21 possible conditions,” Dr. George Krucik, Healthline.com, healthline.com/symptom/heartburn; “Heartburn,” MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, U.S. National Library of Medic ine, nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003114.htm; “What Is Heartburn?” by Diana Rodriguez, medically reviewed by Dr. Pat F. Bass III, Digestive Health Center, Everyday Health, everydayhealth.com/dig estive-health/heartburn-and-gerd.aspx; “Diseases and Conditions-Heartburn,” by Mayo Clinic Staff, the Mayo Clinic, mayoclinic.com, mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heartburn/basics/causes/con-20019545

There is something scary about heartburn. What you think is heartburn may actually be a heart attack. If your heartburn is accompanied by things such as pain in the arm or difficulty breathing, you should seek immediate medical help, not antacids.

Most people have heartburn occasionally but, if you experience it frequently, you may have gastroesophageal reflux disease and should see your doctor.

There are no surprises about the things that cause heartburn. Among them are chocolate, caffeine, peppermint, spearmint, spicy foods, fatty foods and alcohol. In others words, just about everything we enjoy during the holidays. To avoid heartburn, you simply don’t eat any of those yummy things — or chicken livers. You should eat smaller meals and don’t eat within three or four hours of bedtime.

On the other hand, Tums are relatively inexpensive.