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Almonds Against Heartburn

Q. I have been suffering from GERD for a number of years now. I took Zantac for it.
But two weeks ago I went to a dinner party. When we were all finished with eating, even coffee, the hostess passed around a dish of raw almonds. I asked her what these were for and she said, “to prevent heartburn.”

She is a pharmacist, so I asked her how it works. She didn’t really know, but said that four or five almonds after a meal would help. I never before heard ANYTHING about almonds helping heartburn, but I thought I’d give it a try.

Almonds after every meal seem to be working for me. I haven’t taken Zantac for the past two weeks and I haven’t even needed much antacid.

Do you know why this works? Has anyone else tried it? In the meantime, I will continue eating almonds after every meal.

A. This remedy is new to us, but it sounds safe. Another reader says that a bit of apple after a meal can prevent heartburn: “I have had this problem for years and recently stopped taking omeprazole so I could try to deal with this ailment in a better way. I noticed one day that food that usually gave me heartburn hadn’t and realized I had eaten an apple that day. Another time after I already had some heartburn, I ate three or four bites of apple and that stopped it.”

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About the Author
Joe Graedon is a pharmacologist who has dedicated his career to making drug information understandable to consumers. His best-selling book, The People’s Pharmacy, was published in 1976 and led to a syndicated newspaper column, syndicated public radio show and web site. In 2006, Long Island University awarded him an honorary doctorate as “one of the country's leading drug experts for the consumer.”.
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