Let’s be honest: Heartburn is a relatively tame term for your chest and throat feeling like they’re literally on fire – and when you have it, you’ll do anything to get rid of it.

So it’s totally understandable why you might turn to some home remedies to extinguish that fire – STAT. One that’s been making the rounds: Drinking apple cider vinegar (ACV)… really.

I know what you’re thinking: ACV kind of burns to begin with, so why on earth would I want to torture myself more? But there actually might be something to this.

I’m skeptical… can ACV really cure heartburn?

Okay, so “cure” is a strong word. The drinking-ACV-for-heartburn advice comes from a few different websites and blogs, but most credit one college thesis paper from Arizona State University (so, it is not a peer-reviewed, published study).

Still, the paper’s researcher – a graduate student – conducted a randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind, cross-over research study that had people either eat a meal with chilli (and take nothing), take an antacid after a chilli meal, eat chilli that had apple cider vinegar added to it, or drink diluted ACV after eating the chilli.

Those who had vinegar in any form seemed to do pretty well in the heartburn department (similarly to those who took antacids) but, the researcher said, more research is needed.

Other than that, there’s no reputable research on this. Still, this move “works for some individuals with mild heartburn,” says Dr Ashkan Farhadi, a gastroenterologist at MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center and director of MemorialCare Medical Group’s Digestive Disease Project in Fountain Valley, California.

Read more: Can you use apple cider vinegar to cure a UTI?

So, why can ACV help mild heartburn?

When you have heartburn, the acid in your stomach travels up through your oesophagus (which connects your throat and stomach) and irritates it, causing that burning, tight feeling in your chest.

Apple cider vinegar is a moderate acid that could theoretically bring down the pH of your stomach. “Then, the stomach doesn’t have to make its own acid,” Dr Farhadi explains. “In a sense, by providing a mild acid, you’re stopping the stomach acid trigger.”

Here’s the thing: This doesn’t work for everyone and in some people, using ACV will make your heartburn even worse. If you’re having significant reflux and a lot of irritation, ACV going over your oesophagus can irritate it, prompting those intense heartburn symptoms. “Apple cider vinegar may be helpful in mild cases, but it definitely doesn’t [help] in moderate to severe reflux,” Dr Farhadi says.

If you’ve got a serious heartburn problem going on, it’s best to try OTC heartburn medications and, if that doesn’t help, see your doctor, Dr Farhadi says.

But if you tend to just have a little heartburn after going to town on wasabi peas, guzzling a huge black coffee or downing a glass of OJ, you can try adding a little ACV to your routine and see where that gets you. Dr Farhadi recommends taking it on an empty stomach (that’s your best bet for bringing your stomach pH down), and having a teaspoon or so of ACV diluted in half a cup of water.

If it helps, great! If it doesn’t do jack or it feels like your heartburn is getting worse, it’s time to try some medication or see your doctor.

^{This article was originally published on www.womenshealthmag.com}

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You’ve been seriously bloated, moody and tired. You’ve got monster cramps, and your face is as pimply as a 17-year-old boy’s. In other words, you’re suffering from all of the classic signs of your monthly flow – but your period is totally MIA.

First: Don’t freak. It turns out, there are tons of reasons you’ve got those tell-tale period symptoms, but no period.

“Hormonal changes related to ovulation can affect some of the same pathways in your brain that might be affected by other medical conditions, causing mood swings that feel similar to your period but aren’t related to ovulation or menses,” says Dr Chailee Moss, an obstetrician and gynaecologist at Johns Hopkins Medicine. What’s more, some physical abnormalities in your uterus and ovaries can also cause cramping that feels like PMS, she adds.

While skipping a period every now and then is usually nothing to worry about, if you have a fever, significant nausea or vomiting, or pain that you can’t control with simple OTC medications or that doesn’t improve within a week, check in with your doctor right away.

Otherwise, it’s time to see your doctor if you skip more than three cycles in a row, suggests Chicago-based obstetrician and gynaecologist Dr Jessica Shepherd – here’s what might be going on down there.

1. Anovulation

Every once in a while, your body goes through all of the hormonal changes associated with PMS, but if you didn’t actually release an egg that month, you won’t actually get your period. Known as anovulation, it’s more common than one might think. “Ten to 18% of all regular cycles are anovulatory,” Dr Shepherd adds. In case you’re wondering, yes, that stat can make getting pregnant tricky!

Read more: 6 times your period blood looks different — and what it means about your health

2. Pregnancy

If you’ve had unprotected sex in the last month, were a bit lax about taking your pill, or rely on the pullout method for birth control, it’s worth taking a pregnancy test. Many of the symptoms of early pregnancy, including breast tenderness, mood swings, fatigue and cramping, are the same ones that you were already experiencing month to month before and during your period.

Think there’s a chance you could be pregnant? Take an at-home pregnancy test on the day that you expect your period. If it comes back negative, wait three to four days and try again. “One to two days can make a difference in a positive pregnancy test,” says Dr Moss.

3. Thyroid conditions

Your thyroid, a small butterfly-shaped gland in your neck, regulates many of your body’s functions, including your metabolism and menstrual cycles. If your thyroid gets out of whack, your cycles can become irregular, says Dr Shepherd. The result: You may you go a long stretch without having your period while still experiencing period-like symptoms, says Dr Moss.

Because your thyroid regulates your brain function, mood swings that you thought were PMS may be related to your neurologic function, she explains. And spotting or cramping may occur because the lining of your uterus has built up but hasn’t shed because you’re not ovulating.

Be sure to check in with your doctor if you’re experiencing other symptoms of a thyroid condition, including sudden unexplained weight loss or gain, shaking, heart palpitations or significant fatigue.

Read more: 5 alternatives to pads and tampons you should think about trying

4. Hormonal birth control

One very common side effect of hormonal IUDs is skipped periods. That’s because one of the ways the device prevents pregnancy is by thinning out the endometrial lining so there’s nothing to shed come that time of the month.

And, while they don’t typically nix your flow altogether, birth control pills can result in super-light flows or spotting. So you might feel period symptoms like breast tenderness even without a heavy, full-blown period, says Dr Shepherd.

5. Stress

Stress is a surprisingly common reason for missing your period. “Stress increases your cortisol levels, which affects your hormone balance,” says Dr Shepherd – including the hormones that regulate your ovaries and uterine lining.

Exams, the death of a family member and divorce are all big-time stress-inducing events that can cause periods to go awry. But these life-changing biggies aren’t the only reasons you might be feeling the effects of stress.

“Some people don’t realise they’re so stressed, but once they talk about it they realise they are going through something,” says Dr Shepherd. If you think stress is messing with your periods, talk to your doctor; therapy, exercise, yoga and meditation can all help get your stress under control and your periods back on track.

Read more: 5 period symptoms that might signal a serious health problem

6. PCOS

Frequent skipped periods can be caused by polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). “PCOS is a condition in which a patient has an excess of androgens, which are chemicals in the body that affect ovary function, hair growth, weight gain and sensitivity to insulin,” says Dr Moss.

PCOS can result in anovulatory cycles and irregular spotting. It commonly causes cysts to grow on the ovaries, which, if they rupture or cause the ovary to twist, can cause pelvic pain that feels a lot like period cramps.

Up to 20% of women worldwide are affected by PCOS, and it’s more common among women who are overweight or have a mom or sister with by the condition, Dr Moss says. If you think you might be suffering from PCOS, check in with your doctor. While there is no cure, birth control and other medications can help keep symptoms under wraps and get your periods back on track.

7. Uterine polyps

You might associate polyps with your colon, but the same small benign tumors can grow in your uterus. “It’s an overgrowth of lining of the uterus,” says Dr Moss. Polyps in your uterus can cause cramping and period-like discomfort, even when you’re not on your period.

Because polyps can make it harder to get pregnant, and because there is a small risk they may develop into uterine cancer down the line, your doctor will likely want to remove them, most often with a relatively simple procedure known as a hysteroscopy. During a hysteroscopy, a doctor inserts a long tube up through the vagina and into the uterus. The doctor is able to use the scope to both see and cut out the polyps.

Read more: 11 signs your PMS is actually premenstrual dysphoric disorder

8. Ovarian cysts

Every month, your ovaries make several cysts in preparation for ovulation, but only one cyst releases an egg. Although the others usually dissipate on their own by the time you get your period, sometimes one cyst (or more) sticks around.

Cysts can also occur if you have an anovulatory cycle (such as with PCOS). Ovarian cysts often cause no symptoms at all, although they can sometimes trigger period-like pain when you’re not on your period. So if you’re experiencing irregular cramping, talk with your doctor.

“Cysts in and of themselves aren’t usually a problem,” says Dr Moss. “But if they get particularly large, they can cause the ovary to twist, which is painful and requires an emergency procedure to save your ovary.”

9. Gynaecological infections

Some sexually transmitted infections like gonorrhoea and chlamydia can result in a condition known as pelvic inflammatory disease, which can cause significant discomfort that feels like period cramping when you’re not expecting your period. UTIs can also cause period-similar pelvic pain, says Dr Moss.

Whatever your down-there infection, a round of antibiotics should help clear it up. So keep an eye out for red-flag symptoms including fever, significant nausea or vomiting, or pain that doesn’t go away with OTC pain relievers.

Read more: The surprising reason you’re getting side pains once a month

10. Mittelschmerz

If you’ve got PMS-like cramping, bloating, and breast tenderness but no period, one reason may be that it’s not quite time for your period yet – but it’s coming.

German for “middle pain”, mittelschmerz happens about half-way through your menstrual cycle – around day 14 or the time they ovulate, says Dr Nicole Scott, an obstetrician and gynaecologist at IU Health. It’s a totally normal experience – affecting about 20% of women – and it doesn’t mean anything is wrong, she says. Since it’s just your ovaries doing their thing, there’s not much you can do to prevent it and the symptoms should go away within a day or two but if it’s extremely painful or comes with any sign of infection, call your doctor, she adds.

11. Exercising too much

Hitting the gym on the regular is one of the best things you can do to help deal with PMS, but working out too hard or too often can actually mess up your cycle and in some cases make you miss your period all together, Dr Scott says.

All the physical stress, especially if you lose a lot of body fat, can make your period go AWOL and cause abnormal fluctuations in your hormone levels. These fluctuations can cause moodiness, irregular spotting, acne and other PMS-like symptoms. If you miss your period for three cycles or more in a row, talk to your doctor.

12. Ovarian cancer

Ovarian cancer is relatively rare, affecting only about 22 000 women a year in the US, but it’s one of the deadliest cancers for women, killing about 14 000 women a year. A big part of this is because it often shows no, or very subtle, symptoms, Dr Scott says.

Missing your period isn’t the most common symptom of ovarian cancer – those are abdominal bloating, urinary problems, weight loss and pain – but it is a possible symptom, according to the American Cancer Society. So if you’ve missed your period for three months or more or you have other concerning symptoms, call your doctor immediately.

^{This article was originally published on www.womenshealthmag.com}

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Deep space travel has been shown to harm astronauts’ eyes, muscles, hearts and immune systems. Now, new animal research suggests that venturing beyond Earth’s protective atmosphere could also damage their gastrointestinal tracts.

“We have documented the effects of deep space radiation on some vital organs, but we believe that similar damage responses may occur in many organs,” explained senior investigator Dr Kamal Datta.

He is a project leader of the NASA Specialized Center of Research (NSCOR) at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

“It is important to understand these effects in advance so we can do everything we can to protect our future space travelers,” Datta said in a Georgetown news release.

In the study, Datta’s team exposed mice to a low dose of iron radiation at the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory (NSRL) in Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York. The mice received a very low dose over the equivalent of a months-long stay in deep space. The rodents were then examined at Georgetown.

Another group of mice was exposed to gamma rays, which are comparable to X-rays on Earth. These two groups of mice were then compared to a third group that had no radiation exposure.

From observing the iron radiation mice, the researchers said they found the constant bombardment by galactic cosmic radiation in deep space could cause significant damage to gastrointestinal tissue, such as the stomach and intestines. This damage, they warned, could lead to long-term health issues and increase the risk for cancers of the stomach and colon.

“Heavy ions such as iron and silicon are damaging because of their greater mass compared to no-mass photons such as X-rays and gamma rays prevalent on Earth,” Datta said.

The researchers found that these intestinal cells did not absorb enough nutrients and they formed cancerous polyps. The researchers also found evidence that iron radiation triggered DNA damage that increased the number of cells that were incapable of normal cell division.

“They generate oxidative stress and inflammatory molecules that induce more damage. This greatly affected migration of cells that are needed to replace the intestinal lining, which slowed down GI functioning,” said Datta, who is also a member of Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The effects of the iron radiation appeared to be permanent, the study showed, though research on animals frequently doesn’t lead to the same results in humans.

The findings were published October 1 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

“With the current shielding technology, it is difficult to protect astronauts from the adverse effects of heavy ion radiation. Although there may be a way to use medicines to counter these effects, no such agent has been developed yet,” Datta said.

“While short trips, like the times astronauts traveled to the moon, may not expose them to this level of damage, the real concern is lasting injury from a long trip such as [to] Mars or other deep space missions, which would be much longer,” he added.

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Baking soda is having a moment – a weird thing to say about something that’s been a pantry essential for literally decades. These days, the touted health benefits of baking soda go far beyond airy cakes and flaky biscuits (as if those weren’t enough), and the Internet is filled with claims that the unassuming white powder can do everything from settling your stomach to whitening your teeth.

Unsurprisingly, a lot of the information out there is bogus and totally not legit. You should never use baking soda as sunscreen (duh!). But, baking soda does pack a few cool health benefits when used correctly – which often means buying FDA-approved products with baking soda as an active ingredient – so two experts weighed in to help separate fact from fiction.

1. It can help take the ‘burn’ out of heartburn.

“Drinking a mixture of baking soda and water has been used as [a heartburn] home remedy for decades,” says Dr Allison Dostal Webster, the associate director of nutrition communications at the International Food Information Council.

Basically, your stomach acid, is, well, acidic (with a pH less than seven, says Dr Webster), while baking soda is basic (with a pH higher than seven). When your stomach acid is going haywire (say, travelling up into your oesophagus and giving you heartburn), baking soda can effectively “neutralise” that acid, Dr Webster says. That neutral substance won’t cause discomfort if it travels back up into your oesophagus.

That said, Webster warns that the home remedy carries risks. “There are many case reports of people over-consuming baking soda, which upsets our body’s acid-base balance and can lead to serious cardiovascular, respiratory and neurological effects,” says Dr Webster.

So if you get acid reflux regularly, you shouldn’t just keep chugging baking soda and water. Talk to your doctor and consider options like over-the-counter or prescription medications, Dr Webster says.

2. It can nix ‘keto breath’ and reduce your risk of cavities.

“Baking soda has been studied for its benefits to oral hygiene,” says Dr Webster. “Its antimicrobial properties can help fight bacteria that cause bad breath, and reduce risk for cavities. That’s why you can commonly find it in certain types of toothpastes.”

Read more: Should you start drinking baking soda for weight loss?

3. It’ll give you pearly whites.

Another tooth-related benefit of baking soda: A 2017 meta-analysis in the Journal of the American Dental Association states that several studies found teeth-whitening treatments containing baking soda were more effective than those without it.

If you don’t want to shell out for a teeth-whitening kit (which, I don’t blame you), you can try making a paste out of baking soda and hydrogen peroxide, and brushing it on your teeth. Just don’t use it every day, since both of those ingredients can be harsh when overused. Use it for three days, then use it again in six months to maintain results.

4. It can clean and exfoliate skin (but there’s a catch).

Basically every natural beauty blog has some kind of post about using baking soda as a natural cleanser. And there’s some truth to that, says Dr Joshua Zeichner, the director of cosmetic and clinical research in dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital. “[Baking soda] can absorb oil and helps exfoliate dead cells from the surface of the skin, making it a useful ingredient in DIY scrubs and masks,” he says.

However, he says that it can cause serious irritation if overused, especially if you have sensitive skin. “The only people I would recommend it for are those with extremely oily skin, and people who rarely develop skin irritation,” he says.

If you don’t want to use straight baking soda on your face (which is probably for the best), try a cleanser that is formulated with baking soda instead to minimise the risk of irritation. If you have sensitive skin, Dr Zeichner says, skip the baking soda and use traditional exfoliators with ingredients like alpha- or beta-hydroxy acids like glycolic acid or salicylic acid.

5. It absorbs excess sweat.

“Because of its absorbent nature, baking soda may also be used as an ingredient in a homemade deodorant,” says Dr Zeichner. If you want to get your hands dirty, you can mix some with water until it turns into a paste, and apply to your underarms. If that doesn’t sound appealing, you can find baking soda as a main ingredient in lots of natural deodorants, too.

However, Dr Zeichner says that just like it can irritate the skin on your face, it can also irritate the skin under your arms. And, it won’t combat odours as well as store-bought deodorants. So keep that in mind.

6. It may help zap zits.

“Baking soda’s ability to absorb oil explains reports of treating acne,” says Dr Zeichner. Dabbing a bit onto spots may help dry them up in the short term, he adds, but won’t really lead to lasting healing.

And, while some people report that baking soda has helped fade scars, it’s not exactly a magic bullet. “The only way I could imagine baking soda being useful in brightening dark spots or improving the appearance of scars is through its exfoliating properties,” says Dr Zeichner. So, sure, you can give it a try, but any form of exfoliation will likely have a similar effect – with less risk of skin irritation.

^{This article was originally published onwww.womenshealthmag.com}

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The more you smoke, the greater your chances of developing a common heart rhythm disorder that increases your risk of stroke and early death, researchers say.

“If you smoke, stop smoking, and if you don’t smoke, don’t start,” said study author Dagfinn Aune, a postdoctoral researcher at Imperial College London.

Risk of atrial fibrillation

“We found that smokers are at increased risk of atrial fibrillation, but the risk is reduced considerably in those who quit,” said Aune, who is also an associate professor at Bjorknes University College in Oslo, Norway.

Atrial fibrillation, or a-fib, will affect one-quarter of middle-aged American and European adults. A-fib causes 20% to 30% of all strokes, and boosts the chances of premature death.

For the new study, published July 12 in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, researchers analysed 29 studies that included nearly 678 000 people in North America, Europe, Australia and Japan.

Every 10 “pack-years” of smoking was associated with a 16% increased risk of developing a-fib. Pack-years are the number of packs of cigarettes smoked per day multiplied by the number of years a person has smoked.

When compared to people who never smoked, the risk of developing a-fib was 32% higher among current smokers, 21% higher among current and former smokers combined, and 9% higher among former smokers, the researchers said.

“Our results provide further evidence of the health benefits of quitting smoking and, even better, to never start smoking in the first place,” Aune said in a news release from the European Society of Cardiology.

“This is important from a public health perspective to prevent atrial fibrillation and many other chronic diseases,” he added. 

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