"Acid blockers can occasionally be necessary for short-term use, but if we deal with the causes of digestive imbalance, most of the time, reflux and GERD can be managed without medication." Dr Mark Hyman, founder and medical director of The UltraWellness Center and author of The UltraMind Solution

You finish a meal, settle down for the evening and then it starts. That uncomfortable burning sensation behind your breastbone. Perhaps a sour taste at the back of your mouth. Maybe some bloating or burping too. So you reach for something to relieve it.

For occasional heartburn, that may be all that's needed. But if you find yourself regularly reaching for antacids, it can be useful to explore why it keeps happening.

Because our digestive system is more complex than we sometimes realise. How much we eat, how quickly we eat, when we eat, stress, certain foods and drinks, medications and changes within our digestive system can all influence how comfortable we feel after eating.

And as we get older, supporting our digestion becomes particularly important. We rely on it to break down the food we eat and make nutrients available for all the systems in our body that need them.

So rather than focusing only on getting rid of the discomfort, I want to look at some of the simple ways we can support our digestive system to do its job well as we age.

What is actually happening when you get heartburn?

Despite its name, heartburn has nothing to do with your heart. When you swallow, food travels down your oesophagus and into your stomach. At the bottom of the oesophagus is a ring of muscle called the lower oesophageal sphincter. You can think of it a little like a valve: it opens to allow food into your stomach and should then close again.

Your stomach is designed to cope with its highly acidic contents. Your oesophagus isn't.

If stomach contents travel back upwards into the oesophagus — known as acid reflux — they can irritate its lining and produce that familiar burning sensation. If reflux keeps happening, it may be diagnosed as gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD).

A number of things can make reflux more likely, including large meals, excess weight, smoking, alcohol, a hiatus hernia, certain medications and individual food triggers. Symptoms are often worse after eating, lying down or bending over.

So although it's tempting to assume that heartburn simply means you have “too much stomach acid”, the picture is more complicated.

The question isn't only how much acid is in your stomach, but whether the contents of your stomach are travelling somewhere they shouldn't.

Why we need stomach acid

Because heartburn contains the word “burn”, it's easy to think of stomach acid as something harmful that we need to get rid of. But stomach acid has an important job to do.

It helps break down the food we eat, particularly protein, helps release certain nutrients from food and provides an important defence against microbes entering our digestive system.

Some people produce less stomach acid as they get older, although this isn't an inevitable consequence of ageing. Health conditions and medications can also affect stomach acid production, making this another aspect of digestion worth being aware of in midlife and beyond.

So the goal isn't to think of stomach acid as the enemy. We need enough acid in the right place — the stomach — while trying to prevent stomach contents travelling upwards into the oesophagus, where they can cause irritation.

How stress affects digestion

Have you ever tried to eat lunch while answering emails, rushed through dinner because you're late for something, or eaten while your mind is still racing through the day's problems?

Our digestive system doesn't operate independently from the rest of us. The brain and gut are in constant communication, and stress can change the way our digestive system functions. In some people, stress slows digestion, contributing to bloating, discomfort and constipation; in others, it speeds things up. Stress and anxiety can also make digestive symptoms feel worse.

That's why how we eat can matter as well as what we eat.

Taking time over a meal isn't an indulgence. It gives us an opportunity to slow down, chew properly and pay attention to when we've had enough.

What happens when we reduce stomach acid?

When heartburn strikes, medications that reduce or neutralise stomach acid can provide welcome relief.

Antacids work by neutralising acid already present in the stomach, while proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), such as omeprazole and lansoprazole, work differently by significantly reducing the amount of acid the stomach produces.

But because stomach acid has useful functions, prolonged acid suppression can have effects that are worth being aware of.

One of these is nutrient absorption.

Stomach acid helps us release or absorb certain nutrients from our food, and long-term PPI use has been associated with deficiencies or altered absorption of nutrients including vitamin B12, iron, magnesium and calcium.

For example, stomach acid helps release vitamin B12 from the proteins in our food and helps make non-haem iron more available for absorption. Long-term PPI use has also, in some people, been associated with low magnesium.

That doesn't mean everyone taking a PPI will develop a nutrient deficiency, nor does it mean prescribed medication should be stopped.

But particularly as we get older — when getting enough nutrients to support our muscles, bones, brain, energy and wider health becomes increasingly important — I think it's useful to understand how our digestive system works and why supporting it matters.

If you've been taking acid-reducing medication for a long time and have questions about whether you still need it or whether your nutrient status should be checked, that's a conversation to have with your GP or pharmacist.

5 Simple Ways To Support Your Digestion

Here are a few practical things you can do yourself.

1. Slow down when you eat

Think about your last few meals.

Were you sitting comfortably at a table — or eating at your desk, standing in the kitchen, scrolling through your phone or trying to get out of the door?

Do you regularly arrive at meal times still mentally running at full speed?

When we're busy, eating can become another task to complete as quickly as possible. And sometimes we eat at the same pace that we're living the rest of our lives. But rushing means we're less likely to chew, and more likely to swallow extra air and miss the signals telling us that we've had enough.

Try this: Give yourself permission to do nothing except eat for your next meal. Put your phone down, move away from your computer and actually notice your food.

It sounds remarkably simple, but it's a useful place to start.

2. Take time to chew

Digestion doesn't begin in your stomach. It starts in your mouth.

Chewing mechanically breaks food into smaller pieces, while saliva moistens the food and contains enzymes that begin breaking down some of its carbohydrates.

When we swallow without chewing properly, we miss an important first stage of digestion.

There's no need to count every chew. Instead, simply slow the process down and make sure your food is properly broken down before you swallow.

Try this: Put your knife and fork down between mouthfuls. It naturally slows your pace, reminds you to chew, and allows you to savour the flavours of your meal.

3. Experiment with smaller meals

Sometimes the problem isn't what you've eaten but how much you've eaten at once.

A large meal fills and stretches the stomach, which can make reflux more likely. Eating a smaller meal, on the other hand, places less demand on your stomach.

This doesn't mean you need to spend the entire day grazing, but if heartburn predictably appears after your biggest meal, it’s worth paying attention.

Try this: Make your usual largest meal slightly smaller for a week and notice what happens. You could save part of it for another meal rather than eating beyond the point where you feel comfortably satisfied.

4. Leave more time between dinner and bed

Have you ever eaten a large evening meal, gone to bed shortly afterwards and then been woken by heartburn?

Gravity helps keep stomach contents where they belong while we're upright. Once we lie down, reflux can become more likely.

Try this: If you usually eat late, try avoiding food for three to four hours before going to bed to see whether changing the timing changes your symptoms.

5. Discover your triggers

If you've searched online for foods that cause heartburn, you may have found a long list of things to avoid: coffee, chocolate, tomatoes, spicy food, fatty food, and alcohol.

All of these can trigger reflux in some people. But that doesn't mean all of them trigger it in you.

Instead of unnecessarily restricting your diet, become a detective. Does heartburn happen after a particular food? A large meal? Several glasses of wine? Eating late? A stressful day?

Patterns are much more useful than assumptions.

Try this: For one week, make a quick note when heartburn occurs. Record what you ate and drank, roughly how much, when you ate and anything else that might be relevant. You may begin to spot a pattern surprisingly quickly.

Support your digestion as you age

It's easy to take our digestion for granted — until it starts making itself known.

But our digestive system does far more than process a meal. It's how we break down the food we eat and make its nutrients available to support our muscles, bones, brain, immune system and everything else our body needs to keep working well.

That's one reason I think it's worth looking after it as we age. And often, supporting our digestion doesn't require anything complicated.

Slow down. Chew properly. Notice how much you're eating. Leave more time before dinner and bed. And pay attention to the foods that suit you — and those that don't.

If heartburn or other digestive symptoms are persistent, worsening or concerning, speak to your GP rather than simply trying to manage them yourself.

But for everyday digestive health, there is plenty we can do to help create the conditions for our digestive system to do what it was designed to do.

Perhaps the best place to start is simply to slow down at your next meal — and give your digestion the time and attention it deserves.