Fish Oil & Heartburn

Heartburn is a common condition that most people get at some point in their life. Often experienced as a burning sensation in the chest, it is caused when digestive enzymes and acids flow out of your stomach and up your esophagus. People take fish oil because of the many benefits it offers for health and cognitive and emotional functioning. A few people experience side effects from fish oil, including heartburn.

Feel the Burn

Food passes through the esophagus, past a sphincter muscle that opens to allow the food through, into your stomach, where it is crushed by your stomach and mixes with fluids, enzymes and acid. When the sphincter muscle, called the esophageal sphincter, malfunctions, food, acid and fluid can flow back up the esophagus. This condition is called acid reflux. The acid triggers pain and, over time, causes the lining of the esophagus to deteriorate. If you experience chronic acid reflux, you can develop Barett's esophagus, a condition that can dramatically increase your risk of esophageal cancer. Yvonne Romero, M.D., from the Mayo Clinic, notes that Barrett's esophagus can cause a 125-fold increase in the risk of esophageal cancer. Fish oil contains fatty acids, which can cause fishy-flavored belches and discomfort when they back up into your esophagus. When you have chronic heart burn, the condition is referred to as GERD, which stands for gastroesophageal reflux disease. People with GERD are more vulnerable to the fish oil side effect of heart burn.

Flame On

Factors that contribute to chronic heartburn include medications, obesity, surgery, hernias and vomiting. Some foods, such as alcohol, chocolate, high fat foods, onions, coffee, peppermint and high-sugar foods can relax the esophageal sphincter, allowing your stomach contents up the esophagus. Other foods, too, such as spicy food, citrus and tomato products, can increase the acidity of your stomach's contents and irritate the esophagus. When acid stimulates your sphincter or your esophagus, the tissues become inflamed. The pain and inflammation can persist for several hours beyond the exposure to stomach acid.

Flame Off

Fish oil enhances your immune system's anti-inflammatory responses. Inflammation occurs as part of your body's defensive reaction to some sort of assault, such as from bacteria, trauma or, in the case of heartburn, stomach acid. Though fish oil can trigger heart burn when it backs into your esophagus, the overall effect of fish oil is to decrease your inflammatory responses.

Avoiding and Minimizing Reflux

The key to optimizing the anti-inflammatory effect of fish oil is to keep it in your stomach and out of your esophagus. Take your fish oil just before you eat so it mixes with your food and drink, which reduces the overall acidity of the stomach's contents. Also, the fish oil is more quickly escorted out of your stomach into your lower intestine when it is mixed with food. Don't overeat when you take your fish oil supplement, as that places pressure on the esophageal sphincter. The specific gravity of oil is lower than water, milk and most beverages. Fish oil floats on top of these fluids, so avoid drinking a lot when you take your supplement. Avoid carbonated beverages, as the fizz and bloating can pressure fish oil up your esophagus. Also, don't lay down shortly after you've taken fish oil, as gravity encourages back flow up the esophagus. If you have GERD or if fish oil causes heartburn despite taking these precautions, speak with your doctor to determine what course of action you should take. She may suggest that you stop taking fish oil supplements.