It's an awful feeling isn't it. Heartburn. There's not too many who haven't experienced it at some stage in their lives in the western world. You know the feeling. The pain associated with it is bad enough let alone the regret you also suffer through knowing you could have prevented it this time.

How does the regret go? Let me enlighten you. You suddenly sit upright in bed in the middle of the night. It's like someone took a torch and lit your stomach. You think... "I knew I shouldn't have tried to stuff that extra piece of fried chicken in ...aaggh!" Or "I knew I shouldn't have eaten spicy tonight. But it looked and tasted so good. When will I ever learn. Never again...never again! It hurts so much... please stop!

Hey don't worry. I've been in that situation many times. But I'm happy to say I've been almost heartburn free for several years just through taking some simple steps. Just like my friend Kate from Atlanta. I rang Kate the other day and funny enough, heartburn came up in discussion. Oh no, don't worry, we're not a couple of hypocondriacs who constantly discuss our medical conditions everytime we chat. But we did reminisce on this one occasion.

I asked Kate how she's feeling knowing she loved to indulge.

"Hey, I know what you're getting at but let me tell you buddy, I'm letting heartburn go," she forcibly replied.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I've made a few simple changes. Ain't no way I'm going through that again to that extent," she says with the relief noticeable in her tone.

"What changes; what extent?" I asked revving her up knowing she would react because of the lectures I'd given her in the past about avoiding heartburn. Maybe I just wanted to get a "you told me so" out of her.

There was a slight pause on the other end.

"Well Dino, without trying to sound like I've become a wowser... no more excessise amounts of fried food; spicy food is definitely out; since we last caught up I've lost a good deal of weight and you know my habit of trying to fit into clothes two sizes too small?"

"Do I ever," I'd respond sarcastically.

"Careful," she says in a threatening voice. "Anyway, they're all a thing of the past. I'm not going through heartburn again as long as I can help it. No more feeling that my chest is on fire. No more not being able to lie down or sitting back. That feeling of starting at the bottom of your stomach and burning through your body. No buddy boy, I've taken steps."

Sounding stunned I'd ask... "What, no more alcohol?"

"Heeeyy, in moderation," would be her swift reply.

"Sounds like you're about ready to join the order of the nuns," I'd respond with a smirky tone.

With a forceful giggle she'd admit..."I'd look good wearing fashionable headwear and a long gown!"

Kate decided to make some simple changes. So did I. For me, heartburn got to a stage similar to visiting the dentist. I had gum problems several years ago which constituted regular visits to the dentist. Despite his best efforts to make me feel as comfortable as possible each visit resulted in some degree of pain. Pain was always my ongoing memory of a dental visit. So much so that in the end, I kept thinking to myself... "enough is enough, I can't stand the pain anymore!" So you know what I did? I started taking the dentist's advice and started flossing my teeth everyday and started cleaning my teeth everyday.

The same "pimple" burst with my heartburn. A tweak here and a tweak there and voila!

No more regrets. No more I "shoulda" - "coulda" - "woulda." And you know what? It's been just great!