Page 6 August 12, 2021 EL SEGUNDO HERALD
Seniors Finance
Tips For Coping With Heartburn
(BPT) - If you’ve ever experienced heartburn,
you know why it’s called that - you
feel a burning sensation in your throat and
upper chest, and even a bad taste in your
mouth. While heartburn can have many
triggers and causes, it is essentially due to
the backward flow of acid, called acid reflux,
when the muscles controlling the flow
between the esophagus and stomach don’t
close completely.
Heartburn can be very unpleasant, but
fortunately there are simple things you can
do to help prevent heartburn symptoms - and
relieve them when they arise.
“Start by just taking note of when you
experience your heartburn symptoms,” said
board-certified gastroenterologist, internist
and wellness expert Dr. Roshini Raj. “That
can help you figure out the best ways to
prevent it from recurring.”
Raj recommends keeping a simple diary
or keeping track (in your phone or calendar)
of when and what you eat for a few weeks,
and what times of day you have heartburn
symptoms. This can help you figure out
which of the following strategies will be the
most effective.
Notice Post-Meal or
After-Snack Heartburn?
Some foods and drinks have been known
to trigger episodes of heartburn, such as:
• Spicy, fried or fatty foods
• Garlic and onions
• Acidic foods such as citrus fruit/juice or
tomatoes/tomato products
• Chocolate
• Coffee, tea, alcohol, carbonated beverages
If you notice that you often have heartburn
after eating or drinking one of these common
triggers, try eliminating it from your diet for
a while to see if you notice a difference, then
re-introduce it and observe if your symptoms
return. Then you’ll know what your personal
heartburn trigger is.
In other cases, how you eat can be just as
much the culprit as what you eat.
“Slowing down while you eat, and eating
smaller meals more frequently, can help
prevent symptoms from flaring up,” said
Raj. “Avoid getting overfull to help reduce
heartburn.”
Feeling the Burn
After Intense Exercise?
“Exercise and keeping your weight at
healthy levels are actually great lifestyle
practices overall for heartburn prevention,”
said Raj. “But if you exercise too soon after
a large meal, you could be experiencing acid
reflux due to that timing.”
Eat lightly before any vigorous exercise
session, or wait longer after a meal before
exerting yourself more than going for a walk.
Exercises involving bending over or lying
down, in particular, can provoke heartburn
symptoms if you do them too soon after eating.
Heartburn at Bedtime?
Close to bedtime, your body slows down its
processes in preparation for sleep, including
digestion processes.
“Eating too close to bedtime can produce
heartburn,” said Raj. “Try not eating - not
even snacks - for a few hours before bedtime
and see if that alleviates your symptoms.”
Another cause for heartburn at bedtime
is simple gravity: When you’re standing or
sitting, acid from foods you’ve eaten tends
to stay down in your stomach. But when
The Right Advisor Can
Boost Your Financial Health
(BPT) - Many people have reexamined
their finances since the pandemic. While
some are itching to dine out and travel
again, others are looking to invest in their
future. According to a recent survey, Americans’
top financial goals include boosting
their savings, planning for retirement and
paying off debt.
To reach these and other goals, people often
look for an advisor to help manage their
money. However, there are many different
types of financial professionals to choose
from, so it’s important to know what makes
the right financial professional stand out.
“Americans often share more with their
financial advisors than they do their doctors,”
says Geoffrey Brown, CEO of the
National Association of Personal Financial
Advisors (NAPFA). “So, it’s important they
have someone they can trust and who will
always put their best interests first.”
Qualities to look for in a financial advisor
Selecting an advisor is one of the most
important life decisions you’ll make. When
looking for the right qualities, you want your
advisor to be:
1. A Fee-Only Financial Advisor
When selecting a financial advisor, it’s
important to understand how they are compensated.
Fee-Only, fiduciary financial advisors
are paid directly by their clients for advice.
The advisor does not receive commissions
or remuneration from third parties, meaning
they’re not going to sell you financial products
that can rack up expensive fees and make you
lose money. Instead, their compensation is
based on an hourly rate, a percent of assets
under management, a flat fee or a retainer.
Commission-based financial professionals,
on the other hand, may recommend
investments with higher fees, riskier features
and lower returns because they earn more
money for the advisor, even if those investments
are not the best choice for their clients.
Because of the conflicts of interest inherent
in these transactions, these advisors may
have difficulty putting their client’s interest
above their own.
“Before you select a financial advisor,
always ask them how they’re compensated
to help you understand the nature of the
relationship. If they give you anything other
than a straight answer, you should continue
your search,” says Brown.
2. A Fiduciary
“Fiduciary” is one of the key attributes
you should look for when searching for an
advisor. Financial advisors held to a fiduciary
standard are required to act within your best
interest, meaning they must:
• Disclose any conflict, or potential conflict,
to their clients before and during the
advisory engagement
• Adopt a code of ethics
• Explain their fee structure
While finding an advisor that adheres to
a fiduciary standard is important, some use
the term loosely, which can make it hard to
decipher who is a legitimate fiduciary. NAPFA
has a tool that can help you research and
find Fee-Only, fiduciary advisors that are a
good fit for you. “As consumers of financial
services, we all owe it to ourselves to remain
See Seniors, page 14 See Finance, page 11
This refreshing salad is especially quick and easy because the chicken is cooked in the microwave.Use the photo as a guide to
arranging the ingredients, and you’ll have a dish that tastes and looks as good as what you get in a restaurant.
Ingredients Directions
• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into
1-inch cubes
• 3 teaspoons taco seasoning mix
• 3 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 head romaine lettuce, cut into strips
• 1 large green or red bell pepper, chopped (about 1 cup)
• 1 large ripe avocado, pitted, peeled and sliced (about 1 cup)
• 1 large tomato, cut into wedges
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese(about 4 ounces)
• 1/2 cup light sour cream
• 1/2 cup Pace® Chunky Salsa
Southwestern Chicken Salad
Provided by Campbell Soup Company
• Step 1: Place chicken into an 8 x 8 x 2-inch microwave-safe baking dish. Sprinkle the chicken with the taco
seasoning and toss to coat. Drizzle the chicken with 1 tablespoon lime juice. Cover the dish with
microwavable plastic wrap, turning back one corner to vent.
• Step 2: Microwave on HIGH for 4 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through, stirring once halfway
through cooking.
• Step 3: Arrange the lettuce on a platter. Top with the chicken, pepper, avocado, tomatoes and cheese.
Drizzle the avocado with the remaining lime juice.
• Step 4: Stir the sour cream and salsa in a small bowl. Garnish with additional pepper, if desired. Cover the
platter and the sour cream mixture with the plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3 hours. Drizzle the
salad with the sour cream mixture before serving.
Send us a photo and recipe of your favorite dish. We’d love to share it with the community. Send to: web@heraldpublications.com