You’ve all heard me issue warning after warning about the health risks of soda—and my opinion on those bad-for-you beverages hasn’t changed one bit.

But it turns out that there is a situation in which soda may be used as medicine. Surprised? I’m talking about a certain digestive ailment. Here’s the deal…

You probably assume that the food you eat starts getting digested in your stomach, finishes the digestion process in your intestines and then leaves your body via the “back door.” And usually that is what happens. But not always!

Sometimes foods don’t get fully digested—and the undigested bits clump together to form a hard chunk that gets stuck in your intestines. This chunk is called a bezoar.

Bezoars can cause nasty symptoms, such as feeling full after eating only a small amount of food, abdominal pain and vomiting. The chunks also can lead to gastric ulcers, intestinal bleeding, intestinal obstruction and even gangrene of the digestive tract. So treatment is definitely warranted—yet treatments can be invasive and costly and they have side effects and risks, as well.

That’s why you should know about a new study on an underused treatment that is simple, safe and cheap. This is where (believe it or not) the soda comes in.

BEZOAR BASICS

People at highest risk for bezoars are those with diabetes or end-stage kidney disease or those who have had gastric surgery. Seniors also are at increased risk because aging decreases stomach acid and diminishes chewing efficiency. Use of certain drugs that interfere with digestion can contribute to risk, too. But the fact is that anyone can develop a bezoar.

Of the several different types of bezoars, the most common is a phytobezoar, which is composed of indigestible food fibers, such as cellulose from fruits and vegetables. Not all high-fiber foods are problematic—but particular culprits do include prunes, raisins, persimmons and pineapples…beets, celery, pumpkins and leeks…and sunflower seed husks.

FIZZY SOLUTION

Scientists in Greece combed through 10 years of research done in various countries—24 studies covering 46 patients in total—showing that using Coca-Cola was an effective treatment for phytobezoars.

Most patients either drank the Coke or got it via a nasogastric tube. Different amounts of Coke were used in different studies, and the frequency of the dosages also varied. But typically, patients drank the soda over the course of as little as 24 hours or as long as six weeks. When the Coke was given through a nasogastric tube, it was usually administered over a 12-hour period.

Results: Using Coke alone completely dissolved half the bezoars. For another 40%, Coke was used first to make the bezoar smaller and softer, and then the remaining chunk was either broken up or removed using an endoscopic tool inserted into the stomach.

This is very encouraging news, lead researcher Dimitrios Kamberoglou, MD, told me, when you consider the other treatment options for bezoars. Sometimes doctors have patients ingest an enzyme such as papain or cellulase, for example. But papain may increase the risk for gastric ulcer, and cases of small bowel obstruction have occurred after treatment with cellulase. There’s also endoscopy and, as a last resort, surgery—both of which are expensive, invasive and carry risks (such as infection).

In comparison, the Coke treatment holds appeal even for people who normally avoid soda like the plague. In fact, 50% of all bezoar patients in the studies who got the Coke therapy were able to avoid all of the other treatments mentioned above—and 90% of them were able to avoid surgery.

COKE MIMICS STOMACH ACID

Only regular (full-sugar) Coke was used in the studies, but Dr. Kamberoglou said that past research has shown that Diet Coke and Coca-Cola Zero are equally effective at breaking down bezoars. That’s because all versions are highly acidic and resemble the natural stomach acid that’s necessary to properly digest fiber. Also, the fizzy drinks’ carbonation may enhance this dissolving effect, he said. Dr. Kamberoglou did not think that the caffeine in cola was a factor in combating bezoars.

When I asked whether other brands of cola might be as effective as Coke, Kamberoglou told me that they probably would be, but he has no experience with using other brands for this purpose. And there is no data to suggest whether noncola soft drinks (such as Sprite) would be effective against bezoars.

Are you at high risk of developing a bezoar, or have you had one in the past? I asked Dr. Kamberoglou whether taking digestive enzymes would help prevent bezoars, but unfortunately, he said no. He did, however, suggest the following prevention strategies…

  • Chew your food thoroughly.
  • Drink plenty of water throughout the day to avoid dehydration.
  • Don’t stop eating fruits and veggies (you need their nutrients!), but avoid persimmons and pineapples because those fruits can cause especially hard bezoars that are difficult to treat.
  • Consider drinking a daily glass or two of cola. Although this hasn’t been studied explicitly, Dr. Kameroglou thinks that the drink may help prevent bezoars from forming in the first place. Caveat: Drinking regular Coke, of course, increases your risk for obesity, high blood sugar and other health problems…and though Diet Coke and Coca-Cola Zero have no calories, there are concerns about their artificial sweeteners—so first discuss the benefits and risks with your doctor.

And if you ever do experience possible symptoms of a bezoar? Visit your doctor, who can diagnose the problem with either an imaging test or endoscopic test. Then show this article to your physician—in case he or she isn’t aware of this “Coke therapy.”