Apparently, things do go better with Coke, at least according to Greek researchers. The new edition of the journal Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics presents a Greek study showing that drinking Coca-Cola may prove helpful to those patients suffering from clogs in their gastrointestinal system caused by the ingestion of digested fruits and vegetables.
A team of Greek gastroenterologists headed by Dr. Spiros Ladas at Athens University Medical School and Laikon Hospital suggested that phytobezoars are successfully treated if a patient consumes the popular acidic soft drink.
A phytobezoar is a type of bezoar, or trapped mass in the stomach, that consists of components of indigestible plant material, such as fibers, skins and seeds. While phytobezoars may be discovered incidentally on barium x-ray or endoscopic testing of the stomach, individuals with phytobezoars may develop symptoms: nausea, vomiting,gastric outlet obstruction, perforation, abdominal pain, and bleeding have been reported.
According to the researchers, drinking Coca-Cola and using endoscopy helped dissolve the phytobezoars of over 90 percent of the patients that took part in the study, which can help them avoid open gastric surgery. Phosphoric and carbonic acid are the main incredients of Coca-Cola, which seem to dissolve these clogs developed in the human stomach.
The research began in 2002 and its conductors noted that in half of the cases they treated for their study purposes phytobezoars were dissolved merely by drinking Coca-Cola.
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