They say soda is bad for you, and that is probably right in most cases, but if you happen to have a stomach clogged with undigested food, it can apparently be a big help! A team of doctors from Massachusetts recently reported the unusual case of an elderly woman with a large benzoar in her stomach who managed to dissolve the large mass by drinking 1.5 liters of Diet Coke per day.
Writing in the New England Journal of Medicine, the doctors reported that the patient had been experiencing a burning pain in her upper abdomen and right side of her torso for about a month when she finally came in for a checkup. She had tried two common over-the-counter medications for acid reflux, but they had no effect.
The woman had a history of type 2 diabetes and obesity, and had been taking semaglutide, a drug similar to Ozempic known as a GLP-1 receptor agonist. She had lost around 40 pounds in the last year, but her weight loss had accelerated in the last month or so, which gave doctors some idea about what might be causing her discomfort.
GLP-1 receptor agonists are known to cause delayed gastric emptying, which means the stomach empties its contents into the intestines at a much slower rate than normal. This sometimes causes undigested material to lump into a mass known as a gastric benzoar. After performing an endoscopy, doctors were able to confirm that the woman had a large mass in her stomach, and immediately took her off her weight loss medication.
In some cases, patients require surgery to have the benzoar removed, but the first course of action is to try to dissolve it while it’s still in the stomach. Apparently, one of the most effective ways to do this is to administer large volumes of soda.
Existing evidence, largely from case series and anecdotal experiences, supports the administration of 3 liters [0.8 gallons] of cola, either orally or through a nasogastric tube, within a 12-hour window,” the doctors wrote in their report. “It is not well understood whether acidity, carbonation, or another mechanism accounts for dissolution of the bezoar.”
Because of her history of diabetes, the woman was prescribed diet soda, but because she didn’t enjoy carbonated drinks, the recommended 3 liters were cut down to just 1.5 liters per day. Still, the treatment proved remarkably effective! During her second day of treatment, the patient reported a “tugging” sensation in her stomach, after which her nausea and discomfort disappeared. A subsequent endoscopy confirmed that the benzoar had dissolved.
Gastric benzoars are found in less than 0.5% of endoscopies, but they can cause serious discomfort and even life-threatening complications. It’s good to know that one of the cheapest and easiest ways to deal with them is just to drink a fizzy cola drink.
Bezoars formed from food material may be initially managed with oral administration of cola in patients in a clinically stable condition,” the doctors’ report stated. “This intervention is generally cost-effective and is associated with a lower risk of complications than invasive procedures.”
