NEW YORK, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- If a piece of turkey becomes lodged in your throat this holiday season, experts recommend against trying to free it with cola -- an old wife's tale given new life through advice found on seemingly credible websites.
New research published in the Christmas issue of BMJ -- the journal of the British Medical Association -- dispels the myth that this purported remedy can help clear a blocked esophagus.
Cola is often given to patients when food gets stuck in the esophagus, the study's lead author, Dr. Arjan Bredenoord, a professor of gastroenterology at Amsterdam University Medical Centers in the Netherlands, told UPI via email.
Physicians have recommended it and patients also have tried it. Yet, "the efficacy of this approach was unknown," Bredenoord said in explaining why he undertook the study.
- Adenman
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