# Coca-Cola syrup as medication. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 14, 2000, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-syrup-as-medication/45506 "2000-12-14T07:44:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mblackwell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5fc32e/32.png) [@mblackwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mblackwell)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2000, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-syrup-as-medication/45506/1 "2000-12-14T07:44:41Z")
I have read that Coke is pretty acidic. If this is true, why is it used to treat stomach aches? ---
**Author:** ![Nanook\_of\_the\_North\_Shore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bc8723/32.png) [@Nanook\_of\_the\_North\_Shore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanook_of_the_North_Shore)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2000, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-syrup-as-medication/45506/2 "2000-12-14T09:27:58Z")
I haven’t heard this before, but if its just the syrup being used then its not acidic. The acid comes from the carbonation(basically weak carbonic acid). ---
**Author:** ![PharmBoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/74df32/32.png) [@PharmBoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PharmBoy)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2000, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-syrup-as-medication/45506/3 "2000-12-14T12:58:52Z")
Qualifications first: I’m a pharmacist. Calling Coke syrup “medicine” is overstating it a bit, but it does have some carmative properties (in other words it soothes your stomach). I’m not sure if anyone knows why, but it is thought that it’s due to the combination of phosphates and glucose. In fact, you can buy something called “phosphorylated glucose” OTC which is basically the same thing without the yummy taste. Finally remember that most sodas were invented by pharmacists or physicians, and were at first considered “tonics”. About the “acid” - yes, Coke is acidic, but so are a lot of foods. The acidin Coke is a weak acid; in fact it is thousands of times weaker than the acid produced by the stomach itself. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2000, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-syrup-as-medication/45506/4 "2000-12-14T13:15:25Z")
When I was very little, my dad would give me Coca Cola syrup to cure nausea. Once when I was sick I remember him taking me to the drive-through at Jack-in-the-Box and getting some Coke syrup. It always did the trick. I doubt you could do that now. The employees probably wouldn’t know how to just get the syrup, and they don’t care enough anyway. No idea where to get Coke syrup except for a fast-food place or a restaurant. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2000, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-syrup-as-medication/45506/5 "2000-12-14T15:51:26Z")
Johnny, at my pharmacy they have it “over-the-counter-but-behind-the-counter” ie, they have it but you have to ask. Your local pharmacy probably has some too, just not on the shelves. I don’t think its very expensive. ---
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2000, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-syrup-as-medication/45506/6 "2000-12-14T15:58:37Z")
Oh my, I used to LOVE that stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2000, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-syrup-as-medication/45506/7 "2000-12-14T17:02:52Z")
I’ve also seen cola syrup at some health food/ herbal stores. It’s not “Coca-Cola” brand, but essentially the same. I have always found regular Coke™ to be soothing when I am nauseous, but for some reason it has to be the kind with sugar rather than diet which I usually drink. I guess the sugar mentioned by PharmBoy as a constituent of what he sells is important. ---
**Author:** ![mongrel\_8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@mongrel\_8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mongrel_8)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2000, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-syrup-as-medication/45506/8 "2000-12-14T18:07:06Z")
You can get syrup at fast food stores fairly easy. On the soda machines where you push a button to dispense your own, if you take off the cover to the specific soda you want (it should pop off if you pull on it) there is a lever in the back that when pushed will just dispense syrup and nothing else. It is very interesting having a syrup soda. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2000, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-syrup-as-medication/45506/9 "2000-12-14T19:06:49Z")
My grandma was a firm believer in using Coke syrup to soothe your upset tummy. Funny that usually, if I’m going to drink some kind of soda for my tummy, everyone tells me to drink 7-Up! ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2000, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-syrup-as-medication/45506/10 "2000-12-14T19:33:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by javaman \* > \*\*I’ve also seen cola syrup at some health food/ herbal stores. It’s not “Coca-Cola” brand, but essentially the > same. > > I have always found regular Coke™ to be > soothing when I am nauseous, but for some reason it has to be the kind with sugar rather than diet which I usually drink. I guess the sugar mentioned by PharmBoy as a constituent of what he sells is important. \*\* When I was younger, my mother used to use Karo syrup for nausea. A couple spoonfuls worked like a charm. Robin ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2000, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-syrup-as-medication/45506/11 "2000-12-14T19:41:19Z")
Coca-Cola syrup is brilliant—there’s always a bottle in my fridge. Great for nausea—IF you don’t chug it from the bottle! What you do is chop some ice (crawling into the kitchen and doing it yourself, if you’re a a spinster like me). Pour two tablespoons of syrup over a cup of chopped ice, crawl back to bed (resting for a moment on the living room sofa) and spoon your way to un-nausea! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2000, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-syrup-as-medication/45506/12 "2000-12-15T00:24:38Z")
> [@](#): > > if you’re a a spinster like me _hug_ Here. Have a spoonful of Coke syrup, my treat. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_Bowe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@Doug\_Bowe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_Bowe)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2000, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-syrup-as-medication/45506/13 "2000-12-15T01:13:33Z")
When I was a little kid (and Jack Benny’s TV show was live) our family Dr. told my parents to give a spoonful of Coke syrup for an upset stomach. Of course, our family Dr. also smoked Luckies (cosponsor of the live Jack Benny Show).