Some people take aspirin without ever having a problem
with their stomach. Others develop low-grade stomach
pain or get an ulcer. A few develop gastrointestinal
bleeding severe enough to require a transfusion. But
coated or buffered aspirin doesn’t do much to help,
according to a four-page special report on aspirin
in the August 2007 issue of the Harvard Heart Letter.
Coated aspirin, also called enteric-coated aspirin,
is the pharmaceutical industry’s attempt to limit the
drug’s effect on the stomach. It’s a great idea: Cover
aspirin with a coating designed to withstand stomach
acids so it sails through the stomach untouched and
dissolves in the more neutral small intestine. Keeping
aspirin intact for as long as possible might mean it
won’t damage the lining of the stomach. Yet studies
show that coated aspirin has virtually the same effect
on the stomach as plain, uncoated aspirin.
The Harvard Heart Letter notes that aspirin
doesn’t have to be in contact with stomach cells to
harm them. Even when the pill dissolves in the intestines,
the medicine gets into the bloodstream and is carried
to all parts of the body—including the cells lining
the stomach. Once there, it blocks the COX-1 enzyme.
Stomach cells need COX-1 in order to churn out compounds
that protect them from the powerful acids that digest
food.
Of course, we’re all different, and coated aspirin
may work for some people. But be advised that coating
doesn’t guarantee problem-free aspirin use.
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