Anecdotal evidence says that cabbage juice aids heartburn
Q: I suffered with “dodgy stomach” for a year: cramps, gas, low energy, brain fog. These symptoms would come and go.
My diet is already plantbased, and I am otherwise fit and healthy. My general practitioner tested me for everything, and my labs and ultrasound results were normal. Endoscopy found “mild gastritis” and my doctor prescribed omeprazole. This helped, but my stomach never went back to 100%. I didn’t go back to my GP because my symptoms were manageable.
After a bit of research, I started drinking cabbage juice. From day three,
ALL my symptoms were completely gone!
I juice a fresh green cabbage, just a 1-inch slice daily, with a carrot and a pear. This makes a medium-sized glass of juice, which I drink first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. Instantly my sinuses start to tingle. This lasts for a couple hours. I drink the same concoction again in the evening. Cabbage juice is more powerful for me than omeprazole.
A: You are not the first person to tell us that cabbage juice helped against heartburn. There is very little research on this approach, but we did find a reference from long ago: California Medicine, January 1949.
The same physician who wrote that report,
Dr. Garnett Cheney, was on the faculty at Stanford University School of Medicine. He conducted a placebo-controlled trial at San Quentin Prison demonstrating a 92%
“success” ratio for healing peptic ulcers with concentrated cabbage juice (California Medicine, January 1956). Q: Instead of sugar, I’ve been sweetening my coffee and breakfast cereal with monk-fruit for a couple of years. The sweetener also contains erythritol. Now I’ve read that erythritol can be a problem. How concerned should I be about the effect on my arteries?
A: Most people think of erythritol as a natural sugar substitute and assume it is safe. New research suggests, however, that people who use this sweetener regularly may be more prone to heart attacks or strokes (Nature Medicine, Feb. 27, 2023). Apparently, erythritol promotes blood clots. If you stop using the sweetener, your risk should drop.
Q: I had a painful, swollen plantar wart on the bottom of my foot. I had it removed surgically but it came back. The pain became unbearable. Then, I read that the heartburn medicine cimetidine might work. I took it morning and night. After two weeks, I felt such relief! The pain and swelling disappeared.
A: For decades, doctors have treated warts topically. They either froze them, removed them surgically or applied caustic chemicals such as salicylic acid or cantharidin.
Systemic immunotherapy might be another option for hard-to-treat warts. An article in the Journal of the American Podiatric Medical Association (November 1995) reported several anecdotal reports of success with cimetidine (Tagamet). The authors called for large clinical trials to verify the benefits of this heartburn medicine against warts.
Since then, only a few clinical trials have been conducted (Indian Journal of Dermatology, MarchApril 2015). Effectiveness ranged from 10% to 80%.
The dose for wart treatment is higher than that for heartburn. That’s why a health care professional should supervise this off-label use. Cimetidine also interacts with other drugs such as the blood thinner warfarin.