Coated aspirin no easier on the stomach.

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."

Enteric-coated aspirin is designed to withstand stomach acids so it sails through the stomach untouched and dissolves in the more neutral small intestine. Keep ing aspirin intact for as long as possible might mean it won't damage the lining of the stomach. Yet studies show that coasted aspirin has virtually the same effect on the stomach as plain, uncoated aspirin, the publication announced in a statement released July 30.

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, which stomach cells need to produce compounds that protect them from the powerful acids that digest food.