No Reason to Take That Daily Aspirin, and Plenty of Reasons Not To; Vitamin D for Flu Prevention
Daily Aspirin: Harmful and Useless
. . . researchers conclude aspirin for primary prevention is "not warranted"
Big Pharma has been padding their profits by selling the concept of drugs for "disease prevention." One of their major successes in this area is the campaign to push a daily aspirin onto anyone with risk factors for heart disease. They're even pushing aspirin to prevent cancer!
But now comes a report, published in the prestigious medical journal, Archives of Internal Medicine, that finds absolutely no reason for taking aspirin to prevent either heart disease or cancer. After reviewing nine large studies (involving more than 100,000 men and women), these researchers concluded that aspirin fails to decrease either cardiovascular or cancer deaths among people with risk factors, and that taking aspirin is "not warranted." Especially as they also found it increased the risk of serious bleeding events by 30%!
The seemingly innocuous aspirin (including the especially innocent-sounding baby aspirin) is in fact a toxic drug that causes serious harm. It slows down tissue repair, leading to internal bleeding and also damaging and degrading joints. Baby aspirin does this just as well as regular aspirin; it just takes longer. Aspirin is also very acidic, contributing to systemic acidosis, a key risk factor for cancer; studies have correlated aspirin use with increased cancer risk. Aspirin thins the blood by damaging red blood cells, paving the way for blood diseases beginning with anemia. Aspirin impairs the absorption of vitamin C by about 70%. And although unfortunately the above researchers continued to recommend aspirin therapy for those who had already had heart attacks and strokes, a 2005 study in the American Heart Journal found that patients taking a daily aspirin were twice as likely to get a second heart attack or stroke as those taking a placebo.
People take aspirin for its valuable anti-inflammatory and blood thinning effects, but you can get these effects without taking aspirin. There are dozens of foods and nutrients you can use to reduce inflammation, especially vitamins C and E, Cell Repair Formula, essential fatty acids, and curcumin. For more, see my article on inflammation in our Article Archives. Many of these same nutrients thin the blood too, along with garlic and gingko biloba.
Bottom line: the daily aspirin is as unnecessary as it is harmful. Ditch it!
Seshasai, SRK. Effect of aspirin on vascular and nonvascular outcomes: meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Archives of Internal Medicine.
And Daily Aspirin Just Might Make You Blind!
. . . it could double your risk for macular degeneration
A European study on nearly 4,700 men and women over 65 found that daily aspirin users more than doubled their risk of late stage, "wet" macular degeneration. Age-related macular degeneration is the leading cause of legal blindness resulting in loss of independence among older Americans.
The macula is a tiny, highly sensitive region in the center of the retina that allows you to see fine details and colors. Without it, you aren't totally blind, but all you see is shapes and movement in shades of black and white. With age, the macula can deteriorate in one of two ways. It can become thin and sprinkled with debris called drusen (the dry form), or blood vessels beneath the retina may push up into the macula and leak blood and fluids (the wet form). The wet form, which is considered the more serious, was the form associated with aspirin use in the above study. (Aspirin is known to cause small hemorrhages under the retina.)
Other risk factors for macular degeneration include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, smoking, age, genetics, and being female and white. Although it is thought to affect 30% of adults 75 and older, a much smaller percentage of cases develop into the kind of late stage macular degeneration that leads to legal blindness.
Apart from avoiding aspirin, there are many ways to prevent macular degeneration or keep it from progressing. Eating lots of green leafy vegetables is one of the best; kale, spinach, collards, Swiss chard, bok choy, etc. all contain the antioxidant carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin, which become concentrated in the retina and protect it from oxidative damage. Egg yolks are also high in lutein.
Macular degeneration is largely caused by inflammation and oxidation, so plenty of antioxidants, like vitamins C, E, D, zinc, selenium, n-acetyl-cysteine, and lipoic acid are all protective. Fish and fish oil can cut your risk in half. It's also important to avoid transfats, processed oils, smoking, and excitotoxins like MSG and aspartame.
deJong PTVM. Associations between aspirin use and aging macula disorder. Opthalmology.
Vitamin D and Flu Prevention
. . . time for extra protection
Have you had your vitamin D levels measured yet? It's easy to do. Just ask your doctor for the 25(OH)D blood test. When it comes back, look to see if it's in the "high normal" range. If it isn't, you will need to supplement. Call our office at 1-800-250-3063 for how.
Even if you haven't had your levels measured, there's no danger in taking up to 5,000 IU of D a day, and it's especially important to get lots of vitamin D during flu season to keep your immunity strong. In fact, some vitamin D experts believe it's vitamin D deficiency that causes flu season to begin with! Vitamin D is absolutely critical to immune health, and lack of sunlight during the winter months means no opportunity to get vitamin D from the sun.
It was once a time-honored tradition to get vitamin D from cod liver oil during the winter months, and this is still highly recommended. Cod liver oil is one of the all-time great superfoods. Vitamin D and vitamin A work together on immunity, and both are present in cod liver oil. If you're taking our multi and eating lots of fruits and vegetables, you're getting plenty of beta carotene, which the body uses to make vitamin A, but many people don't make this conversion well. Anyone with blood sugar problems or hypothyroidism (and together that includes more than half the population) may have trouble with the conversion and should get some of their vitamin A as pre-formed vitamin A rather than beta carotene. One to two tablespoons of cod liver oil a day is the usual recommended amount. A tablespoon supplies 1,200 IU of vitamin D and 2,550 IU of vitamin A, as well as the healthy omega 3 fats DHA (1,500 mg) and EPA (1,200 mg).
If you need to get your blood levels of vitamin D up, we also carry liquid D3. This is also good to have on hand in case you start coming down with a cold or a flu. Often taking a big dose of D along with lots vitamin C will nip that infection in the bud. (Call our office for a handout on Cold and Flu for a more complete protocol.)
Vitamin D isn't all you need to prevent the flu -- don't forget about good diet (especially staying away from sugar), a high-quality multi including plenty of zinc, lots of vitamin C, and getting enough rest and sleep. But if you do everything right, you can make winter flu a thing of the past.
We are always looking for your feedback on how we can help you improve your health or if you'd like to see something special in our newsclips. If you would be so kind as to let us know how we can help you reach your Ultimate Health goals.
Sincerely,
Raymond Francis
Beyond Health
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