While there is no be-all and end-all drug that can work wonders for every disease out there, aspirin comes close enough. Apparently, multiple studies have shown how effective it is at preventing all types of illnesses, with only minimal risk. Of course, consulting your doctor is a must, but regular aspirin use reduces risk of cancer.
Aspirin meta-analysis
Looking over data from the past thirty years involving 136,000 participants, a team of researchers led by Dr. Andrew Chan from the Clinical and Translational Epidemiology Unit in the Massachusetts General Hospital Division of Gastroenterology came upon some pretty interesting results.
Those participants in the study partaking in regular aspirin use showed a 3% lower chance of developing any type of cancer. More specifically, the risk was reduced by 19% for colorectal cancer and by 15% for gastrointestinal tract cancer. Three percent might not sound like that much, but participants that didn’t take aspiring saw no such reduction.
For the study, regular aspirin intake was considered to be between one and three 0.5 or 1.5 pills per week, or daily lower dosage pills. Up to 7,500 colorectal tumors and 30,000 gastrointestinal tract tumors could be avoided this way every year.
Health and aspirin
While it wasn’t specifically investigated in this particular study, other studies showed that lethal (metastasizing) prostate cancer had a 24% lower chance of appearing in regular aspirin users and that they had a 39% lower chance of actually dying from the disease. You can read a past article written on that particular study here.
Cancer isn’t the only thing preventable by aspirin, so medical experts are quite excited about the possibility of the medicine being useful in such a manner. Seeing as heart disease is still the number one killer in the United States (although cancer is totally trying out for the first spot), many of our fellow countrymen are already taking regular doses of aspirin.
This is because other studies proved it to be so efficient in preventing cardiovascular incidents (strokes and heart attacks) that doctors are recommending the medicine for most people at risk of heart disease. And if this study gathers the attention it needs, doctors might soon start recommending aspirin to people with a history of cancer, or with different medium to high risks of developing the disease.
Despite all of its health benefits, aspirin can still take a toll on you if you overindulge. It can easily wreak havoc on your stomach lining and intestinal flora unless you talk to a doctor so that he can instruct you on the treatment best suited for you.
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