The worst trick you can play on yourself is to believe you are doing something significant to protect your health, when in reality it has a minimal effect. The basic problem with so many “I heard that…is good for you” rumors and self-imposed implementation is that you are giving yourself a false sense of security. And worse, you could be doing ten-fold-harm to your body without realizing it.
The idea that “one can take an aspirin a day to prevent a heart attack” is misleading. Medical studies on the matter show that the aspirin takers were 10% less likely to have any type of heart event, but were 30% percent more likely to have a serious gastrointestinal bleeding event, a side effect of frequent aspirin users.
These studies concluded that people without a previous heart attack or stroke, the regular use of aspirin may be more harmful than it is beneficial. If you haven’t had a heart attack, or have any of the precursors of heart disease, ask your doctor if you should be taking aspirin or not.
“Tablets” image by Darren Robertson courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net
