Note: I wrote my book, Illness Isn’t Caused by a Drug Deficiency! because despite all the promises and hooplah, drugs lead to side effects. This is an absolutely true statement; it’s only a matter of time before they come to bear. Heart conditions require NUTRITION, not drugs, for rebuilding health. Certainly, drugs may be used to save lives, but they have no ability to rebuild tissues and cells. For heart conditions, modify your diet and lifestyle! — Vic Shayne, PhD

Aspirin is a drug that causes side effects…

Aspirin for Heart Patients: Not As Safe As Believed

A Healthnotes Newswire Opinion
By Alan R. Gaby, MD

Healthnotes Newswire (December 15, 2005)—Low-dose aspirin, widely used to prevent heart attacks and strokes in high-risk people, may lead to stomach ulcers, reports Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics (2005;22:795–801). According to the study, more than one in four people taking aspirin for heart-disease prevention develop a duodenal or stomach ulcer (peptic ulcer) each year, which suggests that the adverse effects of aspirin use have been underestimated.

Aspirin helps prevent heart and blood-vessel disease by inhibiting the function of blood platelets, which play a role in blood clotting. Many studies have shown that taking a small amount of aspirin each day can reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes. But aspirin also damages the stomach and duodenal lining. While it is well known that large doses of aspirin can cause peptic ulcers, the effect of small amounts of aspirin on ulcer risk has not been studied.

In the new study, 187 people taking low-dose aspirin (75 to 325 mg per day) had their stomach and duodenum examined using a special instrument called an endoscope. Of these, 11% of the people were found to have a peptic ulcer. Three months later, 113 of the people underwent a second endoscopic exam while continuing to take aspirin; among that group, 7% developed a new ulcer. The 7% incidence of new ulcers every three months translates to an annual ulcer rate of 28%. Most of the ulcers that were identified were not causing symptoms, but even “silent” ulcers can lead to serious complications such as bleeding. Previous studies have shown that taking low-dose aspirin increases the risk of gastrointestinal hemorrhage by as much as four times.

People whose doctors have advised them to take aspirin might reduce their risk of developing an ulcer by avoiding cigarettes, caffeine, alcohol, and refined sugar and by supplementing with a multivitamin–mineral formula that contains B vitamins, vitamin C, zinc, and copper. In addition, animal studies have shown that supplementing with a certain type of licorice (deglycyrrhizinated licorice, DGL) can prevent aspirin-induced ulcers. DGL has also been found to accelerate the healing of peptic ulcers in humans.

The finding that low-dose aspirin frequently causes ulcers should encourage doctors to consider the many other interventions that appear to reduce the risk of developing heart and blood-vessel disease. These include making dietary changes (eating less refined sugar and trans fatty acids, and eating more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, and nuts), taking nutritional supplements (vitamin C, vitamin B6, folic acid, selenium, coenzyme Q10, chromium), exercising regularly, maintaining ideal body weight, and quitting smoking.

An expert in nutritional therapies, Chief Medical Editor Alan R. Gaby is a former professor at Bastyr University of Natural Health Sciences, where he served as the Endowed Professor of Nutrition. He is past-president of the American Holistic Medical Association and gave expert testimony to the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine on the cost-effectiveness of nutritional supplements.

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