We're all read an apple a day keeps the doctor away. Now we're been inundated with an aspirin a day keeps the doctor away? Which is it?
From the beginning of time the apple has been mentioned. The forbidden fruit, yet once that first chomp was taken, the fruit given its own logo: An apple a day keeps the doctor away. Why? An apple has over 10,000 phytonutrients in it. Yes, an apple.
What about an aspirin a day? There was a time when only one brand of aspirin existed. Its manufacturer's 1920s ad campaign was intended to assure consumers that aspirin wouldn't damage their health .This 100-plus-year-old drug has been shown to reduce the risk of the following medical problems: people who have had a previous heart attack or experience angina. Those who have had heart bypass surgery or other procedures to cleared blocked arteries.
Scientists believe that aspirin's ability to reduce the body's production of hormone-like "prostaglandins" is the reason for both its effectiveness in relieving pain and reducing inflammation and its protective effects against heart attacks and strokes. Prostaglandins, it seems, can cause platelets in the blood to stick together, which can eventually lead to blocked blood vessels and can prevent delivery of oxygen-rich blood to the tissues.
"Aspirin is a great drug: effective, cheap, and relatively safe," Sopko says. "The drug has been used by just about everybody, so it may not have the sex appeal of newer drugs, but it can have a huge beneficial impact if used properly. Looking at aspirin's impact, on heart attacks for example, it may be equal to or better than some drug therapies that cost thousands of dollars."
An apple on the other hand is relatively cheap; we know it is effective and safe.
According to the American Heart Association, 5,000 to 10,000 of the 900,000 lives lost each year to cardiovascular disease could be saved if more people took aspirin upon the first signs of a heart attack. Some typical signs are an uncomfortable pressure or pain in the center of the chest (sometimes along with lightheadedness, fainting, and shortness of breath, nausea, or sweating) or a pain going to the shoulders, neck and arms. While appropriate aspirin use is important, experts say it is by no means a cure-all. "In the time crunch surrounding a heart attack, taking an aspirin provides you a head-start therapy and a better chance for a good outcome," Sopko says. "But it should never be a substitute for a physician's attention."
An aspirin should not replace a healthy lifestyle or other helpful medical steps, FDA's Bowen says. "Physicians really need to look at aspirin in the context of complete care, as part of a whole treatment plan for people at risk of heart attack or stroke."
And here we have it.... An aspirin should not replace a healthy lifestyle, so the answer is an apple a day keeps the doctor away, and if the doctor says take an aspirin, do that also.
