Sickness is Health

MANIFESTO

After a while, one has to come to the conclusion that either all ingestions are healthful or none are. Today's demonstration:

For years, many middle-aged people have taken the drug in hopes of reducing the chance of a heart attack or stroke. Americans bought more than 44 million packages of low-dose aspirin marketed for heart protection in the year ended September, up about 12% from 2005, according to research firm IMS Health.

Now, medical experts say some people who are taking aspirin on a regular basis should think about stopping. Public-health officials are scaling back official recommendations for the painkiller to target a narrower group of patients who are at risk of a heart attack or stroke. The concern is that aspirin's side effects, which can include bleeding ulcers, might outweigh the potential benefits when taken by many healthy or older people.

As one who's taken an 81mg aspirin tablet every day for the past couple of decades, I suppose it doesn't surprise me that such a warning has now been issued. After all, "experts" still don't seem to know what to recommend concerning ethyl alcohol, caffeine, and any number of other chemicals.