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Show 945: Vitamin Pills and Aspirin for Prevention: A Smart Move or a Waste of Money?

Although many Americans take vitamin pills and aspirin to stay healthy, some public health authorities say the risks outweigh the benefits. We don't agree.
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Vitamin Pills and Aspirin for Prevention

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Over the last several months a number of studies have found that multivitamins are not an effective way to prevent Alzheimer’s or heart disease. But are they really a waste of money, as one editorial suggests? We talk with Dr. Tieraona Low Dog about the evidence base for vitamin use.

How Scary Is Aspirin?

Similar doubts have now been raised about aspirin.  The FDA has recently warned that people who have never had a heart attack should not take low-dose aspirin on a regular basis. Data show that aspirin can reduce the likelihood of repeat heart attacks, but the agency warns that the risks of aspirin are too high to justify taking it for primary prevention. That means using aspirin in the hope of preventing an initial heart attack. How can you balance benefits against risks?

Should you ever take vitamin pills and aspirin?

This Week’s Guest:

Tieraona Low Dog, MD, is Director of Fellowship for the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine and Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Arizona. She has served as Chair of the United States Pharmacopeia Dietary Supplements–Botanicals Expert Committee. Her new book is Healthy at Home: Get Well and Stay Well without Prescriptions, from National Geographic. Her website is www.drlowdog.com

Listen to the Podcast:

The podcast of this program will be available the Monday after the broadcast date. The show can be streamed online from this site and podcasts can be downloaded for free.

Download the mp3

 

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About the Author
Terry Graedon, PhD, is a medical anthropologist and co-host of The People’s Pharmacy radio show, co-author of The People’s Pharmacy syndicated newspaper columns and numerous books, and co-founder of The People’s Pharmacy website. Terry taught in the Duke University School of Nursing and was an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology. She is a Fellow of the Society of Applied Anthropology. Terry is one of the country's leading authorities on the science behind folk remedies..
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