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Article: Take Aspirin for health, not fitness. (Medicine Chest).
- Article from:
- Men's Fitness
- Article date:
- December 1, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Weider Publications. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Aspirin is the original wonder drug. For a few pennies per pill, it eases pain and inflammation, thins the blood in a way that can help prevent heart attacks and strokes, and may even be useful against cancer. But it's less effective at what you probably take it for: preventing or easing post-exercise muscle soreness.
Salicylic acid, a natural substance found in plants, has been used as a folk remedy for arthritis for centuries. In looking for a kinder, gentler version, a German chemist named Felix Hoffman synthesized acetysalicylic acid, or aspirin, about 100 years ago. (P.S. He happened to work for a company called Bayer.)
Aspirin blocks a group of ...