What’s Your Headache Telling You?
(Health Secrets Newsletter) Some of us may be aware of a negative side effect or two from low dose daily aspirin use for preventing heart attacks. But lately more side effects, serious ones, from taking daily low dose aspirin have made the risks outweigh the advantages completely.
Fortunately, there are several natural substitutes that match or surpass the purported cardiovascular support from daily low dose aspirin. And those substitutes don’t have negative effects.
Another allopathic myth that backfired
As recently as 2007, a massive TV ad campaign promoting daily low dose aspirin took hold over millions, despite the growing awareness of side effects from this routine. Aspirin zombies were awakened!
This occurred despite several studies that had been conducted on daily aspirin use for over two decades. These studies had mixed results at best, with many of them being negative. The gastric hemorrhaging (stomach bleeding) and ulcer production came in at close to one-third of the trial subjects. That seemed tolerable to some, since second heart attacks were reduced. However, fatal heart attacks were not reduced at all by taking low dose aspirin daily.
After a few more years of observation, other side effects manifested. Those on daily aspirin regimens had a twofold increase in hemorrhagic brain stroke, which cripples and kills. Aspirin thins blood, and strokes occur from blood too thin to coagulate as necessary. In other more recent studies, kidney and liver problems appeared as a result of daily low dose aspirin use.
And now, another side effect from daily low dose aspirin has popped up – blindness. The age group usually involved with daily aspirins for heart protection is the same age group most vulnerable to age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
Wet macular degeneration is the type of AMD most likely to develop into blindness. And the rate of wet AMD occurrences among daily aspirin poppers was twice that of senior citizens not taking low dose daily aspirin.
So here we are with this allopathic non-stop blood thinning anti-coagulant: just as likely to die from a heart attack, twice as likely to suffer a stroke, and very likely to undergo stomach bleeding or ulcers with maybe some kidney or liver damage.
And if you survive those side effects, you still may have to learn how to read Braille and get around with a seeing-eye dog. There must be better pills to pop, right?
Natural heart protectors, effective without side effects
Arginine, or L-arginine, is an amino acid that can produce arterial dilation to keep arteries from constricting. Arginine generates short term nitrous oxide (NO), which acts only when needed to keep blood cells from clumping and clotting, but allows coagulation to occur when appropriate.
Cayenne pepper was promoted by master herbalist John Christopher so much that he was called Dr. Cayenne. It’s an excellent overall supplement and heart tonic. Christopher even used massive doses of cayenne to stop heart attacks with his clients. You start with 1/8th of a teaspoon full of cayenne in half a cup of water two to three times daily for strengthening the cardiovascular system. Then gradually work up to a full teaspoon two to three times daily. The cayenne needs to be around 40,000 shu (Scoville heat units). Good health food stores will have it or you can order online. The best sources for organic cayenne seem to be online.
Hawthorn berry has been used in Oriental Medicine for centuries. It is usually consumed as a tea. You can purchase or make your own tinctures as well, which many consider more potent than teas. Hawthorn berry is a vasodilator (artery and capillary dilator) that also strengthens the heart muscles and helps maintain regular heart beat rhythm. You can order online, buy it at Oriental markets, or places like Whole Foods.
Jamaica (hu-MY-ka) or Hibiscus flower teas. The dried flower petals are used to make a tea. Use hot but not boiling water. Let the petals steep until the tea is a very strong dark deep red. This tea can be refrigerated and consumed cold. It makes a great chaser to a dose of hot cayenne water. Jamaica tea has been tested and shown to reduce blood pressure.
Tocotrienol, found in natural vitamin E and some CoQ-10 products or even as a separate supplement, is a natural anti-coagulant without side effects.
Vitamin K, found in nattokinase or top of the line multivitamin such as Daily Balance. Vitamin K keeps calcium from hardening along the inner artery walls of the arteries. This calcification of the inner walls is usually what causes hardening of the arteries. K2 gets calcium out of the blood stream and into bone matter where it belongs.
Other beneficial natural anti-coagulants are Omega Plus and vitamin C. And of course, proper diet and moderate exercise are the common sense lifestyle rules that serve as your foundation for heart health regardless of any medicinal supplement choices you deem necessary.
Sources for this article include:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyWWixLpBf4
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/10/03/study-daily-aspirin-tied-to-risk-vision-loss/
http://www.hyscience.com/archives/2006/09/daily_aspirin_u.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tocotrienol
http://www.overthecounternaturalcures.com/Press_releases.html
