NSAIDs kill more than just pain

Dear Reader, Remember Vioxx? Maybe that's a silly question. Really, how could anyone forget? Merck pulled this popular prescription painkiller from the market over a decade ago. Why? Because it was causing heart attacks and stroke with long-term use. But if you think the threat to your heart health vanished with Vioxx, think again. Because it appears that long-term, high-dose use of everyday NSAIDs may be just as dangerous. Researchers reviewed results from more than 600 clinical trials to come to this conclusion. And they found that, just like those infamous COX-2 inhibitors, large long-term doses of NSAIDs like ibuprofen--say, 2,400 mg daily, which is fairly typical for arthritis sufferers--boost heart risk by roughly a third. That's hardly a small increase. And when you consider how many people medicate with over-the-counter NSAIDs to manage their arthritis pain, I'd say the danger here deserves its fair share of public panic. Not that I expect we'll see any. Or that we'll see these killer painkillers pulled from the shelves anytime soon. Instead, all I can ask is that you think twice before you swallow down another dose of NSAIDs. Just because they're accessible doesn't mean they're safe. And at the end of the day, the relief they offer is only temporary anyway. Of course I'm not asking you to suffer with your chronic pain, either. I've devoted a lot of discussion to this subject in my monthly newsletter. Because believe it or not, there are plenty of safe and very effective alternatives for pain relief out there. From fish oil and CoQ10 to white willow bark and curcumin.