An Aspirin a Day
Wondering whether it would do you good to pop a daily aspirin for heart health? The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force now recommends a daily aspirin for men between the ages of 45 and 79 and women between 55 and 79. (ADA recommends an aspirin a day for people with diabetes 40 and over.) Check with your doctor to ensure that aspirin’s benefits would outweigh its potential side effects.
Source: Annals of Internal Medicine, March 17, 2009
Vitamin B for Your Heart
The B vitamin niacin may improve the heart-protecting properties of HDL (“good”) cholesterol in people with diabetes. Researchers examined the effects of HDL in 10 adults without diabetes and 33 type 2 adults who were taking statin medications to lower their LDL (“bad”) cholesterol. In the group with diabetes, the benefit of HDL on blood vessels was impaired. After the trial, the researchers randomly assigned participants with diabetes to take niacin or a placebo for three months. Those taking niacin increased the amount of HDL cholesterol in their blood and improved HDL’s protective function. While this was a small trial, the authors say the finding is important because low HDL levels can lead to heart disease.
Source: Circulation, Jan. 5/12, 2010
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