Aspirin may prevent cancer

According to the journal Lancet, aspirin may act as an antioxidant, preventing such conditions as cancer.

People who have taken the drug for several years are said to be 21 per cent less likely to develop cancer of the lungs, stomach and esophagus.

Twenty years ago, 25,000 British people took participated in eight trials involving aspirin, and it has been found that on average they had reduced their chances of dying from esophageal cancer by 60 per cent, lung cancer by 30 per cent and colorectal cancer by 40 per cent.

"This is important as a proof of principle that a single simple compound like aspirin can reduce the risk of cancer substantially," study author Peter M. Rothwell said to The New York Times.

"There's been a lot of work over the years showing that certain compounds can increase theA risk of cancer, but it's not been shown before that we can reduce the risk with something as simple as aspirin."

That is not to say that there aren’t risks associated with the drug as The Perfect 10 Diet author Dr Michael Aziz stresses.

"People are popping aspirin like it’s nothing," he says. "Yet long term aspirin use has been linked to health problems such as macular degeneration."