farmdoc's blog post number 95

Life Savers is a brand of confectionery first marketed in the USA in 1912, which is the year my Dad was born. When I was a kid there were lots of mint, fruit and other flavours to choose from. I think the Australian ones were made by MacRobertson’s in those days. I don’t know if they’re still available here, and if so who manufactures them. The life saver I rely on is mentioned in yesterday’s post: aspirin. I’ve taken half a tablet each day for over 21 years – starting on my 40th birthday. That’s over a kilogram. Before 1987 aspirin had been shown to prevent further heart problems in existing heart patients, i.e. secondary prevention. But I’ve never had a heart problem, so I’ve taken it to forestall the onset of my first one, i.e. primary prevention. Since I’ve begun to take it, experiments have shown that it’s indeed effective for heart disease primary prevention. It works by making the blood less sticky so the coronary arteries are less likely to be clogged up. Recent research has shown that it also helps prevent bowel cancer. Bowel cancer killed my maternal grandfather and heart disease killed my Dad. So far so good for me on both counts. And by the way, these days my confectionery is sugar free, and therefore not Life Savers.