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From John Ray's shorter notes
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15 March, 2023
Ibuprofen Kills Thousands Each Year, so What Is the Alternative?
This is a conventional assertion but it is poorly founded. It is true that there are some studies that show excess deaths among users of Ibuprofen but what does that prove?
People who took Ib did so for a reason: pain. And what caused the pain? In some cases serious diseases. So did those who died do so because of the Ib or because of what they took it for? We don't know.
A randomized placebo controlled trial among healthy people would answer that question but I can see no example of such a trial being undertaken. All the studies seem to be of people who were already ill. So I can see no reason NOT to take Ib. I take one dose of it on rare occasions for arthritic pain and I will continue with that
Pain and unhealthy levels of inflammation are fast becoming default bodily states in the industrialized world. While in most cases we can adjust the underlying pro-inflammatory conditions by altering our diet, and reducing stress and environmental chemical exposures, these approaches take time, discipline and energy, and sometimes we just want the pain to stop now. In those often compulsive moments we find ourselves popping an over-the-counter pill to kill the pain.
The problem with this approach is that, if we do it often enough, we may kill ourselves along with the pain…
Ibuprofen really is a perfect example of this. As mentioned above, this petrochemical-derivative has been linked to significantly increased risk of heart attack and increased cardiac and all-cause mortality (when combined with aspirin), with over two dozen serious adverse health effects, including:
Ibuprofen is, in fact, not unique in elevating cardiovascular disease risk and/or mortality. The entire category of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) appears to have this under-recognized dark side; cardiovascular disease and cardiac mortality score highest on the list of over 100 unintended adverse health effects associated with their use.
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