Aspirin may be the most familiar drug in the world, but its power to heal goes far beyond the usual aches and pains. Exciting new studies suggest that aspirin can help fight a wide range of serious illness. A study also shows that aspirin now seems to be a benefit in many areas of health. Here are some major illnesses and conditions that aspirin or aspirin like drugs might help prevent.

• Diabetes-related heart disease: Researchers have found evidence that diabetics are prone to an increased production of thromboxane, a substance that encourages platelets to clump together. Due, in part, to this effect, people with diabetes are two to four times more likely to die as compared to non diabetics, from the complications of cardiovascular disease. Aspirin helps prevent diabetes related heart disease, in part by blocking the synthesis of thromboxane. Specialists recommend using low dose aspirin to reduce the development of cardiovascular disease in many adult diabetics.

• Cancer: Experiments have shown that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, including aspirin, inhibit tumors in a whole array of cancers, including cancers of the colon, oesophagus and stomach. There is 30 percent reduction in colo-rectal cancer among those women who used aspirin regularly for ten to nineteen years and a 44 percent reduction after 20 years of consistent aspirin use.

• Heart attack: Experts recommend aspirin as a way of preventing heart attacks in those known to have a heart condition, but few of us realize it can help at the onset of an attack. A famous cardiologist has seen its benefits firsthand. While on a flight, a fellow passenger turned pale, began suffering chest pains and trouble breathing. She quickly gave the man two aspirins, and in a few moments his pain abated, his lungs cleared and his color returned.

• Antibiotic-Induced Hearing Loss: Research suggests that hearing loss associated with common antibiotics called amino glycosides can be curtailed by taking aspirin along with the drugs. These antibiotics are most commonly used. Many bacterial infections that are resistant to other drugs respond best to these.

Before beginning daily aspirin use, check with your physician. Despite their enthusiasm for aspirin, doctors remind us there can be significant risk for some people in taking the drug. By thinning the blood, aspirin can retard clotting and cause excessive bleeding. So regular aspirin use may not be appropriate for people with digestive disorders, gastrointestinal bleeding or other bleeding problems. Also aspirin is recommend for kids or teens because of its association with Reye’s syndrome, a rare but dangerous childhood disease.