Taking asprin regularly may make you up to 50 per cent less likely to develop colon or rectal cancer.
A massive study of 6,217 people conducted at four major medical institutions in the United States revealed that people who took asprin at least four times a week had half the risk of developing colorectal cancer when compared with others who never took asprin, or those who only used it occasionally.
Explaining the findings, Dr Paul Stolley, professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, said: "It seems that asprin may inhibit the formation of substances in the body called prostaglandins which are known to play a role in the growth of tumours".
Added Dr William Castell,an expert in preventive medicine at Harvard Medical School and director of the famed Framingham Heart Study: " Taking asprin four times a week would not only help reduce the risk of large bowel caner, but also reduce the risk of heart attacks and heart diseases."
A word of caution, however, before you rush off to buy asprin, check with your gp, it can cause stomach bleeding if you are prone to ulcers.
Aspin tablets are usually 300mg per tablet, and many experts regard 75mg enough to reduce the risk of the above diseases, so by breaking one tablet into four and taking 75mg four times per week would be a good idea, provided you have no history of stomach problems.
