Study finds (no kidding) if you stay healthy you'll live longer You can't make this stuff up… Researchers from the American Heart Association, American Cancer Society, and the American Diabetes Association recently pooled their considerable resources to produce a study that gives us this result: If Americans were healthier they would live longer and have fewer heart attacks. You heard it here first! In this purely hypothetical study, researchers concluded that if the 150 million Americans aged 20 to 80 would quit smoking and lose weight, the number of yearly heart attacks would be reduced by more than 60 percent and we would live 1.3 years longer, on average. As they say in the hallowed halls of mainstream medicine: "That's a mighty big IF." Getting precise about how to live healthier, the study states: "Of the specific prevention activities, the greatest benefits to the US population come from…" Can you guess what topped their list of prevention activities that have the greatest benefits? Was it weight reduction in the obese? That made the list, but it didn't top the list. How about: controlling pre-diabetes? Nope - again, it's on the list, but not at the top. Okay, I'll cut the suspense. The number one prevention activity that researchers say might have the greatest benefit is: "Providing aspirin to high-risk individuals." Well of course! You didn't think the AHA, ACS, and ADA would pass up a chance to sell some drugs, did you? These guys will just never learn, will they? To them, aspirin for the heart is like mother's milk for babies. No questions asked. But if YOU happen to have questions about aspirin therapy for heart health, see the e- Alert "Misuse Only as Directed" 5/22/08. | 
