The Surprising Benefits of Aspirin on Beauty, Anti-Aging and Health | Who Knew?

"O true apothecary! Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss..."

Romeo and Juliet (V, iii, 119-120)

Taking daily low-dose or occasional aspirin has long been known to have health benefits, especially for those seeking to ward off heart attack and stroke. According to sources like the Mayo Clinic in their article Daily Aspirin Therapy: Understand the Benefits and Risks, taking aspirin every day may reduce your risk of a cardiovascular incident as well as is thought to be instrumental in warding off many other diseases including cancer, as cited at The National Institutes of Cancer, in Time Magazine’s How Aspirin Can Prevent Breast Cancer and in CBS News’ Low Dose Aspirin May Reduce Pancreatic Cancer Risk to name just a few sources. The applications of this drug, however, don't stop here.

• Those with bleeding disorders
• Those with clotting disorders
• Those who have an ulcer
• Those who have allergies to aspirin
• Those who drink alcohol every day
• Those on medications that may not be combined with aspirin usage

But taking aspirin is not for everyone. One must understand first that if there is any possibility of having a bleeding disorder or clotting disorder, taking aspirin regularly could pose serious health risks.

As well, for those who could have or do have an ulcer, it could also cause potential harm related to internal bleeding. Similarly, those who drink alcoholic beverages on a daily basis should avoid aspirin usage as should those who have allergies (or potential allergies) to aspirin, including those causing asthma.

As with any decision to incorporate medicine into your diet, individuals should check with their doctor to rule out dangers, as stressed time and again in publications like Harvard Health’s Is Taking Low Dose Aspirin Safe for You?

Many doctors recommend taking two low dose baby aspirin daily to reap optimum benefit for those adults deemed safe to take aspirin (see video above on risks and benefits of aspirin).

But the good news is that for most healthy adults, taking low-dose aspirin daily can actually be a good thing (see video to the upper right).

Why? Among the health benefits listed above, aspirin is also linked to other littler known medical advantages - like increasing a woman’s chances of conception and having a healthy delivery after pregnancy is achieved.

It has been shown to strengthen brain health and memory. It decreases chances of stroke for those that have had stroke in the past and because of its inflammatory-fighting characteristics, it is theorized to be an actual “tumor tamer,” as discussed in more detail in the Women’s Health Article, Is Aspirin the New Wonder Drug?. It can even be credited for minor health fixes like alleviating pain from bee stings or calming irritation caused by bug bites.

But again, this is not to say that this readily available, over the counter medication, should ever be taken lightly, or too often or in too high a dose. If taking aspirin daily, one should be sure to stick to the baby aspirin version to ensure that its risks never outweigh its good.

In addition to warding off disease, aspirin is recommended for far more by many physicians who believe in the super power of this useful little pill, including Dr. Oz (as highlighted in the video at the bottom of this page), one of aspirin’s most vocal advocates.

Being of particular interest to many women, especially those over 40 for the obvious reasons, utilizing aspirin can be useful toward both beauty and anti-aging pursuits that most individuals would want to get in on immediately - if anti-aging is something they care about! Read on below for the skinny.

Aspirin has strong anti-inflammatory properties. This is why it is so good at alleviating pain from headache and injury.

But, in much the same way, aspirin can support skin health for this very same reason. According to US News and World Report’s article “Take Aspirin at Night to Reap It’s Health and Beauty Benefits,” Dr. Michael Roizen explains that inflammation poses many threats to healthy (and beautiful) skin including occurrences of break-out, rosacea and visible signs of aging like wrinkles.

When the structure of the skin is inflamed, wrinkles and sagging can appear and moreover, a greater breakdown of collagen can also occur.

As we age, the likelihood of skin inflammation increases with years. By taking 2 baby aspirins a day as a supplement, patients can combat this inflammation and reap the reward of giving their skin a literal boost.

For individuals that are fighting acne, taking aspirin on days of breakout, can be beneficial because again, it reduces swelling and inflammation – minimizing the problem. At Livestrong.com in their article How to Reduce Acne Inflation, it’s recommended to take a normal dose of aspirin up to 4 times daily to help calm acne, but not for more than 4 days in a row.

But even further than alleviating acne breakouts, aspirin has an anti-aging application that takes it one step further.

Using a topical paste application of aspirin has been a home remedy to both dry up pimples and reduce redness for many years. But did you know that it can fight scarring as well from past breakouts and amazingly, it can also be used in reducing discolorations caused by both aging and sun damage?

Just crush an aspirin with the back of a spoon and mix with a few drops of water. Dab it onto the area of discoloration and let it sit for 20 minutes. For optimal benefit, do this twice a week.

In the eHow article “How to Eliminate a Puffy Face,” it details that common household items can be used in this oft sought after pursuit. If puffy eyes or a puffy face are your problem, taking some aspirin may be useful in alleviating this type of swelling.

In addition, you can mix aspirin with glycerin and water to treat razor bumps and smooth things over for a quick fix when heading to the beach or just when you want your skin to look its youthful best.

You can also use the paste above to create an aspirin mask that will unclog pores and get rid of dead skin to reveal a more glowing complexion on your face. The mask has also been thought to further reduce the appearance of fine lines when applied regularly!

According to sources including Reader’s Digest’s Ten Tips That Prove Aspirin is Amazing, you can restore hair that is damaged by sun exposure or chlorine by applying aspirin mixed with water to return it to its normal color and condition.

As well, aspirin can be applied in a similar manner to alleviate dandruff when crushed and mixed with shampoo, applying as usual when washing hair.

But toward anti-aging, for those who dye their hair, you can preserve your color longer and restore its full richness upon first signs of fade by dissolving 6-8 tablets of aspirin in a glass of water and leaving mixture on hair for 10-15 minutes. Tada!

If you consider weight loss a beauty benefit, you might be interested in the buzz that there is some correlation between aspirin usage and weight loss. In fact, the combination of caffeine and aspirin has been utilized with ephedrine in many diet pills throughout history.

While the safety and efficacy of this, as well as why it works has certainly been called into question, studies have proven that certain individuals who take a constant regimen of aspirin do tend to weigh less (men that are 60+ and have been taking low dose aspirin for 2-5 years). According to articles like Aspirin and Weightloss at Livestong.com, there has even been research done in support of this theory that site sources including The International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders.

However, it is not something to bank on and should be taken with a grain of salt when weighing the potential harms of adding aspirin to your diet for this reason alone, as the theory is lacking in definitive scientific support to say the least.

Beyond outer beauty, aspirin has proven anti-aging benefits that count on the inside as well and perhaps rank among the most important reasons to consider adding low-dose aspirin to your daily regimen, given a doctor's approval.

As aired on the Dr. Oz Show as part of a segment called Aspirin: The Miracle Pill and as evidenced in a slew of online articles including this one by Michael Huddleston titled Aspirin Provides Outstanding Health Benefits, aspirin is known to have benefits that actually prolong life.

As we age, our arteries harden posing a risk for heart disease and we become susceptible to many other illnesses whose incidence increase with our years, too. Through aspirin usage, we may be able to alleviate some of the damage growing old does to our body’s health.

For example, breast cancer and colon cancer are said to be reduced through aspirin usage up to as much as 30-40%. Other cancers potentially hindered by low dose aspirin supplementation include pancreatic, esophageal, brain, prostate and melanoma.

We all know that aspirin alleviates risks of heart events and stroke. Taking aspirin may even reduce one’s risk of getting Alzheimer’s as well as has been shown to enhance recall, two things that also correlate inversely to growing older.

According to doctor Oz in his anti-aging checklist, discussed on Oprah.com, leading a healthy lifestyle, having reduced stress and exercising regularly as well as putting into play health strategies like using aspirin and taking vitamin supplements, women (and men) can reduce the “real age” of their body by up to 8 years. If this isn’t a call to true anti-aging, I don’t know what is. And as far as beauty – such news should put a smile on anyone’s face. In my book, that’s the greatest beauty tip of all.