Now that you know a great new substitute for steroids, what about non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)? We have discussed NSAIDs a lot in past issues. Yes, they may relieve your pain. But they also destroy your joint cartilage. Destroyed joints, however, are the least of your worries. Turns out that NSAIDs also cause heart disease.
You already know that the prescription NSAIDs Vioxx and Celebrex cause heart problems. But now we know that over-the-counter drugs, such as Motrin, Nuprin, Advil, and most non-narcotic pain relievers can cause angina and heart destruction.
In a huge California study, researchers followed 651,000 adults with diagnosed arthritis for four years. This is the largest study ever on this issue, so it carries a lot of weight. The researchers found that at the very least, all NSAID drugs raise your risk of a heart attack by at least 12%. And indomethacin, the strongest of the NSAIDs, raises your risk up to 71%. The higher the dose of the particular NSAID, the higher your risk.
For example, if you average over 150 mg daily of diclofenac (Voltaren), your risk increases a whopping 37%.
Whats more, another study followed 9,218 patients who had suffered one heart attack. This study found that rocecoxib increased your heart attack risk by 32%. And ibuprofen (Motrin) increases your risk by 24%.
Why does this happen? NSAIDs reduce inflammation by interfering with prostaglandin metabolism. Some prostaglandins create inflammation and pain, and others lubricate your blood vessels. God designed your body to manufacture a natural balance of prostaglandins. When you take a pain drug, it pulls your prostaglandins out of balance. Unbalancing your biochemistry is the problem with virtually every class of petrochemical pharmaceutical.
But what alternatives do you have for pain control? I have long maintained that the safest class of pain drugs is narcotics. Other than the potential for addiction (uncommon when used judiciously for pain) these very cheap (when generic) drugs have a high safety profile.
Ultimately, even narcotics just cover up the pain. But they do it without causing a lot of other problems along the way. We still need to look for treatments that actually correct the imbalance in your body.
Inflammation may be a sign of deficiency of God- made anti-inflammatories — natural chemicals found in products like garlic, ginger, curcumin, boswelia, proteolytic enzymes, essential fats, etc. These can provide your body what it needs to modulate your inflammation — but at absolutely no risk.
There is never a deficiency of a petrochemical, only of a needed nutrient to restore balance.
Ref: Family Practice News, July 15, 2005; Brit Med J, 2005, 330.