"Aspirin, which is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, is one of the most widely used medications in the world. It is used to treat pain, fever and inflammation, and an estimated 29 million people in the U.S. take it daily to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases."
I take a pill of ibuprofen every once in a while when I have a bad headache, and paracetamol-based drugs only as a last resort when I have a bad cold or similar.
E.g. Panadol Extra is the same thing.
Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAID) : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NSAIDs
'NSAIDs and Gastrointestinal (GI) Injury'
Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPIs) : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proton-pump_inhibitor
List of Proton Pump Inhibitors - Uses, Side Effects : https://www.drugs.com/drug-class/proton-pump-inhibitors.html
----
Acetaminophen : https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35310951
N-acetyl-para-aminophenol (APAP), Acetaminophen, Tylenol, Paracetamol, Panadol, others : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetaminophen
'Acetaminophen and Alcohol Hepatotoxicity, Liver damage'
----
'P450 Drug Interactions'
List of Cytochrome P450 Modulators : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cytochrome_P450_modula...
Some research later, I found that it possibly interacts with certain bacteria that cause stomach ulcers and that these bacteria are more likely to be in poorly stored food. So, street food basically. This is a risk factor that would be much lower back home in Europe.
I wasn't able to get a definitive answer on this, but it's the best one I found so far as to why Aspirin is common in Europe and almost totally absent in Asia.
I'm a fan of small-molecule, well-tolerated, out-of-patent (cheap), widely available pharms like this in the class of "maintenance" and "enhancement" rather than "acute therapy" (although there is cross-over: i.e, have an acute headache? aspirin helps).
Some things in my list right now: acetylcysteine, aspirin, metformin
Besides aspirin, I don't take these regularly. And these days I take aspirin less and less, because I found I don't need it any more and I built up a healthy routine anyway.
In general I think eating right (lots of vegetables), good microbiome, plant medicine (for example turmeric (with milk and black pepper) black seed / nigella sativa as seeds or oil), and exercise are better than pharmaceuticals for general enhancement and maintenance of health--but there are some really good pharmaceuticals.
Everyone's body is different to some extent tho, and bodies change over time (for eg, gene expression changes over time), so what works for you might change over time.
This isn't medical advice, consult your doc, but here's other things I think a worth a shot (worked for me in the past) in limited doses:
piracetam - for building new brain cells, and increasing oxygen and decreasing blood viscosity
pentoxifylline - for de-aging your vascular system
fexofenadine - great for me for pollen allergies, and generalized severe inflammation (ie, say you had a really stressful thing)
doxycycline - good antibiotic in small dose but can have some weird side effects in some people, or if taken for long time, but strangely it also help with tissue repair.
fluorometholone - great in eye drop for itchy eyes, also instantly reduces brain inflammation / headache, and chills you out--for me at least--after dropping a couple drops in each eye--but use sparingly as it's a strong corticosteroid so you don't want to dampen the immune system in your sinuses etc as that will lead to infection!
In general I have the view that all pharams and most plant medicines are "toxins" (on some level, at some dose obviously, but in general too) in the sense that there's very few things which are just uniformly healthy in the class of drugs--yet nevertheless there are some wonder drugs like these that I think can be really enhancing to health if used right.
After a couple years taking aspirin at low dose regularly, I started noticing I no longer needed it. That coincided with me adopting a regular meditation/energy work/ some yoga practice.
Currently on my to-try list is: ashwagandha
Please exercise caution in your exploring -- some of what works for me might even be dangerous for you--everyone is different!! :) ;p xx ;p
So to compare Ashwagnda to Benzos/L-Theanine/Apigenin, here's how they work.
Ashwaganda - has compounds called withanolides that bind to GABA receptors & increase GABA release. Very similar to how benzos bind to GABA receptors.
L-Theanine - increases GABA release Apigenin - increases GABA activity, but more so supercharges the existing GABA activity by binding to other non-GABA receptors. Careful with this one as it can really lower blood pressure though.
But before messing with GABA directly, I'd also highly recommend trying out Magnesium Threonate, as this particular Mg can cross the blood brain barrier and has fantastic effects. It's a bit of a do-all as it's a cofactor for about 80% of the chemical reactions in the body, but being able to cross the BBB is a huge benefit to mental health.
Regarding plants that are toxins on some level, I believe you're referring to some plants that do have a hormetic effect on the body. In small amounts, they are actually beneficial since they activate a variety of counter mechanisms, so the net effect is more positive than had they not been consumed at all.
What's hormetic? I'll look it up. Actually I think I just meant things like: if you eat too much of any plant medicine, or take something too regularly, it's not going to be good, normally--especially for maintenance and enhancement... I mean, too much of something! :P ;xx ;p :)
PS - I meant ashwaganda in its adaptogen / stress lowering / cortisol response / cortisol lowering effect. Thank you! :) ;p xx ;p
Thank you again!! :P :) xx;p