Vegetarians get a salicylic high

Take two blueberries and call us in the morning. Fruits and vegetables are rich in salicylic acid, the active ingredient in aspirin that has been shown to protect the heart. Researchers at the Royal Infirmary in Dumfries and Galloway,

Scotland, found that a group of vegetarian monks had the same levels of salicylic acid in their blood as a group of diabetics taking 75 milligrams of aspirin daily. (Both groups scored higher than the control subjects.) While fruits and vegetables don't block the formation of blood clots like aspirin does, salicylic acid from either source reduces inflammation that can lead to atherosclerosis and certain cancers.

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