To Your Health
January, 2018 (Vol. 12, Issue 01) |
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Why Ibuprofen Is Bad for Men
By Editorial Staff
Ibuprofen, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) used to manage pain and more commonly known by the brand-name products in which it is featured (Advil, Motrin), shouldn't really be taken by anyone because of an increased risk of "minor" life-threatening complications such as fatal heart attack or stroke.
If that doesn't grab your attention, perhaps this will, especially if you're a man: ibuprofen use also may cause infertility (which
also could lead to heart failure or stroke), suggests research published in the
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Let's hear what the researchers have to say, and then we'll put it in simpler terms: "We report a univocal depression of important aspects of testicular function, including testosterone production, after use of over-the-counter ibuprofen. The study shows that ibuprofen use results in selective transcriptional repression of endocrine cells in the human testis. This repression results in the elevation of the stimulatory pituitary hormones, resulting in a state of compensated hypogonadism, a disorder associated with adverse reproductive and physical health disorders."
In other words, ibuprofen use (in amounts commonly taken by athletes for pain management, but also routinely taken by men and women in all walks of life for headache, backache and other aches and pains: 600 mg twice daily) for only 14 days produced what the researchers identified as "compensated hypogondism, a condition associated with impaired fertility, depression and increased risk for cardiovascular events, including heart failure and stroke."
Impaired fertility, depression, heart failure, stroke – all from taking an over-the-counter pain-relief medication? Sounds like a risky proposition, particularly when drug-free pain-relief options such as chiropractic care are available. Talk to your doctor to learn more.
