The US and Chinese experts have discovered in a joint study that certain painkillers can cause high blood pressure, heart disease, and even stroke because they contain sodium.
Top of the list is paracetamol, which contains a significant amount of sodium to make it instantly soluble in water.
The most important component of salt is sodium which is very important for our health. But if the amount of sodium in the body is too much, instead of making us healthy, this sodium can also make us suffer from diseases like high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke.
According to the World Health Organization, no more than 2000 milligrams (half a teaspoon) of sodium should reach our body in a day, while the American Heart Association has set a lower limit of 1500 milligrams) of sodium should reach our body in a day.
With this limit in mind, experts found that each 500 mg tablet of paracetamol (acetaminophen) contained about 400 mg of sodium.
It is one of the most widely used painkillers in the world and is available at almost every medical store.
This means that people who take just two tablets of paracetamol a day are adding 800 milligrams of sodium to their diet, which can be detrimental to their health in the long run.
But is that really possible? To find out, they searched an extensive British public health database.
Of this, detailed health data for about 300,000 British citizens aged 60 or over, covering a year, was taken.
All of these seniors were those who used paracetamol daily. About half of them were without sodium, while the rest were taking sodium paracetamol.
Elderly people who used sodium paracetamol daily had a slightly higher risk of disease and death over the next year than others, such as hypertension, heart attack and stroke.
The relationship between sodium intake and heart disease is so obvious that it cannot be ignored.
Because the study was based on data from no direct observations, experts are unable to say exactly how the excess sodium affected their health. Will be.
Experts in the study, published in the latest issue of the European Heart Journal, have called for further study.
However, he also warned that pharmaceutical companies would not write anything on the label about the amount of sodium in their products.
Experts urge both pharmaceutical companies and physicians to inform patients about the presence and extent of sodium in medicines as this is an important aspect that should not be overlooked in the light of current information.
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