• aspirin
• diet
• vegetables

There is overwhelming epidemiological evidence that a high consumption of fruit and vegetables is associated with reduced mortality from cardiovascular disease, cancer, and other causes.^1–5 In part, this may simply indicate that high fruit and vegetable consumption is a marker of a healthy lifestyle, but there is also strong evidence from in vitro studies and clinical trials that micronutrients and other components of fruit and vegetables have beneficial biological effects.^6–8 Most attention has focused on antioxidants, B group vitamins, minerals, and fibre, but several strands of evidence now indicate that increased intake of salicylates may be another benefit of fruit and vegetable consumption.

In this issue of the journal, Lawrence and colleagues show that urinary excretion of salicyluric acid (SU) and salicylic acid (SA) is significantly increased in vegetarians compared with non-vegetarians.⁹ They previously reported that serum SA was also significantly increased in vegetarians compared with non-vegetarians.¹⁰ Interestingly, urinary excretion of SA was similar in vegetarians and patients consuming 75 or 150 mg of aspirin/day, although SU excretion was substantially greater in the aspirin groups.

“There is strong evidence …