Yes, you heard right! If you currently take aspirin to fight minor aches and pains, you may want to make a few diet changes instead of swallowing those little white pills.

Aspirin, which is acetylsalicylic acid, breaks down in your body to salicylic acid (SA) about 20 minutes after it gets into the blood. Its primary use is to fight inflammation. This same salicylic acid (SA) is also found in varying amounts in fruit, vegetables and even herbs and spices.

A study in Scotland has suggested these salicylates are what give your heart and blood vessels the benefit when you eat fruit and veggies.

What garden goodies are high in salicylates? To name a few…raisins, prunes, raspberries, apricots, blueberries, cherries, grapes, oranges, broccoli, sweet potato, okra, cucumber, spinach…and the list goes on.

Eating a lot of cucumber will probably not cure a raging headache, but it may help prevent the next one. This is just another reason for people to eat many servings of fruits and veg each day. So when the aspirin bottle’s empty – grab some grapes!