But, people with diabetes should still take aspirin "for secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease."

Secondary prevention means people who already have an established history of heart disease, stroke, or limb arterial disease, as an accompanying editorial by William R. Hiatt, professor of medicine at the University of Colorado's School of Medicine, makes clear. "The use of aspirin for secondary prevention of cardiovascular events in patients with coronary or cerebrovascular disease is well established and is based on extensive evidence from the "Antithrombotic Trialists' Collaboration."

Nowadays with all the exceptions to the rules we are learning about, some people are throwing up their hands in frustration with the complexity of what's best for us. I disagree. As the medical establishment fine tunes recommended treatment for diabetes, health disease, and other conditions, medicine empowers us to take better control of our health.

And, sometimes, as with aspirin for most of us, with fewer pills.