Salivary Amylase. Salivary amylase initiates the digestion of starches, one of the more complex forms of carbohydrate. Secreted in the saliva, salivary amylase breaks down long-chain and branched carbohydrates, known as amylose and amylopectin, into two- and three-molecule sugars called maltose. The individual subunits that make up maltose are glucose, your bodyâs primary fuel source.
Aspirin has many effects because it reduces the bodyâs production of prostaglandins, a hormone-like substance that acts in numerous ways. Reducing prostaglandins diminishes pain and fever and weakens plateletsâ ability to stick together and form clots.
Aspirin helps prevent heart attacks by stopping the formation of clots that block blood flow to the heart. Aspirin is used to prevent a first heart attack in people with heart disease risk factors, such as diabetes and high cholesterol. It's also taken to prevent a second heart attack. But this blood-thinning effect sets aspirin therapy up for some potentially serious side effects.