Remember when aspirin was just for the occasional ache? It turns out that, along with its ability to protect you from melanoma, aspirin may also decrease your risk of developing hereditary cancers.

A recent UK study looked at 861 individuals with Lynch syndrome—an inherited gene defect that predisposes people to developing colorectal cancer. For 2 years, half the study group was instructed to take 600 mg of aspirin a day, while a second group received a placebo. During a 5-year follow-up, the researchers found that aspirin poppers were roughly 50 percent less likely to develop cancer when compared to the placebo group.

Taking aspirin appears to prevent cells from turning cancerous, “possibly by killing the cells off at the earliest sign of change,” says study coauthor Patrick Morrison, an honorary professor at Queen’s University in Belfast.

For men with a family history of hereditary cancers like colorectal cancer, which accounts for roughly 50,000 deaths annually, Morrison suggests talking to your doctor about taking regular aspirin along with starting colonoscopy screening.

Future studies will examine what dose is optimal (researchers say a smaller dose may be effective). But even men without a family history may want to consider taking a daily low-dose aspirin (75mg) for cancer protection, notes Morrison. (Doctors have long recommended aspirin for certain heart patients.)

However, aspirin can irritate the stomach. If you don’t tolerate it well, pack your diet full of produce. “Fruits and vegetables contain natural aspirin that fights off disease. Everyone should eat five servings a day,” Morrison says.