Statins
Cholesterol Lowering Drugs
Statins are cholesterol-lowering drugs which came into use in the 1990s and include LipitorTM, LescolTM, Lescol XLTM, MevacorTM, AltoprevTM, CrestorTM, ZocorTM, and others. The use of statins is based on a false premise called the "lipid hypothesis" which says high cholesterol causes heart disease. The truth is that it does not, and that statins accelerate the progression of heart disease. [1]
Cholesterol is essential for life. It makes up 25% of the weight of our brains and is especially important for mental function. Low cholesterol levels are associated with increased mortality from all causes. [2] Those with lower blood cholesterol levels have higher death rates from cancer, stroke, violence, and suicide. [3] Cholesterol is vital for making vitamin D and hormones, including sex hormones. It also is an essential molecule for the structure of the cell membrane of every cell in our body. The normal blood values for cholesterol and other blood fats have decreased from the levels they were forty years ago when I worked as a medical technologist. How "normal" changed baffles me. Do the new normal values exist to support the sales of more statins?
While statins do decrease the levels of cholesterol on a patient's blood test, this does not mean the patient's heart health is better. Rather, it means that there is an increased risk of dying from a heart attack. In a study published in Atherosclerosis, 6,673 users of statins who had no previously known coronary artery disease (i.e. they were taking statins preventatively) had coronary CAT scan angiography (CCTA) which enabled the researchers to see their coronary arteries and determine the composition of plaque in the arteries. Patients taking statins had a 52% increase in presence and extent of calcified coronary plaque compared to those not taking statins. [4]
A study in Diabetes Care showed that diabetics with advanced artery disease and taking statins had significantly more calcification in their arteries than non-statin taking diabetics. In those who began taking statins during the course of the study, progression of coronary and abdominal aorta calcification increased significantly when they began using statins. Calcification is dangerous in major arteries; they become stiff and inflexible when lined with calcium deposits and individuals are more likely to experience a blockage (heart attack) or abdominal aortic aneurysm, which is usually fatal. [5]
Diets that contain more cholesterol and naturally saturated fat such as butter do not increase cardiac risk. The Framingham Heart Study, which has been monitoring the heart health of over 6,000 people every five years since 1948, does not support the lipid hypothesis. After 40 years, the study director admitted that the people who ate the most saturated fat and cholesterol had lower rates of heart disease and weighed less. [6]
In a British study of several thousand men, half of them reduced saturated fat and cholesterol in their diets, increase consumption of unsaturated oils and margarine and stopped smoking. The other half continued to eat and smoke as they pleased. After one year, those on the "good" diet had twice as many deaths as those who did not change their eating habits and even continued smoking. [7]
The purpose of stains is to reduce the amount of cholesterol in one's blood. They do improve blood test numbers, which does not improve heart health. At what risk of serious side effects are patients taking statins to improve their blood tests? The number of side effects caused by statins is staggering. Here is a partial list:[8]
Statins interfere with the synthesis of CoQ10, essential for our mitochondria to produce energy. This affects every cell in the body because CoQ10 is required by the electron transport chain, which is how we get most of the ATP "energy molecules" (adenosine tri-phosphate) from our food most efficiently.
Statins create problems with muscle weakness, cramping, and pain. Dr. Barbara Roberts estimates that in her practice she sees this side effect in 20% of patients on statins. A severe form of this problem is rhabdomyolysis, which affects muscles all over the body and can be fatal.
Statins can cause joint and tendon problems, including tendonitis.
Statins can cause liver damage.
Statins cause cognitive problems in many patients, including the inability to concentrate and remember.
Statins can cause nerve damage, including painful neuropathy.
Statins cause a 25% increase in the incidence of cancer.
Statins also cause a 25% increase in the incidence of new cases of diabetes.
Statins increase the risk of hemorrhagic stroke.
Statins can cause depression.
Statins can increase appetite and block the beneficial effect of exercise, thus encouraging weight gain.
In spite of the fact that statins do not prevent the dire consequences they claim to treat, one in four Americans over the age of forty five take statin drugs. [9] Why are so many people taking statins? Cardiologist Dr. Barbara Roberts explains that there are clinical practice guidelines determining when a person should be taking them. If a doctor neglects to prescribe them according to these guidelines and the person suffers a heart attack, the doctor can be sued. [10] (I wonder who wrote the guidelines and if they were influenced by drug companies).
If you are being pressured to take statins, I would suggest telling your doctor that you would like to try changing your diet instead. In the 1980s, the Lyon Diet Heart Study showed that eating a Mediterranean diet lowers the LDL "bad" cholesterol and CRP (C-reactive protein, and indicator of inflammation) blood tests as much as statin usage. [11] Those eating a Mediterranean diet had an approximately 70% decrease in risk for both heart attacks and mortality from heart disease. [12] If you decrease your blood cholesterol level naturally with diet, you will avoid the risks of statins and lower your risk of heart attack. The anti-cancer diet on pages is a Mediterranean diet with the additional benefit of glycemic control which reduces blood fats.
YOU are the person who is in charge of your health. You do not have to take treatments that are risky or that you do not want to take. Use your mind, think about all your options, make wise decisions, and use whatever natural strategies you can to optimize your health.
Footnotes