A recent population-based study in Sweden evidenced that the massive utilization of statins has provided no benefit to Swedish people. In fact, three times as many statins were being taken by Swedes in the year 2000 than in 1998, yet the number of people dying from heart attacks were unchanged by the increase!
Statins have been used in the U.S. since 1987, when they were approved by the FDA as a pharmaceutical means to lower cholesterol through inhibiting an enzyme in the liver and other organs. Statins are one of the most widely prescribed medicines in the industrialized world, and are extremely profitable.
Statins account for billions in dollars a year in profits to companies like Merck and Pfizer. In recent years, Lipitor was one of the top-selling pharmaceutical drugs in the country, bringing in a whopping $7.5 billion to Pfizer, even as they crowded out generic drugs also classified as statins.
Pfizer’s patent has run out on Lipitor, but millions of people are still taking statins despite their ineffectiveness. And worse, statins have been shown to cause Diabetes Type II, and memory loss along with other cognitive disorders.
The Lack of Necessity and Danger of Statins
Many doctors are finding that their patients are suffering from side effects ranging from mild to debilitating, and growing evidence even links statins to Lou Gehrig’s, a debilitating neuromuscular disease.
Big Pharma has definitely convinced both doctors and their patients, however, that statins are the Holy Grail, and many patients that start on them are afraid to stop. They assume they’ll have an immediate heart attack. The truth of the matter is that high cholesterol is less likely to cause a heart attack than factors like a smoking habit, excessive alcohol consumption, and diabetes.
Furthermore, many healthy people are put on statins as a precautionary measure. While most of the studies conducted on statins were done on people who took them for short periods, and often were very elderly or already had failing livers, few were conducted on healthy people, nor people who stayed on statins for life, essentially. Those studies were never done because they would result in a disparaging story for statins.
Lastly, there are numerous healthy natural alternatives to statins which don’t cause any side effects at all. Olive oil, rich in polyphenols and antioxidants, is able to reduce morbidity in the Mediterranean drastically, specifically by reducing cardiovascular disease. Since this lifestyle is high in plant-based foods, as well as olive oil, seafood (full of Omega 3s and 6s) and very little meat, heart health soars.
Curcumin found in turmeric is also wonderful for lowering cholesterol and benefiting heart health, along with removing plaque’s from the brain as well. Additionally, if you juice beets and their roots, you feed the body betaine, which helps to lower homocysteine levels.
Statins may be great for the pockets of Pfizer, but they probably aren’t helping your heart. At the end of the day, it’s best to re-evaluate statins’ place in your life.
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sounds great, I'll recommend to my parents that suffers from high blood presure, but I wonder why my mother suspends the statins in about few days she have been with a headache and the blood presure is high.
What will be the best transition to them ? they know and practice the Mediterranean diet.
Hi Alex I have the same problem …. look for toxins in your food supply as well as in your tap water … your cabbages could be coated with sodium fluoride plastic ; your fresh salades could be covered with per chlotate ; avoid commercial meats as they are full of nasty chemicals sodium nitrate ; growth hormones ,given unecessary antibiotics , and are fed soybeans , corn lased with neotame all of which are GMO ! Cheap restaurants are the 1° source of bad foods ….careful what you drink : tap water can have residual alumlinium sulfites ( used to make water clear of suspended particles ) sodium fluoride ; excess chlorine
As you mentioned "Mediteranean diet" most cheap wines have synthetic sulfites in them (as opposed to natural) or too much tannin
I was told the same thing. Stop the statins and you die. Well four weeks ago I started cutting the statins down from everyday to 6 a week to 5 a week and substituting a natural statin called Red Yeast Rice. I feel fine actually maybe even better. next week down to 4 and so on. I was told never to cut them off all of a sudden. Barrie
Switched to red rice yeast and after a year (didn't check sooner) reduced total cholesterol 80 points. ..no side effects.
I stopped my statins due to severe muscle problems, post 5 cardiac stents, and have gotten along fine without them. Stopped in Nov. 2012, and it is now June 2013.
Looking into the actual efficacy of drugs is a good first step, and statins have an extremely lousy track record of showing much benefit. Next, look into whether reducing cholesterol is even beneficial to most people. Quite a few recent studies suggest that cholesterol levels not only aren’t much of a health problem, that we may need MORE cholesterol as we age. Some studies suggest that its not fat and cholesterol that are ‘artery clogging’, but that its inflammation caused by too many carbohydrates in our diet combined with excessive omega 6 bearing vegetable oils. Yes, the diet your doctor is recommending to save you is killing you.
FYI…Red Yeast Rice “works” the exact same way statins do, they block the HMG CoA reductase enzyme in the Mevalonate pathway (a near 200 step process by which our body will convert food into energy, and manufacture dozens of ESSENTIAL molecules) such as Ubiquinol (CoQ10) essential for making energy, Vit D, Dolichols, Cholesterol, Testosterone, (Wonder why Viagra is so popular?) Estrogen, etc etc etc…The First Statin(Lovastatin) was modeled after the effects of Red Yeast Rice, they all lower cholesterol the same way, and can cause the same adverse effects…I was a Critical Care RN, of 12 years, when life as I knew it was abruptly halted, due to the unpublished effects of these drugs, I “knew” everything there was to know about Statins, from the many Pharma Funded conferences I attended, as well as the HIGHLY PAID, Drug Reps who would come through the Intensive Care Unit I worked it, and boast the Minimal benefits, and minimize the plethora of Adverse effects these poisons have on our bodies. When my dr suggested a statin for me, I eagerly agreed to their life saving hype. Only to find myself 3 years later, disabled since 2002, due to Neuronal Apoptosis (Brain Cell Death), Mitochondrial DNA mutation, Peripheral Neuropathy…all due to my 3 years of Low Dose Statin use. All for an Absolute Risk Reduction of less than 1/2 of 1 percent, thats right, the best any statin has ever shown to reduce a persons chance of heart attack is 0.34%..not even close to what you hear on television commercials on the evening news…if anyone would like more info, I have collected data over the last 13 years, which will show you the other side of the coin, something known as Informed consent, which apparently does not matter any more…informed consent is a patient MUST be educated as to the Actual Risks and Benefits of any procedure, drug, or treatment prior to starting. I was never afforded this luxury, and most arent aware of the actual risks or benefits. contact me at [email protected] if anyone would like more info. I may not be able to nurse any longer, but I can still educate ,,,