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The Many Dangers of Statin Drugs
Statin drugs, or cholesterol-lowering medications, are among the most commonly prescribed drugs today. But are they really necessary? Nutrition experts Sally Fallon and Mary G. Enig believe that high cholesterol or hypercholesterolemia is actually an “invented disease” that emerged when health professionals began measuring blood cholesterol levels.
If you check the medical literature between the 1970s and 1980s, a person suffering from hypercholesterolemia is defined as a middle-aged man whose cholesterol is over 240 and with other risk factors, such as smoking or obesity. The parameters were changed after the 1984 Cholesterol Consensus Conference, which stated that anyone with a cholesterol level over 200 should be treated for high cholesterol and prescribed statin drugs.
In 2004, a special panel composed of doctors from the National Cholesterol Education Program advised those at risk for heart disease to reduce their low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol to very low levels. Eight of the nine “experts” on the panel that created the new cholesterol guidelines had been making money from the manufacturers of statins.
The cholesterol guidelines created a huge market for statins in the United States. Between 2000 and 2005, statin users increased by a massive 156 percent, from 15.8 million to 29.7 million people. Annual spending on statins over the same period also soared from $7.7 billion to $19.7 billion.
How Statins Destroy Your Health
Statins that are currently available in the U.S. include Advicor, Altoprev, Crestor, Lipitor, and Vytorin. Millions of Americans are already on statin drugs, but some “experts” say that millions more should be taking them.
Natural health expert Dr. Joseph Mercola couldn’t disagree more. He believes that 99 out of 100 people who are on statins don’t really need them because they can naturally lower their cholesterol. Not only are statins unnecessary, but are dangerous as well. There are about 900 studies that expose statin side effects, which include:
Anemia- Cataracts
- Immune suppression
- Increased cancer risk
- Liver or pancreas dysfunction
- Memory loss
- Mood disorders/personality changes
- Muscle problems
- Sexual dysfunction
A recent study also showed that statin side effects are aggravated by a number of factors, including drug interactions, metabolic syndrome, and thyroid disease.
Boost Your Health with Nutrients if You’re Taking Statins
CoQ10 depletion is another adverse effect of statin use. CoQ10 is an antioxidant compound vital for energy production within your cells. CoQ10 loss leads to an increased production of free radicals, depletion of cell energy, fatigue, muscle weakness, soreness, and heart failure.
If you’re on a statin drug, Dr. Mercola recommends taking a CoQ10 supplement or ubiquinol–its biologically active form. Other important nutrients that you can add to your diet are alpha-lipoic acid, L-carnitine, magnesium, selenium, and vitamins C, D, and E.
Visit Dr. Mercola’s statin index page for more information.
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Tags: cholesterol, CoQ10, Dr. Joseph Mercola, statin drugs
I was taking a statin and found that my right leg muscle was affected so much that I could hardly walk. Since I stopped taking the drug my leg has almost returned to normal.