What Your Doctor Won't Tell You About Cholesterol Drugs

Cholesterol lowering drugs or "statins" are a family of drugs that include (by brand name) Crestor, Lipitor, Mevacor, Pravachol, Vitorin, Zetia and Zocor. There is much publicity about the positive benefits of this drug family, the bulk of it coming directly from the manufacturers of these products.

The medical paradigm today seems to be to lower cholesterol levels at all costs, even though the end results are not always solidly visible, and the side effects can be devastating. The prevailing theory is that cardiovascular disease is caused by high cholesterol and, once established, it is incurable.

The truth is that high cholesterol levels and cardiovascular disease are caused by nutritional deficiencies and poor lifestyle. As with most chronic problems, correcting the problem at its source can often reverse it.

Statin drugs do not cure illness. What they do is inhibit certain enzymes in the liver that synthesize cholesterol in the liver, thus blocking production of cholesterol by the liver. Since most cholesterol is produced by the liver, this lowers total cholesterol. Their other effect is to lower Low Density and Very Low Density Cholesterol (LDL and VLDL) by increasing their uptake in the liver and causing them to be excreted.

A similar effect can be achieved by increasing certain herbs and nutrients in the diet and altering lifestyle. However, most doctors are unable to advise their patients about effective nutrients or suggest a reasonable approach to changing their lifestyle. This leaves the patient only with an order to “eat better” or “exercise more”, but lacks specific suggestions. In other words, most time-constrained doctors do not have extensive knowledge of herbs and nutrition and thus, find it easier to write a prescription for a statin drug than to suggest a more natural approach.

It is quite possible to reverse high cholesterol, atherosclerosis, and cardiovascular disease through proper nutrition, herbal remedies, and lifestyle changes. Such approaches are, by their very nature, less invasive, and, unlike statin drugs, carry little to no risk of adverse side effects.

While the public is aware of some of the more publicized side effects of statin drugs, many patients and their doctors are unaware of the full range of side effects attributed to these drugs. And, of course, manufacturers tend to minimize the mention of side effects. This lack of knowledge could cost permanent damage.

First, statin drugs deplete several important nutrients that the body needs to survive. Among these are selenium and co-enzyme Q-10 (Co-Q10). Some studies also suggest that statin drugs interfere with the action of vitamin D, another critical nutrient. Co-Q10 is an enzyme directly involved with energy production and is a critical nutrient for the heart. Depleting it can cause damage to the heart muscle, the very organ that the statin drugs are trying to protect!

Secondly, statin drugs cause liver problems and muscle degeneration that can lead to kidney problems. The statement in televised statin drug commercials that “your doctor will do simple liver tests” does not mention that such tests are to see how much damage the drugs are doing to your liver. If the damage is not too severe, you are ordered to continue with the statin. In my opinion, a drug that is known to cause damage to organs it is supposed to be protecting is not very viable, especially when there are good natural alternatives.

Finally, statin drugs do not have the powerful effect on overall mortality that the drug manufacturers would have you believe. For example, the widely advertised combination of ezetimibe combined with simvastatin (marketed as Vytorin) was recently found to improve LDL cholesterol but have little effect on other disease markers or mortality.

An April 2008 study in the New England Journal of Medicine sought to establish that this combination would reduce the progression of atherosclerosis in patients. The study concluded that although LDL cholesterol was reduced by the drug combination, there was no effect on the measurement of arterial wall thickness of the carotid artery, the main aim of the study. This measurement, called the intima-media thickness is often used to detect the presence and track progression of atherosclerosis. In other words, the drug reduced the so-called “bad” cholesterol (LDL) but the reduction had no effect on plaque deposits in walls of the carotid arteries, the reduction of which was the main goal of the study. [1]

High cholesterol and also high triglycerides lead to the developments of plaque deposits in arteries, which in turn can lead to the development of cardiovascular disease. These conditions are mostly caused by multiple mineral and vitamin deficiencies due to poor diet. Among these are vitamins A, B, C, D and especially vitamin E, along with selenium, magnesium, silicon, and chromium. Correcting these deficiencies with a well thought-out diet and supplementation plan can go a long way to reversing cardiovascular disease

In our society today, many folks are looking for the “magic” pill that will solve all their problems. Regardless of what the drug manufacturers say, this does not exist. Statin drugs have serious side effects that can be both long-term, permanent, and life threatening. While it is typically easier to swallow a prescription pill than it is to initiate dietary changes and a well-designed nutritional supplementation program, the rewards for the extra effort involved can add years to your life.

To learn more about how to reduce cholesterol levels naturally, see the article “Reducing Cholesterol Levels Naturally” on my website. You can also use the “Site Search” button at the top left of any page of my website to find the article and related information.

References:
1. John J.P. Kastelein, M.D., Ph.D., et al, Simvastatin with or without Ezetimibe in Familial Hypercholesterolemia, N Engl J Med 2008; 358:1431-1443, April 2008, http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa0800742

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What Your Doctor Won't Tell You About Cholesterol Drugs by James Occhiogrosso, N.D.

What Your Doctor Won't Tell You About Cholesterol Drugs
by James Occhiogrosso, N.D.