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Statins: Are they the great drug con?

Cholesterol-lowering statin drugs are some of the most widely used in the world, with annual sales in the USA alone of $15.5bn – and they may also be some of the most ineffective.


A major new study of 4,574 patients with chronic heart disease has revealed that the drugs do nothing to extend life or prevent hospital care. 


This new finding, made by researchers from the ANMCO Research Centre in Florence, adds weight to a similar conclusion made by Harvard researchers last year. 


The Italian research team tracked the progress of the heart patients, who were given either the statin drug Crestor (rosuvastatin) or a placebo.  More of the patients in the Crestor group died, and more needed hospital care, than those given a placebo.  Overall, 1305 patients in the statin group died from their heart condition or were admitted to hospital, compared with 1283 from the placebo group.


These new findings reflect those made by the Harvard research team when they carried out a meta-analysis of eight trials and discovered that the drugs had no positive effect on the health of 10,990 women who were taking a statin, and only a very marginal benefit for men.


The Harvard team also noted that just 8 per cent of those taking a statin actually had a heart condition; in other words, it was a ‘just-in-case’ remedy.


Although it is ineffective, the statin isn’t without its own health concerns.  The drug has been linked to Parkinson’s disease and, paradoxically, heart disease. 


(Source:  The Lancet, 2008; 372: 1231-9 (Italian study); The Lancet, 2007; 369: 268-9 (Harvard study).

 

Cholesterol:

a red herring

High cholesterol is accepted by virtually everyone as a passport to a heart attack. Doctors have also suspected that low cholesterol is linked to other dangerous conditions, such as cancer, stroke and liver disease.

But a major new study indicates that cholesterol levels could be one of the great medical red herrings of the century.

 

Researchers have discovered that neither high or low cholesterol levels seem to have any bearing on the major illnesses, including heart disease and cancer.

 

The discovery, based on the analysis of 1,954 deaths among a group of 7,000 middle-aged men in Hawaii, all of Japanese descent, could have severe ramifications throughout the health and drug industry.

 

Researchers from the University of Southern California said that early deaths were caused all the time by other risk factors. They have not discounted the possible link between cholesterol levels and smoking, alcohol and untreated high blood pressure, however. If you do not smoke, drink excessively or suffer from high blood pressure, you do not have to worry about your cholesterol levels, they suggest (JAMA, June 28, 1995).

 

This may be particularly distressing news for the relatives of those people who committed suicide after deliberately lowering their cholesterol levels to avoid a heart condition.

 

Research from Italy has confirmed earlier observations that low cholesterol levels tend to make people suicidal. Researchers from the St Anna Hospital in Corso studied the blood levels of 331 people who had attempted suicide, against 331 had not harmed themselves.

 

In virtually all cases, the suicide group had lower levels of cholesterol close to the time they tried to kill themselves (BMJ, June 24, 1995).

 

If cholesterol is not the problem, perhaps melatonin is. Doctors from the University of Vienna have discovered that people with a heart problem tend to produce lower amounts of the hormone at night.

 

Normally, healthy people release melatonin while sleeping, which tends to stop or slow the activity of the endocrine glands. These glands affect growth and metabolism

(The Lancet, 1995; 345: 1408).

 

 

 

One of the risk factors associated with heart disease is elevated blood cholesterol levels, which, when it's all boiled down is a symptom of a body under stress and an under-stimulated elimination system. If the body can't get rid of the cholesterol that is excess to it's requirements, then the level builds up and may be deposited within the arteries of the heart.

 

When it's all boiled down it's just another symptom of a body in poor health and in particular a symptom of metabolic dysfunction. To mask over the symptom with cholesterol-drug is a dreadful, junk medical industry hoax. Fix the problem - probably high levels of insulin as a result of a sedentary existence and too much of the two white powders.

 

Cholesterol is a white waxy substance. 70% of the cholesterol in our bodies is produced in the liver from what ever food we eat, carbohydrates as well as fats. The other 30% is taken into the digestive system, principally in foods containing saturated fat.

 

 

 

If you want the good oil on cholesterol you must read this article from mercola.com

 

  

 

The body needs it in optimal amounts for the efficient operation of cell membranes. However, if there is too much in the system and the body can't get rid of it is deposited on the walls of heart arteries. The build up reduces the efficiency of the ability of the heart to pump blood around your body and increases blood pressure.

 

The level of cholesterol in your body depends on a range of factors, among them:

  • your exercise habits

  • your stress level

  • your diet, particularly a diet too high in fat, flour and sugar and too low in vegetables, fruit and fibre

  • your elimination system

  • your weight

  • insufficient vitamin C

  • insufficient nicotinic acid

To simply focus on the intake side of the equation is to miss the point.

 

To take a statin to lower it also misses the point, it's a junk pharmaceutical.

 

 

 

 

There is enough evidence around - on the internet - to suggest that the side effects of taking statin drugs are much greater than the benefits. The side effects include

  • memory loss

  • depletion of coenzyme Q10 from the body - leading to a higher risk of cardiac dysfunction than high cholesterol

  • joint pain

  • muscle pain

  • muscle cramps

  • kidney dysfunction

  • liver dysfunction

I fact there is sufficient literature around to suggest that using drugs to lower cholesterol levels is a giant hoax.

 

  

 

Elevated levels of cholesterol are not due to a lack of Lipitor, any more than elevated blood pressure is due to a lack of Avpro, depression due to a lack of Zoloft, arthritis due to a lack of Celebrex or piles a lack of Anusol! Taking them is just another example of medical-pharmaceutical hoax that thinks its a smart idea to mask the symptoms of a body system dysfunction with a pill, instead of encouraging people to make the lifestyle changes needed to restore the cholesterol management system to good function.

 

Here's what John Abrahamson in Overdosed America had to say about the AFCAPS/TexCAPS study.

 

'In a five year study involving 6,600 people with moderately elevated LDL cholesterol levels, treatment with a statin did not decrease overall mortality. In fact a few more people who took the statin died (80) than those who took the placebo (77).

 

In other words, the net result of treating people with moderate risk of developing coronary heart disease with a statin was simply to trade coronary heart disease for other serious diseases, with no overall improvement in health.'

 

Relative risk versus absolute risk.

The medical research and pharmaceutical industries love to bolster their figure by elevating the importance of relative risk, as opposed to saying what the absolute risk is.

 

Abrahamson goes on to say

 

'One hundred people in this study would have to be treated with a statin drug for two and a half years to prevent a single episode of heart disease.'

 

Researchers from the University of Southern California said that early deaths were caused all the time by other risk factors. They have not discounted the possible link between cholesterol levels and smoking, alcohol and untreated high blood pressure, however. If you do not smoke, drink excessively or suffer from high blood pressure, you do not have to worry about your cholesterol levels, they suggest. (JAMA, June 28, 1995).

 

Cholesterol is one of several categories of blood lipids and is transported in the blood stream by other blood lipids of which there are three principal types:

  • low density lipoprotein (LDL) and

  • high density lipoprotein (HDL)

  • triglycerides (more about them later)

The LDL carries cholesterol into cells. When there is a high concentration (over 4mmol/l) of LDL in the blood (bad), there is a greater chance that cholesterol will be added to the heart artery wall.

 

The HDL carries cholesterol away from cells. HDL acts as a cholesterol acceptor, removing cholesterol from the arteries and transporting it back to the liver. From the liver the cholesterol is eliminated through the bile duct and then the bowel. With a low fibre diet, the cholesterol is re-absorbed by the bowel and returns to the liver. With a high in fibre diet there is a greater likelihood that the cholesterol will be eliminated from the body.

 

Atherosclerosis occurs when there is insufficient HDL to remove the cholesterol deposited in the arterial wall by the LDL.

 

Cholesterol Screening

A blood analysis of cholesterol level is usually a screening of the blood for both HDL and LDL. A score over 5.5mmol/l is usually an indication that the concentration of the LDL (bad) is too high. A pathology sample can then be done to determine whether this is the case. In some cases it is a higher than normal concentration of HDL (good) which has elevated the total cholesterol result, in which case you're OK.

 

The Usual Treatment

The most common treatment in Australia is to take a tablet which masks the symptoms. In fact cholesterol and triglyceride lowering tablets have reached the top of the pharmaceutical benefits list. It is a strange situation of a government to subsidize a treatment in view of the fact that Nathan Pritikin lowered his from 7.7mm/l to 2.5mm/l through diet and exercise!

 

But it's not the only move, because taking the tablet does not treat the causes of the dysfunction. And, of course one must also keep in mind Lao Tzu's dictum that big problems could have been solved easily when they were small problems. If your cholesterol is mildly elevated, start doing things now to stop it getting more elevated in the future.

 

If you have to keep on with the tablet you can be pretty sure your lifestyle hasn't changed sufficiently to clean up the bad health habits that started the dysfunction off in the first place.

 

Plus you run the risk of memory loss, muscle and joint pain ..

 

Lowering Cholesterol

To lower the level of LDL in your blood stream (and your body) stimulate the elimination system:

  • Eat a high fibre diet. I recommend a high fibre supplement composed of psyllium husk and raw oat bran.

  • Get plenty of regular and systematic aerobic exercise — 5–7 times a week, for at least 40 minutes, with your heart rate over 130 BPM. People who do this usually have low cholesterol levels.

  • Manage stress better. We tend to produce more cholesterol when we're stressed.

  • Eat from the top of the hourglass. Most of the cholesterol in the body is made by your own liver. By cutting back on starches and fats you produce less cholesterol.

  • Increase your intake of vitamin C.

  • increase your intake of nicotinic acid (vitamin B3)

  • increase intake of plant sterols - found in some margarines

  • increase intake of omega 3 fats - fish oil, flax seed oil

  • eat a grapefruit before every meal - or a glass of grapefruit juice

  • reduce your insulin levels by eating less flour and sugar

  • take policosanol.

 

What You Can Do

1.

Stimulate the elimination system with exercise

Develop a high density exercise routine.

Exercise has a two-fold benefit for people with high cholesterol levels. It stimulates the elimination system and as an effective de-stressing agent.

 

Exercise with vigor, continuously for 40 minutes each day. Start running, or swimming get on the stepper or climber, get a good sweat up. Your pulse rate should be over 130 for most of the time you are exercising. Ambling around the block, or walking around your office for ten minutes three times a day won't have much effect.

 

The vigorous physical activity will burn off the chemicals that over-stimulate the sympathetic nervous system. This will help to de-stress your body.

 

Use Herbs as a way of measuring the time and intensity of your aerobic workouts. You'll need a copy of our aerobic activity diary to know what we're talking about. You'll need 1,000 or more herbs a week to keep yourself in great shape.
 

 

2.

  

Stimulate the elimination system with a high fibre diet

Eat a high fibre diet. The excess cholesterol which enters the stomach through the bile duct combines with the fibre and goes down the drain.

 

I recommend a high fibre supplement. That means adding psyllium husk and/or raw oat bran to your diet. It means plenty of vegetables and fruit. White bread, pasta and rice are not high enough in fibre to do the trick.

 

The best way I've found to introduce the high fibre supplement into my diet is putting it in with the thick shake from heaven.

 

 

3.

  

Eat foods which stimulate the liver back into normal function, particularly celery, carrot and parsley.

Here is my recipe for the thick shake from heaven

  • place into your blender a selection of fresh fruit and vegetables — carrot, parsley, celery, cucumber, broccoli, pear, apple, orange …

  • add some high fibre supplement (psyllium husk, raw oat bran, lecithin and flaxseed) to get yourself moving quicker on the inside and help lower your cholesterol level

  • add a couple of heaped table spoons of whey protein from dairy or soy sources.

  • add fresh juice.

If you use these as meals (and I can guarantee that each one is a decent meal when you take into account the amount of fruit and vegetable), you'll soon find yourself losing weight. You're cholesterol level will decline.

 

Read Sandra Cabot's books on liver cleansing — The Liver Cleansing Diet and The Healthy Liver and Bowel Book.
 

 

4.

 

Increase your intake of vitamin c and omega 3 fat - nature's anti-inflammatories.

 

 

 

5.

  

Meditate

Meditate on a daily basis to de-stress your body by stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system. When you do this muscles relax and blood vessels dilate to the very core of your body. Blood pressure comes down. Adrenal cortex activity is reduced. Cholesterol production is reduced.
 

 

6.

  

Attain and maintain your ideal weight.

Eat from the top of the Hourglass Eating Program (coming soon). You'll become thinner. Being fat, of course, is a symptom of an under-stimulated elimination system.
 

 

7.

  

Eat the right food at the right time.

Eat a decent diet comprised of low density carbohydrates, ie vegetables and fruit, (particularly those you don't have to cook to eat) and lean protein, especially fish. If you eat this way the fat will look after itself.

 

You need to have a high fibre supplement to keep things moving on the inside.
 

 

8.

  

supplement your diet with nicotinic acid (vitamin B3)
     

8.

  

Eat the right amount of food.

For instance half a dozen slices of bread each day can add and extra 1000 calories to your food intake. Far from doing you good, too much of some of the foods you've been told to eat more of are making you fatter. The same goes for pasta. Your fat guts may well be a starch guts.
 

 

9.

  

Stop eating the wrong food and the wrong time - the foods that boost your insulin levels.

Take your focus away from the foods at the bottom of the hourglass. If you eat from the bottom of the Hourglass you'll become fatter.

  • the high density carbohydrates — especially white flour-based products (bread, pasta and breakfast cereals) white rice, potato ... The great tendency is to eat too much of these starches. Once they enter the body they are quickly converted into sugar. Sooner or later, and if you eat too much, they turn into fat.

  • sugar — soft drinks, licorice, lollies

  • fat and starch — pizza, chips, pasta (when it's labeled carbonara) dry biscuits, bead and butter (and peanut butter)

  • fat and sugar — ice cream, chocolate, fudge

  • sugar and starch — most of the popular packaged breakfast cereals (which can contain over 40% raw sugar)

  • fat, sugar and starch — biscuits, cake, pastries ...
 

 

10.

  

Take a holiday that involves at least 21 days away from home
 

 

11.

  

Use up all your accrued annual leave and long service leave and dedicate the time to getting fit.
 

 

12.

  

Undertake a course of personal development and counseling to get your mind back focused on your Self and your health
 

 

Triglycerides

The triglycerides are another form of lipoprotein. High triglyceride levels tend to go with low HDL levels and as such pose a risk to cardio-vascular dysfunction. Triglyceride levels provide an indication of how well the body's fat storage mechanism is working.

 

High levels are symptomatic of a dysfunctional elimination system, a liver that's not working properly. It is stimulated by genetic predisposition, thyroid dysfunction, a high fat (particularly trans-fatty acid) diet, obesity, diabetes, alcohol and lack of vigorous physical activity.

 

A good score would be less than 5.0 (mmol/l).

 

To reduce your triglyceride levels, eat according to the Hourglass Diet.

 

If you think this is the end of the matter, think again. Search the internet - particularly my Useful Links link to find out more about it.

 

NOW READ ON:

 

http://www.hsiaustralia.com.au/cholesterol.html?gclid=CLzp9fKh9pYCFQykagodfzo0Yw

 

http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/chris/2005/09/12/the_hidden_truth_about_cholesterollowering_drugs.htm