Category Archives: statins

Chocolate Gives Statins A $29 Billion Run For Their Money

  By ironman45 | May 7, 2013 - 3:15 pm | cholesterol, heart disease, statins
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 Flickr - Chocolate - Patrick HoeslySayer Ji, Green Med Info

Waking Times

With the blockbuster cholesterol-lowering class of drugs known as statins being widely promoted for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease, despite their having over 300 documented adverse health effects (including heart failure!), how does chocolate sound as a viable, heart-friendly alternative?

We already connect amorously with chocolate (to the tune of 6 billion lbs of cocoa consumed annually worldwide), revealing in heart-felt expressions like “I love it,” and “this is to die for!” how comfortable we are with publicly declaring our affection. But did you know that while it makes our emotional hearts sing, it may actually keep our physical hearts happy, alive and ticking longer, as well?

Indeed, back in 2006, researchers found that for elderly men, eating cocoa intake was inversely associated with blood pressure and 15-year cardiovascular and all-cause mortality. When compared with the lowest tertile (lowest 33%) of cocoa intake, the adjusted relative risk for men in the highest tertile was .50 for cardiovascular mortality, or a 50% reduction, and .53 for all-cause mortality, or a 47% reduction. Not bad considering the median cocoa intake among users was 2.11 grams per day, or just one half an ounce a week. While many people are searching out supplements such as ubiquinol to combat the side effects of statin drugs, they could have been eating chocolate instead.
Anything that can reduce your risk of dying from all causes by 50%, which is not an expensive and potentially dangerous drug, but a food, should be be taken seriously, even if — paradoxically — it is usually found in the candy section of the grocery store. (more…)

Conventional Treatments for Lowering Cholesterol

  By ironman45 | April 10, 2013 - 3:34 pm | cholesterol, statins
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Learn why the natural approach is safer and more effective than drugs

The most common conventional treatment for lowering cholesterol is one of the statin drugs: Lipitor (atorvastatin), Zocor (simvastatin), Pravachol (pravastatin), Crestor, (rosuvastatin calcium), and Lescol (fluvastatin).

Another option is a class of drugs called bile acid sequestrants, one of the most common being Questran (cholestryramine).

While these drugs are effective at lowering cholesterol, both may lead to side effects that are far more serious than the condition for which they’re prescribed.

Side Effects of Statin Drugs (more…)

Urgent new warning for statin users

  By ironman45 | April 8, 2013 - 8:46 pm | cholesterol, Kidneys, statins
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Your kidneys are among the most important organs in your body — but millions of people treat theirs like punching bags.

It’s not bad habits, it’s bad medicine. The statin drugs given for supposedly high cholesterol may actually increase the risk of acute kidney injury by up to 34 percent, according to new research.

This risk supposedly kicks in at “high” doses, but there’s nothing high about the levels used in the study at all. It starts at just 10 mg of Crestor (rosuvastatin), 20 mg of Lipitor (atorvastatin) or 40 mg of Zocor (simvastatin).

Those are the everyday doses millions of people are taking right now. In some cases, they’re even starting doses — and many people take double those levels or more. (more…)

Healthy Men Should Not Take Statins Says JAMA

  By ironman45 | March 7, 2013 - 10:03 pm | statins
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Healthy Men Should Not Take Statins Says JAMA by Jeffrey Dach MDHealthy Men Should Not Take Statins Says JAMA

by Jeffrey Dach MD

The title speaks for itself. This bombshell article by Rita Redberg, MD, editor of the Archives of Internal Medicine, appeared in April 2012 JAMA advising healthy men with high cholesterol to stay away from statin anti-cholesterol drugs, pointing out there is no mortality benefit.  Dr Redberg goes on with a list of adverse side effects of statin drugs,  namely, myopathy, cognitive dysfunction, etc.   This JAMA article and debate is an outgrowth of the “Less is More” series in the Archives of Internal Medicine.    For fairness, JAMA also posted the opposing view by Dr. Blaha.

For your convenience, I have posted Dr. Rita Redberg’s article here with links to the original.  Above left image: Statin Drug, Lipitor 40 mg tablets, Courtesy of The Week. Click Here for link to Dr Rita Redberg article in April 2012 JAMA.

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Healthy Men Should Not Take Statins

by Rita F. Redberg, MD; Mitchell H. Katz, MD ,

Author Affiliations: Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco (Dr Redberg); and Department of Health Services, County of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California (Dr Katz).

Rita_Redberg_MD_Statins_Cholesterol_Jama_Wall_Street_JournalLeft Image: Courtesy of Wall Street Journal and Dr Rita Redberg.

Dr Redberg is also Editor, Archives of Internal Medicine. Dr Katz is also Deputy Editor, Archives of Internal Medicine.

Here is the Quote from the JAMA Article:

“Should a 55-year-old man who is otherwise well, with systolic blood pressure of 110 mm Hg, total cholesterol of 250 mg/dL, and no family history of premature CHD be treated with a statin? — No “says Rita Redberg MD. (more…)

Statin Drugs Revisited

  By ironman45 | March 7, 2013 - 10:01 pm | cholesterol, statins
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Lipitor Atorvastatin cholesterol heart disease jeffrey dachStatin Drugs Revisited

by Jeffrey Dach MD

This article takes a critical look at statin anti-cholesterol drugs.  These are block busters worth billions to the drug manufacturers.

This article asks the hard questions.  Do statin drugs work?  Who do they work for ? and who do they harm?  Who should be taking them, and who should not be taking them?   Examples of Statin Drugs are Lipitor, Zocor, Simvastatin, Pravachol, Crestor, Mevacor, etc.  These drugs reduce the production of cholesterol by the liver by inhibiting an enzyme called  HMG-CoA.  Since it is generally believed that cholesterol causes heart disease, statin drug reduction of cholesterol is a mainstream medical treatment for prevention of heart disease.

Anti-Inflammatory Effect

After many decades of study and clinical trials, it has become clear that the benefit of statin drugs (if there is any) is probably not due to reduction in cholesterol, rather it is due to an anti-inflammatory effect of the drug.(link)

Reducing CoQ-10

Coincidentally, statin drugs also inhibit the production of an important mitochondrial cofactor called Co-Q10, accounting for adverse effects as mitochondrial toxins.  In addition, a low serum cholesterol level is a health risk for many reasons.  Cholesterol is an important molecule in the body, and reducing cholesterol to low levels is associated with increased mortality and adverse effects on health. (27)
(more…)

The 7 Most Prescribed Drugs In The World And Their Natural Counterparts

  By ironman45 | February 21, 2013 - 4:18 pm | blood pressure, cholesterol, Digestion/acid reflux, food, statins
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We don’t have to live in a medicated world, but we certainly choose to. The crux of the matter is that we refuse to proactively think about prevention because we reactively commit to treating the symptoms of underlying health problems. This is the allopathic model. We want the quick fix so we can continue our poor lifestyle and dietary habits. It doesn’t have to be this way, but it is. We can blame doctors, the medical institutions and healthcare systems all we want, but self-responsibility is our only recourse if we are ever to surface from this mess. There are no excuses–if you’re taking one of these drugs, consult with a Natural Health Practitioner this week about phasing out your medication and phasing in these powerful natural foods and remedies.

Of the over 4 billion prescriptions written every year, the United States and Canada make up more than 80% of the world’s prescription opioids (psychoactive medications). Between 1997 and 2012 prescription opioids increased in dosage by almost 500%. Pharmaceuticals and medical errors are now a leading cause of death. Painkillers are the leading cause of accidental death. (more…)

Low Cholesterol and the Elderly

  By ironman45 | February 7, 2013 - 12:23 am | Anti aging, cholesterol, heart disease, statins
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Study after study confirms that lower cholesterol values in the elderly correlate with early mortality.

http://bit.ly/10KN1zP 

 

See also:

Seniors, Statins and Side Effects

http://www.spacedoc.com/seniors_statins_side_effects
Statins and the Elderly

http://www.spacedoc.com/statins_elderly.htm

 

 

*Triglycerides and Heart Disease 

Triglycerides make far more sense as a heart killer than cholesterol,especially with their link to obesity and diabetes.
http://bit.ly/XwvuJR

Having Trouble Waiting to Die? Take a Pharmaceutical Drug!

  By ironman45 | January 16, 2013 - 2:12 pm | cholesterol, crooked health care, statins
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Description: http://www.drugrehabme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/original.jpg

Dr. David Brownstein titled his blog post, How To Increase Your Risk of Dying? Take a Statin Drug. “If you are elderly, how can you increase your risk of dying? The answer is simple: Take a statin drug.” He concludes, “Cholesterol-lowering medications should be pulled from the market place. I predict that within five to ten years, we will have learned our lessons about the statin drugs and they will fall out of favor. It is not the first time conventional medicine has been wrong—just look at the disastrous story of DES, which was prescribed to millions of women in the 1950s.”

What prompted him to make these statements? (more…)