By David Blyweiss, M.D.

The headline sounded like a bad joke—Doctor urges fast food restaurants to hand out statin drugs. The problem is, it’s no joke.

In a recent paper published in the American Journal of Cardiology, Dr. Darrell Francis of the Imperial College in London suggested that fast food restaurants should dispense free cholesterol-lowering medications along with their cheeseburgers and fries. The goal? To offset the harmful health effects of these foods.  

“Routine accessibility of statins in establishments providing unhealthy food might be a rational modern means to offset the cardiovascular risk,” claims Francis. “Fast food outlets already offer free condiments to supplement meals. A free statin-containing accompaniment would offer cardiovascular benefits, opposite to the effects of equally available salt, sugar and high-fat condiments.” He goes on to say that, “It makes sense to make risk-reducing supplements available.”

Yes it’s true. Statistically speaking, taking a statin every day does reduce the risk of heart disease. Increased intake of fats and trans fats, on the other hand, increases your risk of heart disease. But to hand statins out like packages of ketchup is ridiculous. And to equate them with dietary supplements is ludacris!

Although Dr. Francis and his collegues believe that statin drugs are as safe as candy, they don’t tell you about the very real, dangers these drugs pose. Patients can experience muscle pain and weakness, gastrointestinal problems, headaches, dizziness, fatigue, sleep disturbances and liver damage. These drugs also make you vulnerable to rhabdomyolysis—the breakdown of muscle tissue that can lead to potentially fatal kidney failure. What’s more, statins haven’t been shown to be safe or effective when taken intermittently.

Along with these nasty side effects, statin drugs also deplete one of the body’s most vital nutrients—coenzyme Q10. Co-Q10 is a critical antioxidant that plays an important role in providing energy to the cells, especially those in the heart. And since low levels are implicated in virtually all types of cardiovascular disease, anything that depletes Co-Q10 can spell trouble for your ticker.

But, even if statins were the safest drug on the planet, this report gives people the idea that they can just go on eating unhealthy, nutritionally defunct foods since “there’s a pill for that” (to borrow a phrase from the Apple iPhone). But that’s just the wrong message for Americans! Over the past decade, obesity rates have skyrocketed.  Diabetes is on the upswing. And the rate of some cancers, especially liver and pancreatic cancer, is on the rise. The truth is, there’s no pill that can remedy all of these health problems. What will reverse these trends is to trade in unhealthy habits like smoking, drinking and a sedentary life in favor of healthy whole foods and regular exercise. Not only will this improve your overall health, it will have a direct—and very beneficial—impact on your cholesterol levels and cardiovascular health.

What if that’s not enough? Adding plant sterols and stanols to the equation can bring down both total and LDL cholesterol. Because these plant compounds have a chemical structure similar to cholesterol, they block cholesterol’s absorption into the bloodstream. Research shows that adding just 2,000 mg. of plant sterols to your diet each day can slash LDL cholesterol levels. But, since phytosterols work in a dose dependent way, more may be better. In a trial of 93 people with slightly elevated cholesterol levels, Dutch and German scientists discovered that taking up to nine grams of plant stanols per day could reduce LDL cholesterol by more than 17 percent—results that are comparable to the cholesterol absorption-inhibiting drug Zetia. But, unlike statins, plant sterols and stanols are incredibly safe.

Of course, phytosterols aren’t a magic bullet. You need to take them in conjunction with a healthy diet. After all, even with a side of statins, those greasy cheeseburgers and fries shouldn’t be on anyone’s menu.

References:

Cham S. Statin-associated muscle-related adverse effects: a case series of 354 patients. Pharmacotherapy. 2010;30:541-553.

Ferenczi EA. Can a statin neutralize the cardiovascular risk of unhealthy dietary choices? American Journal of Cardiology. 2010;106:587-592.

Mensink R. Plant stanols dose-dependently decrease LDL-cholesterol concentrations, but not cholesterol-standardized fat-soluble antioxidant concentrations, at intakes up to 9 g/d. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2010;92:24-33.