By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness

 August 17, 2015

• Are statins driving you to violence?
• Lowering cholesterol won’t save your heart…
• …But here’s what will

If you’re a normal red-blooded adult, chances are about one in four that your doctor has prescribed you a statin drug.

You’ve probably been told they’re practically harmless, and will protect you from a heart attack or stroke.

Now, it’s true that these drugs will lower your cholesterol. But there’s no concrete evidence statins will prevent you from having a heart attack, stroke or any other cardiovascular problems.

Worse, these drugs aren’t without risk.

They can damage your heart muscle, right along with all the other muscles in your body. They increase your odds of hardening of the arteries by more than half. They’re linked to diabetes, peripheral neuropathy, cataracts, dementia and kidney failure.

But statins have another, lesser-known side effect.

If you’ve been taking these drugs and people have told you that you act different, they may be right. It turns out this class of drug can have some strange effects on your mood and behavior.

Women can become unusually aggressive.

And the more mildly you behave under normal circumstances, the more aggressive you can become after taking statins. If you’re a man, you could also show the same effects. But in some men, it works just the opposite. That’s because statins can suck the testosterone right out of you. This could actually lower your aggression levels.

And that’s not the only unusual behavior changes we’re seeing in statin users.

Lower cholesterol is also associated with violence, depression and suicide. This is true in both sexes.

For example, guess what happened when men and women arrested for violent crime had their cholesterol measured? They had significantly lower cholesterol than non-criminals identical in age and sex.

We’re also finding that suicides and suicide attempts are more violent among people with low cholesterol. There’s even evidence that men without heart disease who take cholesterol-lowering drugs have an excess of violent deaths.

Clearly this is a dangerous class of drugs.

Worse, statins target the wrong problem altogether.

Cholesterol itself isn’t the key factor in heart disease. Instead, it’s the size and density of your low density lipoproteins (mistakenly called bad cholesterol) as well as chronic vascular inflammation.

When LDL particles are small, numerous, and dense, they tend to slip into the lining of your blood vessels where they can do the most damage. This can lead to plaque buildup, blockages and heart attack. Yet, statins do nothing to tackle the issue of particle size.

Thankfully, there are ways to create large, fluffy, bouncy LDL. And I guarantee they’ll protect your heart and blood vessels without any nasty side effects.

Take extended-release niacin daily. We now know that extended-release niacin has a specific effect on the smaller, more dangerous LDL particles. In just three months, it can increase large-particle LDL by over 80%.

Plus it enhances the role of large HDL particles which also reduces cardio risk. I recommend supplementing with up to 500 mg. of niacin. Start at 100-125 mg. and build up weekly by 100-125 mg. until you reach 500 mg.

That flush (or hot flash) you may get is dilation of capillaries just below your skin and brings blood and oxygen to your epidermis. If it bothers you for the 15-20 minutes it happens you can take a baby aspirin just before to decrease that effect.

Get plenty of omega-3 fish oil. Fish oil high in DHA and EPA helps increase LDL particle size. These fatty acids also decrease triglycerides, boost HDL and improve blood pressure. They also have one more benefit. Omega-3s have the ability to lengthen and maintain your telomeres. Longer telomeres are linked with better cardiovascular outcomes.

Look for one that contains oil from fresh, wild-caught, deep sea fish. And make sure it’s been molecularly distilled and tested for purity (i.e., no mercury.) Take 4000 mg. daily for telomere lengthening, or 2000 mg. a day for general support.

Don’t forget to take your CoQ10! If you’re taking a statin drug, it’s absolutely ESSENTIAL to supplement with CoQ10.

But I recommend CoQ10 to everyone.

That’s because it provides the cellular energy your heart, muscles and other organs need to function properly. Look for the most bio-available form available. It’s called “ubiquinol.” Just 100 mg. a day can protect and preserve your heart health.

It will also help if you exercise daily, get plenty of high antioxidant fruits and veggies and reduce your intake of processed flours and sugars.

These changes aren’t hard. And the benefits far outweigh the damage your body, brain and heart may experience at the hands of harmful statin drugs.

Sources:
Golomb BA, et al. Statin Effects on Aggression: Results from the UCSD Statin Study, a Randomized Control Trial. PLOS ONE, 2015; 10 (7): e0124451.

Golomb BA, et al. Low cholesterol and violent crime. J Psychiatr Res. 2000 Jul-Oct;34(4-5):301-9.

Golomb BA. Cholesterol and violence: is there a connection? Ann Intern Med. 1998 Mar 15;128(6):478-87.

Vevera J, et al. Cholesterol concentrations in violent and non-violent women suicide attempters. Eur Psychiatry. 2003 Feb;18(1):23-7.

Griffin BA. The effect of n-3 fatty acids on low density lipoprotein subfractions. Lipids. 2001;36 Suppl:S91-7.

Kuvin JT, et al. Effects of extended-release niacin on lipoprotein particle size, distribution, and inflammatory markers in patients with coronary artery disease. Am J Cardiol. 2006 Sep 15;98(6):743-5