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

 December 20, 2013

• New instructions will more than double statin drug use
• Why you don’t want to be caught up in the scam
• Just say “no” to statin drugs… here’s how

I’m in shock. But I guess I shouldn’t be. It seems like something like this has been coming for quite awhile…

I’m talking about the new cholesterol guidelines that could more than double the number of people taking statin drugs.

I’ve never been happy with this class of drugs in the first place. They are so over-used that it’s downright scary. And with these new guidelines it’s a national health disaster in the making.

You see, under the new instructions anyone who answers yes to any single one of four questions will most likely be advised to take a statin drug. These questions are…

1. Do you have heart disease?
2. Do you have diabetes?
3. Is your LDL cholesterol more than 190?
4. Is your 10-year risk of a heart attack greater than 7.5%? (i.e. do you smoke, have high blood pressure or family history of heart disease.)

In other words, if you have perfectly normal cholesterol levels and the answer is yes to questions 1, 2 or 4… your doc is likely to suggest statin drug therapy.

Now here’s the thing.

I have never seen any type of drug “pushed” as hard as statins. A few years ago there was talk about adding them to drinking water. And more recently it was hinted that statin drugs should be served with fast food meals.

Even illegal drug dealers don’t go to these lengths to hook long-term users!

It’s insanity. But with the new guidelines it seems like statin drug proponents – and the money-mongering pharmaceutical companies behind them – may be winning this war.

And the implications are horrific.

There is no doubt that we are a nation who loves to take pills for all that ails us. But our pill-popping society might just be sending us to an early grave. This is especially true when it comes to statin drugs.

While everyone happily pops these cholesterol lowering pills – thinking they are doing something good for their heart – what they’re really doing is damaging the most important muscle in their body. Their heart muscle.

You see, these drugs can cause a deadly form of muscle damage called rhabdomyolysis. This disease not only causes severe muscle pain.

It can also lead to liver damage, kidney failure and death.

And while the companies that produce Lipitor, Crestor and other statin drugs would like you to think otherwise, there is absolutely no way to disguise the fact that your heart is a muscle.

Do you know what that means?

This class of drugs causes direct injury to the muscular tissue in your heart.

The reason for this problem is relatively simple. While statins cause your liver to produce less cholesterol, they also rob your body of much-needed CoQ10.

CoQ10 fuels every muscle in your body with energy – including your heart. When statin drugs steal this critical nutrient from your body your heart can’t efficiently pump blood. Worse, a long-term reduction in CoQ10 can actually cause heart failure.

And guess what else happens?

Taking statin drugs increases your odds of hardening of the arteries by more than half. This leaves you wide open for rips and tears in your blood vessels, the accumulation of plaque, inflammation and blockages. Unless you’ve had your head in the sand, you know these are key risk factors for a heart attack.

And that’s just the beginning of your problems. It turns out these drugs also cause…

• Diabetes
• Peripheral neuropathy
• Memory loss
• Cataracts

I don’t think any of this is what you want in your future, so I have a few words of advice.

There’s no possible way taking a drug that damages your heart muscle, hardens your arteries and increases your risk of all sorts of age-related diseases is a good idea.

Here at my practice, my patients are my first concern. My goal is to provide them with the tools (not the drugs!) to help them live longer and healthier lives.

I’ll give you the same advice I give them.

Managing cholesterol levels and preventing cardiovascular disease is one of the easiest things you can do in your life. And there is absolutely no reason why you can’t accomplish it on your own.

Here are my recommendations…

• Get Your Body Moving. In today’s pill-popping world, it’s very easy to make an excuse not to get your body moving. But it’s the number one thing you can do to improve your cholesterol levels.

Brisk exercise increases good HDL cholesterol and lower HDL cholesterol. I suggest 30 minutes five times a week. And it doesn’t have to be hard. All you have to do is walk, run, swim or ride a bike to gain the benefits. The more intervals of intensity you add, the better off you will be.

• Go Mediterranean. Add great foods like fish, olive oil and nuts to your diet. These foods have fueled the health of people in the Mediterranean for centuries and there is no reason you shouldn’t be privy to the same benefits. It can cut your risk of heart disease and keep you living healthier, longer.

• Supplement with policosanol and niacin. Both of these nutrients raise HDL cholesterol and lower LDL cholesterol. I suggest 20 mg. policosanol and 250 mg. of niacin.

• Don’t forget to take your CoQ10! If you are taking a statin drug, it’s absolutely ESSENTIAL to supplement with CoQ10. 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 eat include omega-3 rich fish in your diet, get plenty of high antioxidant fruits and veggies and reduce your intake of processed flours and sugars.

Now some of these changes may appear hard to you. But the benefits far outweigh the damage your body – and your heart – may experience at the hands of harmful statin drugs.

References
Sattar N, et al. Statins and risk of incident diabetes: a collaborative meta-analysis of randomised statin trials. Lancet. 2010 Feb 27;375(9716):735-42. Epub 2010 Feb 16.

Tierney EF, et al. The association of statin use with peripheral neuropathy in the US population 40 years of age or older. J Diabetes. 2012 Nov 1. [Epub ahead of print]

FDA Drug Safety Communication: Important safety label changes to cholesterol-lowering statin drugs. FDA. Feb 2012.

Machan CM, et al. Age-related cataract is associated with type 2 diabetes and statin use. Optom Vis Sci. 2012 Aug;89(8):1165-71.

Nakazato R, et al. Statins use and coronary artery plaque composition: results from the International Multicenter CONFIRM Registry. Atherosclerosis. 2012 Nov;225(1):148-53. Epub 2012 Aug 24.

Universitat de Barcelona (2013, February 25). Mediterranean diet helps cut risk of heart attack, stroke: Results of PREDIMED study presented. ScienceDaily. Retrieved February 28, 2013, from http://www.sciencedaily.com¬

Gouni-Berthold I, Berthold HK. Policosanol: clinical pharmacology and therapeutic significance of a new lipid-lowering agent. Am Heart J. 2002 Feb;143(2):356-65