Statin Deception and Truths

Over the past forty years, an unprecedented number of new medications have become available to the American public.  In some cases these new discoveries save lives.  They can also make basic daily functioning finally feasible for those with debilitating ailments.  Wonderful inventions!  In other cases, however, we have medications designed to "band aid" the damage we do to our body through poor lifestyle choices.  We are becoming increasingly comfortable with just "popping a pill" to make ourselves feel better.   

It is important to remember that all medications are toxins.  Yes, 100% of them.  Even if they have beneficial effects, they are still unnatural, chemical substances that the body must detoxify just like a poison.  So make sure that any medication you take - whether prescribed or over-the-counter - is really necessary and critical to your wellbeing.  We need to learn to think about the trade-off of putting toxins in our body each time we swallow a drug.  Sometimes, it's absolutely worth it, and other times, we mindlessly take a drug in order to block out our body's signal that something is wrong.  

Nearly all drugs are designed to provide temporary relief.  They are not designed to cause healing of any kind.  Instead, drugs force the body to do something different from what the body would/will naturally do.  For example, we may take an NSAID painkiller (e.g. Tylenol  or Advil) for a headache caused by stressful lifestyle choices. After 20 minutes, we perceive that the headache just "goes away".  Realize that the root cause of your headache is in no way gone.  It's still there.  You've just numbed yourself so you can't feel it...so you can ignore it, at least for the short-term.  But our bodies eventually get through to us.  Making a choice to ignore your body's signals (e.g. pain, inflammation, swelling, congestion) over and over and over again sets us up for chronic disease.      

The number one highest revenue-generating drug category in the US is statins.  Are you surprised?  Prescribed typically to lower total cholesterol or the amount of so-called "bad" LDL cholesterol, doctors are recommending these drugs to an increasingly wider group of patients.  In some cases, statins are given to healthy people with no cardiovascular issues at all but who have a family history of related problems.  You will notice in statin advertisements that the goal promised is lowering cholesterol - not preventing heart disease or savings lives.  For most people taking them, statins do "work" as advertised -  they artificially lower your LDL cholesterol.  But do you know how they do it?  And is it always a good idea? 

Statins immobilize part of your liver.  Yes, that's right.  They clamp down on the most important organ in your body for detoxification.  Statins do this essentially by blocking an enzyme pathway so your liver cannot make cholesterol.  Many people are under the mistaken impression that you simply get high cholesterol by eating it in foods like steak, eggs, and shrimp.  Your liver, however, is capable of making much more cholesterol than most of us could ever eat.  That's because cholesterol is a natural and critical substance in the body...  Among many other roles, it's used to build membranes for all the 10 trillion cells in your body.  It protects your nerves, especially those in your brain.  It's also required for your body to make hormones like testosterone and estrogen.  Cholesterol is not evil.  

So we take a statin and lower our cholesterol.  Does that mean we are safe from heart disease?  Not even close!  The same enzyme pathway in the liver that makes cholesterol also makes a critical nutrient called CoEnzyme-10 (or CoQ10).  In every cell of our body, we have many mitochondria - little energy factories which fuel the basic process of life and give us energy.  If you take a statin drug, your body is essentially incapable of making CoQ10.  As a result, energy production in our cells suffers, particularly cells in muscle tissue.  And what's the most important muscle in the body?  Your heart.  Multiple studies have shown that without CoQ10 supplementation, taking statins may be making your heart weaker, not stronger.  A recent one showed that after over four years of taking statins, there was no improvement in the incidence of heart failure among the statin-takers.  No, I'm not making this up!  A drug designed to prevent heart disease is actually capable of predisposing you for it.  Statin users also report a whole host of other side effects too, especially exhaustion, fatigue, and acute muscle pain and soreness.  Sometimes these side effects can last for months or years after stopping the medication. 

So are the benefits of statins worth the trade-offs?  That's exactly the question I encourage you to ponder and discuss with your doctor.  Research shows the answer is undeniably "yes" if you are over the age of 70 and have already had some type of cardiovascular episode.  For others, the answer isn't so clear.  There are many proven, simple, natural ways to manage your cholesterol.  The right diet, lifestyle, and targeted supplements can actually work but by actually healing your body, not by handcuffing your liver. 

Contrary to what you hear in statin ads, there is no scientifically-proven correlation between total cholesterol levels and the incidence of heart disease. In fact, people with the lowest cholesterol as they age are at the highest risk of death. Research shows the most important blood markers for preventing heart disease are increasing HDL "good" cholesterol and lowering triglycerides.  Studies also show that your levels of the "dreaded" LDL may or may not be a problem.  High HDL and low triglycerides can protect you from high LDL by preventing oxidation and its associated plaque build-up in arteries. 

The media and pharmaceutical companies often portray heart disease protection to be as mindless as popping a pill.  Taking medications is a personal choice influenced by a wide variety of factors.  I just encourage you to take those choices seriously and to weigh all the pros and cons.  Get educated about the side effects and toxicity of every drug you consider taking.  And, if you do take statins, check with your doctor and seriously consider supplementing daily with an appropriate dose of CoQ10 to keep your heart healthy and strong.

Healthy - and Delicious - Vegetarian Eating

Do you believe every meal needs a piece of meat to be satisfying?  This event is perfect for vegetarians, for meat-lovers, or for those who simply want more alternatives and variety in their diet beyond typical American fare.  Vegetarian dishes really can be hearty, delicious, and satisfying.  Don't believe me?  Come and see for yourself!  Learn to build a balanced single meal - or a lifestyle - using food from the earth.  Let me show you how to do this with easy dishes you'll want to make at home.  $35

Spring Cleaning for Your Body

Register now to participate in one of these lively, entertaining, and delicious events (call 508-944-1407 or email tracy@eatonpurpose.com).