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Well, thanks to the most recent ‘guidelines’ by the Cholesterol Council of America, almost everyone exceeds ‘safe’ levels of cholesterol and should lower them by taking a statin drug. These levels are ridiculously low and do not take into account the ratio of HDL/LDL or other risk factors of triglycerides, homocysteine or C-Reactive Protein (CRP) which measures inflammation in the blood and is arguably the biggest cause of heart disease. In fact, the levels are so low that there are some ‘experts’ who have advocated adding statin drugs to the water supply so everyone is medicated. Why are they so low? Maybe it has something to do with seven of the nine experts on the Cholesterol Council having financial ties to statin drug manufacturers…we’ll leave it up to you to reach your own conclusions about that.
Almost every day we have customers contacting us concerned about their cholesterol because their physician has told them they must be on a statin drug because their cholesterol is too high. Amazingly, a high percentage of the doctors who have prescribed these drugs had made the recommendation based purely on the patient’s total cholesterol and didn’t even check their HDL/LDL ratios, let alone the other risk factors.
This would be because they use a method in their clinics that only tests the total cholesterol instead of sending out the blood to a laboratory.
If you have a high cholesterol reading, don’t panic. Check the ratio of HDL/LDL, as sometimes the HDL is very high, which is great and there is no need to lower your cholesterol. Same thing applies if your triglycerides, homocysteine and CRP are OK, in which case leave your cholesterol alone. If they are elevated and your cholesterol is also elevated then try a natural solution first.
Our Cholest-Natural is an excellent option and many customers have had excellent results with it. Also, many add our Omega 3 DHA fish oils to help improve overall cardiovascular health and lower CRP.
If you are already on a statin drug you should seriously investigate if it’s really needed. Talk to your doctor about it and see if you can ‘wean’ yourself off it. This is important as there are many risks associated with these drugs, some of which are not reversible.
Among the common ones are muscle soreness, liver damage, depression, cognitive impairment, pancreatitis, and impotency. There are also studies showing that it is possible to induce cancer in rats fed with statins. What the promoters of statins don’t tell you when they advocate these drugs is that although there is a small improvement of mortality from cardiovascular disease, this is offset by an increase in mortality from other causes…cancer being one of them.
More than 50% of the people who die from a sudden heart attack DO NOT have high cholesterol. It is not the high cholesterol that is the cause. There is also evidence that suggests that when your cholesterol gets too low your risk of a stroke increases significantly. Likewise there is evidence that those people with high cholesterol live longer, as it is an essential nutrient for the manufacture of sex hormones.
Remember that 80% of the cholesterol in your body is manufactured by your liver. Only a small amount comes from your diet. If your body did not need it, it would not manufacture it.
Another VERY important point to be aware of is the mechanism used by statin drugs to stop the manufacture of cholesterol by the liver… it’s the same mechanism that stops the production of CoEnzymeQ10. This is an essential nutrient not only for the body’s overall health but for the heart itself. It is also essential for energy which is one of the reasons why people on statin drugs complain of having no energy.
If you are on a statin drug and you remain on it, then it is CRITICAL that you start taking CoQ10 as soon as possible to replenish your lost supplies. It is also important that you become aware of the enormous differences in the effectiveness of CoQ10 supplements…more on that later in the newsletter.
Bottom line…if you are on a statin drug, thinking about going on one, or have a friend or family member who is on one, then it is important that you learn as much as you can about this subject.
What you may find helpful is to read an article posted on Warren’s blog which contains many comments from readers sharing their own experiences. You can find the article by simply going to http://blog.xtend-life.com and using the search facility to enter the keyword: cholesterol-ruse.
