Use of Statin Drugs to Lower Cholesterol Is Under Attack

A review of several published articles in the Archives of Internal Medicine have found that the effectiveness of statin drugs are questionable. Most all of the studies might be biased, and several questions have been raised about the financial and professional motives of the medical researchers who conducted many highly influential studies.

An elevated cholesterol is generally not a risk factor unless it is in the 400 range. The normal upper range of 200 has been arbitrarily set by convention, and this level was known to scientists in the pharmaceutical industry, to capture millions of patients as candidates for statin use.

Our baseline cholesterol levels are usually related to genetics, but a low glycemic diet and hormone optimization will generally lower the number, as well as lower the triglycerides. Regular physical exercise and eating plenty of fiber also helps bring elevated cholesterol down.

One of my patients is a pharmaceutical scientist that helped get one of the statin drugs approved by the FDA. He confessed to me that this drug, like all statins, was very toxic, but loved by the FDA because it lowers cholesterol so effectively. For those of you that take statins because your primary care provider or cardiologist insists, try taking it just 3 days per week. It will still keep the cholesterol under 200 with less lethal and debilitating side effects.

If you wish to read further and understand the depth of this issue, purchase a copy of "Alzheimer's Revisited".

"Alzheimer's Revisited" was written by a dentist in South Carolina. Interesting story from his perspective.

Henry Lorin's father weighed over 300 pounds. At age 50 he had an irregular heart beat and went to see his cardiologist. Cardiologist scared him into going on a crash Pritikin Diet that eliminated all fat and most protein. His father was also put on double doses of a well known statin drug to lower the cholesterol. Within a year the father had lost over 200 pounds, but developed Alzheimer's Disease. At autopsy the brain had shrunk as expected.

Henry Lorin's father had a twin brother that also weighed over 300 pounds. He was never placed on a statin drug such as his brother, and lived to be a ripe old 80 year old. No Alzheimer's Disease. So...Dr. Lorin paid a researcher to glean all the medical literature for research done on statins that was not funded or sponsored by a pharmaceutical company. What he found was astounding!

Malnutrition, even mild, along with statins are strongly implicated in the onset of Alzheimer's Disease. As we all know, older persons lose some of their taste buds, often eat alone, and often are malnourished because of bad dentures. Then their well-meaning physician prescribes a cholesterol-lowering drug. Perfect storm for development of dementia and neurological decline.

Statins do not prolong survival, and often impair quality of life. They are designer drugs and not fit for human consumption. If the same effort was put forth by physicians to educate their patients in the Mediterranean Diet and coached them for increasing physical exercise, their triglycerides and cholesterol would come down naturally. Drug-free.

Lewis H. Stocks, M.D., Ph.D. Medical Director Stocks Institute Raleigh NC