For years, statins have by far been the most prescribed drugs in the world. And there seems to be no stop to it.
Some doctors even want every single person over the age of 50 to be forced to take statins, whether or not they actually have high cholesterol or blood pressure levels.
On the naturally-focused side, we know that the two most important things needed to manage cholesterol levels are to eat healthy and exercise. This raises good cholesterol and lowers bad.
However recently, studies have been showing side effects that may prevent you from using natural methods if you’re on statins; therefore, contradicting the whole purpose of them.
It’s been known for a long time that known side effects of statins include muscle aches and fatigue. But they differ in how badly they affect people.
To investigate this, researchers in Strasbourg, France, fed statin drugs to a group of rats. After two weeks, they compared the endurance and strength by comparing medicated and non-medicated rats on treadmills.
No big surprise was waiting for them. The medicated rats became exhausted much sooner and couldn’t run as far or as fast as the non-medicated group.
But the researchers didn’t stop there. They also discovered that the oxidative stress on skeletal muscles (way to measure potential cell damage) was 60% higher in the medicated rats than the non-medicated. That is for the rats that did NOT run.
It gets even worse. The medicated rats that were running had 226% more oxidative stress on the skeletal muscles than the rats that ran and were not medicated with statins.
The medicated running rats also had less capacity to store glycogen in the skeletal muscles, which is something necessary for anyone who wants to work out. Muscles’ inability to store glycogen can also lead to type 2 diabetes.
The conclusion is that working out while on statins is much more difficult and post- workout muscle recovery takes a much longer time.
For many people, it’s hard enough to pull yourself up from the couch and workout; medications getting in the way just add insult to injury.
Now the statin drugs are preventing patients from exercising, which is something that’s considered even more effective to balance cholesterol than statin drugs.
It’s like giving a lung cancer patient a drug in the form of a “healthy cigarette”!
Any drug that prevent, or make it more difficult for people with high cholesterol to eat healthy or workout automatically is in my mind more harmful than helpful, especially drugs that are taken for a long period of time like statins.
Sore muscles and lack of endurance and fatigue are only a few of many side effects statins produce. Recently they’ve been linked to memory loss, type 2 diabetes and more.
However, no big study has ever proven that using statins lowers the risk of dying from any condition except maybe for males who have already suffered one or more heart attacks.
And the debate on whether high cholesterol is, in fact, harmful in any way is still out there with no clear conclusion in sight. A few months back, I wrote a long article on the complicated issue of cholesterol listing all aspects. You can read this article here…
The main thing is to keep your cholesterol level at the base that is good for YOU. It may not be the same exact number as is good for your spouse or friends.
And you want to do everything in your power to improve your cardiovascular health. That includes managing your cholesterol level naturally, lower your blood pressure, and reduce oxidization of the arteries. Drugs that make it more damaging for you to workout are not going to help you to achieve this.
For step-by-step information on how to manage your cholesterol naturally, click here…
To learn simple, easy exercises to drop your blood pressure to normal, click here…
But first, before doing anything else, please let us know what you think by leaving your comment below.
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Many years ago my cholestral shot up, and my “then” doctor told me I could drop dead at any moment. If I had been a vulnerable operson it would have been terrible, but I am not given to panicking. Was told I immediatley had to see a specialist and put on medication. The appointment was made- for six months later! So much for dropping dead.! I took matters into my own hands, started taking Lecithin, and going on a very good diet, and cancelled the appointment.The Doctor was furious- eight months later- and called me in. You are going to end up in a wooden box he said. I said. I am still alive and you told me that eight months ago. Right- he said- we will take another blood test. The blood test came back and my reading was perfect. His resident nurse asked me what I had done and I told her, and she said she would pass it on because others who had been put on this medication had not only not improved, but had other horrendous side effects.I am very glad you are exposing what statins are doing to people. They affect the liver and pancreas also, and two frieds have died and not from anything to do with the heart. Both from pancreatitis. I live in England and they dish out this drug and people just take them and never question what possible side effects there are.So I applaud your warning- people need to know. And I would like to know what you think of Steriods, especially Prednisone.
For years, my physician wanted me to take Statins and I refused. I am glad now, as everyday, I see more reasons to NOT take them.
Took 7 or 8 of them over a period of a year. Severe muscle pain. Not on anything now.
thanks ellen…told mike the same thing yesterday….
Surprising is the correct spelling!
My Mom has been on statins for 15 years and her health has steadily declined, she is unable to exercise very well, she cannot walk outdoors without fatigue and she had multiple muscle and bone aches, which everyone seems to chalk up to arthritis. She keeps thinks doctors have her best interest at heart and I have told her reapeatedly how dangerous this class of drugs really are, but she believes them and not my natural approaches to health and well-being. It has been very sad to she her decline from this approach to her health. Anyway, I think the dangers should be exposed and people get to decide their choice, but these drugs are heavily marketed and given to anyone who will take them.
Please, if your doctor has prescribed a statin drug for you, research the side effects for yourself and decide if you are willing to continue taking it.
The higher the dosage given, the faster and more likely there will be problems that your doctor may even deny could be caused by these drugs even though it is a listed possibility.
Cholesterol is not the problem..it is it's under utilization due to the scare the medical community has put out regarding sun exposure and skin cancer…the real culprit is the petro- chemicals that are used in sun blockers..the sun is essential for a heathy life it converts cholesterol into vitamin D3 which we can not live without…..without it's convesion to D3 it builds up in the blood stream and is oxidized by free radicals and that is where the problem and the plaque stem from….
Statins and the Cholesterol lark combined is one of the biggest cons of all time. Over the years I have seen the dire consequences of the use of the chemica drugl. Read my book 'SELLING SICKNESS!', How To Take Control Of Your Own Health, or 'THE GREAT CHOLESTEROL CON'' by Doctor Malcolm Kendrick, to help understand how the taxpayers and patients are being duped out of billions by the drug companies and their cohorts the medical profession.
Iv'e been through, Lipitor, Crestor, Lovestatin, and presently, Simistatin.I still suffer with the aching muscles and fatique. If I do the slightest bit of physchical work, say in the garden, I have to rest for at least five mins. before proceeding.It is obvious the whole medical "industry" has not been EDUCATED but rather CONDITIONED.
thanks!
Thank you Grace. Please tell me how much lecithin you took and the times of the day you took it. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
People have died from heart attacks whose cholesterol was normal.
The body produces cholesterol. There is good and bad. It is important to increase the good cholesterol and reduce the bad cholesterol. Eating green/whole foods will greatly help the individual. Statins have a terrible effect on the body. Often feet are sore, muscles and joints ache, and the individual is not able to be as mobile as before. Reducing cholesterol can be achieved naturally without resorting to Statins. Big Pharma is not interested in the individual. It sees him/her as a customer rather than a patient. Doctors often don’t know the negative side effects of these many drugs that they prescribe. It is advantageous to go to a nature path. Better yet go to a doctor of homeopathy as he is a specialist. It is also important to take responsibility for one’s own health.
Drs work hand in glove with pharmaceuticals who profit from men’s ills.
Surprised. It is all about profits not health.
To avoid taking prescription statins, my wholistic doctor suggested I substitute a natural statin supplement called red yeast rice (along with a lot of the CoQ10 which regular docs also recommend taking along with their prescription statins). However, I’ve learned that the muscle pain symptomatic of liver damage which is caused by prescription statins also occurs with red yeast rice. Does anyone know which statin was given the ultimately exhausted mice in this experiment? Does anyone have any conclusions about taking red yeast rice instead?
I have not heard of this before – but it seems to make sense
Just STOP the statins – you do have control
Well friends all the information given is very well appreciated.I am a doctor by profession and i want to tell you one thing that all doctors are not hand in glove with the pharma companies,there sure are many doctors like me.The most important side effect of statins is Rhabdomylosis.Thats what everybody here is talking about(muscle pain).There are a few chronic cases where rhabdomylosis has caused death!!So i suggest that you always take a well informed decision before taking allopathy drugs.For a health way of living i suggest you read a book titled ‘What your doctor doesnt know about nutritional medicine may be killing you.’ written by an M.D,Dr.Ray D.Strand.Wish you all a Happy and Healthy living.
Cholesterol plays a vital role in the functioning of the body. Cholesterol is found in every cell in the body and without it our body could not function. Understanding why it is there and the purpose it serves is something of which everyone should be aware. As cholesterol cannot be dissolved in the blood, it has to be carried to and from the cells by lipoproteins. Lipoproteins come in two forms. The first is the low density lipoprotein (LDL) which is the supply of new cholesterol to the cells of the body, which unfortunately is also referred to as the “bad” cholesterol. The second form is the high density lip (HDL), which is the spent cholesterol returning to the liver and other organs to be resynthesised and is known as the “good” cholesterol.
I am certain that many medical practitioners, if not most, are aware that the role of Statins is to inhibit the synthesis of cholesterol by reducing the production of mevalonate, a precursor of cholesterol. What many may not know is that mevalonate is actually a precursor of both cholesterol and coenzyme Q10.
Coenzyme Q10 plays a critical role in the Citric Acid (or Krebbs) Cycle, where it changes from its ubiquinol form to its ubiquinone form to produce muscular contraction, and then it is converted back into its ubiquinol form. So as a result, the effect of Statins will impair body muscles, including the heart, the body’s largest muscle. Hence the common complaint of muscle soreness as well as heart failure in connection with the use of statin drugs.
But here is the most disturbing fact and one which is not known by most medical practitioners, and that is how the common cholesterol blood test is conducted. The first step is to measure the total HDL and LDL cholesterol including triglycerides, then the quantity of HDL, high density lipoprotein, which is the returning spent cholesterol, or “good cholesterol”, is measured. This done visually using a microscope and computing its density. Then the quantity of triglycerides is measured using a centrifuge and finally the LDL, low density lipoprotein. This is the new cholesterol being exported throughout the body and is calculated by subtracting from the total cholesterol, the sum of the HDL and the triglycerides, instead of measuring it directly as in the case of HDL. Unfortunately in this approach, this means that the corrupted HDL gets included with the LDL. It would be the corrupted HDL which could be referred to as the “bad cholesterol”, certainly not the LDL itself.
If the LDL were to be measured directly, hence separating the corrupted HDL from the LDL, the market for Statins, would fall dramatically, because not only would the LDL figure fall but at the same time either the HDL figure would be increased or the corrupted HDL be listed separately. But for some strange reason this test is very expensive in Australia and probably elsewhere, and in Australia it is not covered by Medicare, even though the effort to calculate it is only slightly greater.
If this current test is also used to monitor a patient’s progress, then the bias of including the corrupted HDL with the LDL, will continue and so will the prescription of statin drugs. This is what is happening, which is great news for the pharmaceutical industry, particularly with the very real threat of heart failure. Perhaps if the patient has a negative result from his test, the patient should get the full test to verify the result.
Oh! Did I mention that the laboratories, which do the analysis, are owned by pharmaceutical corporations?
I was put on statins and experienced all those side effects, until I decided to get off the statins and contracted polymyalgia in the process, but slowly I’m getting better and feeling normal again. Those doctors who prescribe statins should be taken to court for inducing bodily harm!!!!
Thanks to all of you for this information,I was on statins for over 7yrs along with blood pressure meds. After 7yrs I became very ill, every time I ate food I would be on the floor screaming in agony day in day out for over two years. I had no idea what was happening to me and the doctors put it down to work related stress. My body was producing more acididity than ones body should but my doctor was insistant that the drugs i was on had nothing to do with my pain. As of 8 months ago I stopped taking the statins and slowly I could see improvements at times i still have pain but not for long bouts like i used to and now it is very rarely that i have these bouts at all…..so I put it down to the damn tablets I was told to take over those years or else i would have a stoke and or possibly die. I have not been back to the doctors as i fear smacking him in the mouth…a few times. I can’t believe they are putting people through all this agony just to make money….bastards.
Take 100-200 mg of Co-Q10 if you are under 30 yrs old, or 50-100mg of Ubiquinol if you are over 30. The body converts Co-Q10 to Ubiquinol, but not as efficiently if you are over 30. Read Wikipedia's article about Ubiquinol, part of which is here:"ubiquinol's primary roles are in the synthesis of mitochondrial energy and as a protective antioxidant." Statins deplete your body's natural production of CoQ10. There have been certain side effects associated with the use of statin medications such as fatigue and chronic muscle aches & pains.
Take 100-200 mg of Co-Q10 if you are under 30 yrs old, or 50-100mg of Ubiquinol if you are over 30. The body converts Co-Q10 to Ubiquinol, but not as efficiently if you are over 30. Read Wikipedia’s article about Ubiquinol, part of which is here: “ubiquinol’s primary roles are in the synthesis of mitochondrial energy and as a protective antioxidant.” Statins deplete your body’s natural production of CoQ10. There have been certain side effects associated with the use of statin medications such as fatigue and chronic muscle aches & pains.
Statins are made from red yeast rice. A recent study noted that that the amount of statins in red yeast rice can differ by a factor of 100–one serving of rice might give you 100 times more statin than another serving. If you must take statins, at least use the pharmaceutical that has a measured dose. I have been taking Crestor, which for me, has a lot less side effects that simvastatin.