The Ins & Outs of Statins

Statins are a class of drugs used to help lower cholesterol. They are reductase inhibitors which inhibit a reductase enzyme that plays a central role in cholesterol production in the liver. Research has shown statins to be of benefit in the treatment of cardiovascular disease due to this cholesterol-lowering effect. However, like many modern drugs, some scientists and doctors are concerned about the overuse of statins. It seems like some doctors prescribe statins as a cardiovascular cure-all once patients show certain traits or reach age thresholds.

So yes, statins do lower cholesterol, but at what cost? And, is cholesterol really the problem? Known side-effects of statin use include muscle damage (your heart is essentially muscle tissue), diabetes, depression, memory loss, nausea, headaches and diarrhoea. My own reading on statins continually produces two opposing schools of thought. The first is that stains are a “magic bullet” for many cardiovascular ills and that people even as young as fifty should start taking them as a prevention. This line on thinking however, seems to always trace back to the pharmaceutical companies (surprise). The second school of thought is that when you break it down, inflammation in arteries is more of a causal factor in cardiovascular disease than high cholesterol itself.

It must be said that some statins have actually been shown to reduce inflammation in the arteries. However, incredibly inflammation has also been linked to drugs used to lower cholesterol and also, wait for it… the many Low-Fat (high fad) diets that have pervaded our lives. So in essence, whilst statin use has been shown to lower the risk of mortality from cardiac episodes, the reduced risk may have really come about from the anti-inflammatory properties some statins possess. Cholesterol is only a problem when it builds up. How can it build up in one area without inflammation or scarring inside vessels?

Next time your doctor wants to prescribe statins for you, ask why. If they say your cholesterol is high, ask why this is a problem? Ask what dietary changes you can make to lower so-called “bad” cholesterol and importantly, to assist you to naturally reduce inflammation. As I always say, you can’t beat eating good wholesome foods including some fats. It’s excess that kills, along with lack of exercise, smoking, alcohol and high-acid diets!