Statin scare

It is shocking that so many people are bullied by doctors into taking statin cholesterol drugs: “The evidence is overwhelming: statins save lives.” “You’re a walking time-bomb. I can’t be responsible for your safety if you don’t take it.” “Your cholesterol is so high that you could die of a heart attack any time.” I’ve even heard of many patients being “fired” by doctors because of a refusal to take the prescription for Lipitor, Zocor, Crestor, or other drug. Why such strong-arm tactics? Several reasons: People are given the wrong diet, a diet—reduced in total and saturated fat, increased “healthy whole grains”—that causes inflammation/rise in c-reactive protein (CRP), a drop in HDL (“good”) cholesterol , rise in triglycerides (sometimes dramatic), and an explosion of small LDL particles, all witnessed on the standard cholesterol panel as low HDL, high triglycerides, and higher LDL cholesterol (though under-representing the full magnitude of rise in small LDL particles), as well as higher fasting blood sugar, higher HbA1c, higher blood pressure. These metabolic distortions do indeed increase cardiovascular risk, though not for the reasons most doctors think. This is interpreted by most doctors as reflecting your bad dietary habits and/or the uselessness of diet. The clinical studies purporting to show 25-50% reduction in cardiovascular risk do nothing of the sort. The ...
Source: Wheat Belly Blog - Category: Cardiology Authors: Tags: Wheat Belly Lifestyle cardiovascular cholesterol HDL lipids lipoproteins small LDL particles statins triglycerides Source Type: blogs