The Truth About Statin Drugs!!!

Alright, I consider myself to be a pretty level-headed person, but this Lipitor advertisement that states that the statin drug reduces the risk of heart attack by 36% makes me want to pull my hair out!  I have to give it to them, if I didn’t know any better, I would be very intrigued to use the drug.  So, kudos to them for great marketing.  I just wonder if they realize how many lives they could be ruining.  First of all, did you know that New Zealand and the United States are the only 2 countries that can legally advertise medication?  Let me ask you this, if prescription drugs are so good, where are all the healthy drug takers?  There aren’t any to speak of!

Back to the advertisement, if you look closely you’ll see an asterisk next to the “36%.”  Let me explain to you EXACTLY how they produced this information.  The “morally congruent” people at Pfizer (who, by the way, have been sued several times for BILLIONS of dollars for basically paying off researchers to get the result they wanted and supplying doctors with extravagant vacations in exchange for the pushing of their product) took 200 people with high cholesterol for a research study.  They split the group into two groups of 100 each.  For 3.5 years, the first 100 received Lipitor everyday.  The second group of 100 people received a placebo, or sugar pill.  After 3.5 years, 2 people in the Lipitor group died of heart attacks.  3 people in the placebo group died of heart attacks.  So after 3.5 YEARS, Lipitor saved only 1 person out of 100.  I would love to know how the overall health of the Lipitor group was after 3.5 years of putting these chemicals in their bodies.  What they fail to mention is how these NASTY drugs absolutely destroy your liver and cause all types of side effects including: extreme muscle soreness, anemia, sexual dysfunction, pancreatic failure, immune depression, and cataracts.  I can’t tell you how many dozens of times I’ve laid my hands on a practice member’s back for the first time and immediately asked if they were taking a statin drug, which they reply, “Yes.”  Their muscles are ROCK HARD!!!  Less than 2% of medical doctors take these drugs, yet they prescribe them to over 17 million Americans every year at the cost of $26 Billion!  It just does not make sense to me!  These drugs may help improve one marker (cholesterol, which is not the primary cause of cardiovascular events anyways), but the systemic problems these drugs cause have to be considered as well.  It’s NOT my job to tell you not to take these drugs, it IS my job to tell you the truth that your doctor probably didn’t tell you before writing your prescription, so that you can make the most informed decision possible.  Ask your doctor this question:  “Will I die in a month from my condition if I don’t take these drugs?”  If the answer is, “No,” then you have a month (or more) to make the necessary lifestyle changes.  These drugs should only be used to keep you alive long enough to make the necessary lifestyle changes to improve your health.  Then, you get off them ASAP!!!

The 3 leading factors for high cholesterol are high stress levels, poor diet, and lack of exercise.  So what can you do?

1)  Eat Well – Eat more fruits and vegetables.  Take an Omega 3 supplement.  You MUST limit your grains or carbohydrates.  Grains and carbohydrates cause inflammation in your blood vessels which leads to cardiovascular problems.

2)  Move Well – Exercise.  Perform the 4 minute Burst Training or go for a 30 minute walk.

3)  Think Well – Decrease stress, meditate, breath, read, listen to music, relax, laugh, watch funny movies, interact socially.

I have so much more to say on this topic, but I think that’s enough for now.  Take responsibility for your health and your life.  Nobody gets high cholesterol because of a lack of pills.  So why would you think pills would fix the cause of the problem?  You must make lifestyle changes.  If you are taking these statin drugs, I challenge you to work with your doctor and fight, scratch, and claw to work your way off these pills!  Add years to your life and life to your years!

Love and Health,

Dr. Chaz