statins are not magic bullets for cholesterol

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Despite the claims of the mainstream media, Lesco and other statins

are not magic bullets for cholesterol

 

 

Posted Tuesday, June 20, 2006 by Dani Veracity

 

 

We all want a " quick fix " for disorders like high cholesterol, it

seems. We want to be able to eat all the pizza and cheeseburgers we

want and then take a magic pill so all the LDL cholesterol running

through our bloodstream just disappears. No matter what the statin

drug commercials tell you, there is no " magic pill " solution for high

cholesterol. Despite the mainstream media's portrayal of statin drugs

like Lescol (fluvastatin) as near-miraculous, cholesterol-lowering

medications like Lescol and other statins are nevertheless drugs with

side effects. Don't be fooled by the hype -- you don't need the risk

or expense of Lescol to lower the cholesterol clogging your arteries.

 

Lescol is one of six prescription drugs known as " statins. " Others

include Baycol, Lipitor, Zocor, Pravachol and Mevachor. Lescol and the

other statins work by blocking 3-hydroxy-3 methyl glutaryl coenzyme A

(HMG-CoA) reductase, an enzyme the body needs to produce cholesterol

in the liver. Due to this effect, proponents of these drugs argue that

they reduce cholesterol levels, as well as risk for heart attacks and

coronary-related death. As " South Beach Diet " author Arthur Agatston

writes, " With [statin drugs], we were able to cut cholesterol quite

easily and dramatically -- 20 to 30 percent initially, and now, up to

50 percent. "

 

However, like most things that seem too good to be true, this " quick

fix " solution to cholesterol has a strong downside that outweighs its

benefits. " There's no doubt that statins help millions by reducing

heart attacks, strokes and overall cardiac mortality. But statins harm

thousands, perhaps millions more, often unnecessarily, " the Life

Extension Foundation writes in " Disease Prevention and Treatment. " As

testament to this, on Aug. 8, 2001, the FDA announced that Bayer

Pharmaceuticals had voluntarily decided to remove Baycol from the U.S.

market after research studies indicated the drug sometimes causes a

fatal muscle-wasting disease called rhabdomyolysis.

 

However, just because the remaining five statins are still on the

market doesn't mean they are safe. The 2004 Bottom Line Yearbook

states, " Five statins remain on the market -- lovastatin (Mevacor),

simvastatin (Zocor), pravastatin (Pravachol), atorvastatin (Lipitor)

and fluvastatin (Lescol). Each of these can cause Myositis. " This is a

rare and sometimes debilitating disease in which the body's immune

system chronically inflames muscle tissue, progressively weakening it.

Furthermore, animal-based research studies indicate that statins like

Lescol may cause cancer, according to " Worst Pills, Best Pills " by Dr.

Sidney M. Wolfe MD and Larry D. Sasich. All this translates to 81

deaths linked to the five remaining statin drugs, according to figures

in American Medical Publishing's Prescription Medicines, Side Effects

and Natural Alternatives, and those are only the ones found under

today's voluntary reporting requirements.

 

Fortunately, you don't need Lescol and other potentially dangerous

statin drugs to lower your cholesterol. In the NewsTarget article " How

to lower high cholesterol naturally without prescription drugs " ,

Health Ranger Mike Adams explains how he dropped his LDL (bad)

cholesterol to only 67 by using healthy exercise and nutrition, rather

than statins. Read Adams' tried-and-trusted strategies for lowering

your cholesterol and making your body healthier overall before you

decide to try an ill-conceived " magic pill " solution.

 

Note from Mike Adams, the Health Ranger: Even when statin drugs lower

cholesterol, that is no " cure " for a health condition. High

cholesterol is not a disease, it's only a measurement of a single

biochemical marker. By treating only the high cholesterol, doctors are

treating symptoms, not the underlying causes of disease.

Related book:

The Real Safety Guide to Disease Prevention

More than 80% of all chronic disease is preventable, but only if you

know how. Learn the proven, yet simple prevention strategies for

cancer, heart disease, diabetes, depression, Alzheimer's and many

other degenerative health conditions.

Statin drugs may be dangerous for reasons far beyond what was

mentioned above. Statins, for example, interfere with normal liver

metabolism, resulting in alarming deficiencies of CoQ10 in the body's

cells, leading to heart problems and chronic fatigue. By blocking the

production of cholesterol, statins also interfere with the production

of sex hormones and vitamin D.

 

If you're on statin drugs, and you've lost your sex drive, feel tired

all the time, and have poor bone density, these aren't coincidences.

The drugs can cause these problems, all of which are of course treated

with more drugs rather than just taking patients off the statin drugs

and resorting to natural cholesterol solutions.

 

People who take statin drugs to " control " their cholesterol are

literally swallowing a lie. Take it from me, with HDL cholesterol of

62 and LDL cholesterol of 67, you don't need drugs to have healthy

cholesterol. The hyping and marketing of statin drugs is nothing more

than a profiteering scam based on fraudulent science, selective

reporting, and disease mongering.

 

Expert opinions on Lescol:

 

Baycol is actually just one of an entire class of popular cholesterol

lowering drugs, or statins, which include these major names --

Lipitor, Zocor, Lescol, Mevacor and Pravachol.

Prescription Medicines, Side Effects and Natural Alternatives by

American Medical Publishing, page 56

 

How and how well it works

Cholesterol lowering statin drugs -- Lipitor, Lescol, Mevacor,

Pravachol, and Zocor--operate at the level of 3-hydroxy-3 methyl

glutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase. HMG-CoA reductase is a

rate-limiting enzyme that participates in cholesterol synthesis. The

cholesterol cascade occurs as follows: (1) acetyl-CoA is converted to

HMG-CoA, (2) HMG-CoA is reduced to mevalonic acid by the enzyme

HMG-CoA reductase, and (3) several steps convert mevalonic acid to

squalene and then to cholesterol.

Disease Prevention and Treatment by Life Extension Foundation,

page 465 Related article

Healing foods beat statin drugs for lowering high cholesterol

 

One type of drug used to bring down cholesterol is the HMB-CoA

reductase inhibitor. Examples include fluvastatin (Lescol), lovastatin

(Mevacor), pravastatin (Pravachol), and simvastatin (Zocor). HMB-CoA

is an enzyme necessary in the early stages of cholesterol synthesis;

by blocking its action, these drugs reduce the production of

cholesterol in the liver.

Smart Medicine for Healthier Living by Janet Zand LAc OMD, Allan N.

Spreen MD CNC and James B. LaValle RPh ND, page 195

 

The downside to Lescol

The statins -- Lipitor, Zocor, Pravachol, Mevacor, Lescol -- were the

best-selling group of drugs in America in 2001. There's no doubt that

statins help millions by reducing heart attacks, strokes and overall

cardiac mortality. But statins harm thousands, perhaps millions more,

often unnecessarily.

Disease Prevention and Treatment by Life Extension Foundation, page 713

 

FDA announced on August 8, 2001 that Bayer Pharmaceutical Division is

voluntarily withdrawing Baycol (cerivastatin) from the U.S. market

because of reports of sometimes fatal rhabdomyolysis, a severe muscle

adverse reaction from this cholesterol-lowering (lipid-lowering)

product. The FDA agrees with and supports this decision.

" Baycol Information " by the FDA (Aug. 8, 2001)

 

Five statins remain on the market -- lovastatin (Mevacor), simvastatin

(Zocor), pravastatin (Pravachol), atorvastatin (Lipitor) and

fluvastatin (Lescol). Each of these can cause Myositis.

Bottom Line Yearbook 2004 by Bottom Line Personnel, page 199

 

Animal studies consistently show a cancer-causing effect for the two

most popular classes of cholesterol-lowering drugs, the fibrates or

fibric acid derivatives, which include clofibrate (ATROMID-S) and

gemfibrozil (LOPID), and the widely used statin drugs, fluvastatin

(Lescol), lovastatin (MEVACOR), pravastatin (PRAVACHOL), and

simvastatin (ZOCOR).

Worst Pills, Best Pills by Sidney M. Wolfe MD and Larry D. Sasich

PharmD MPH, page 56

 

As it turns out, at least 81 more deaths were connected to Baycol's

sisters -- Mevacor, Pravachol, Zocor, Lescol and Lipitor.

Prescription Medicines, Side Effects and Natural Alternatives by

American Medical Publishing, page 61

 

Related article

Medical fraud alert: cholesterol lowering statin drugs save zero

lives, says comprehensive research published in JAMA

 

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