A Bombshell Drops on Cholesterol Medication's Glass House

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It had to happen sooner or later. On October 3, 2006, after extensive review of

all studies relating to cholesterol-lowering benefits by statin drugs,

scientists reporting in the Annals of Internal Medicine pulled the rug out from

under the current government-sanctioned cholesterol levels for reducing

cardiovascular disease risk. Their conclusion, " current clinical evidence does

not demonstrate that titrating lipid therapy to achieve proposed low LDL

cholesterol levels is beneficial or safe. " This is not a trivial issue. Many

billions of taxpayer dollars have been wasted on the cholesterol drug scam. The

health and well being of millions of Americans may have been compromised by

reckless lowering of cholesterol, a substance that is vital to health and energy

production.

It has long been recognized that adults who have naturally lower cholesterol

levels during their 40s and 50s have less heart disease as they grow older. A

large body of science supports the notion that LDL cholesterol levels lower than

130 mg/dL is an excellent goal for one and all. How a person should arrive at

this goal is a matter of considerable debate. A good diet and exercise is the

foundation for any person's health program and for many this approach is

adequate. The use of nutritional supplements to help lower cholesterol, products

that have virtually no side effects and may be highly effective, is considered

by the FDA to be an illegal health claim. Instead, the FDA expects Americans to

use statin drugs to accomplish this goal, even though the medications have a

general anti-energy effect and long list of potentially serious side effects

that are not clearly explained to those taking the medications or even to the

doctors giving them out.

 

To make matters worse, several years ago the government-funded National

Cholesterol Education Program promoted new guidelines for the use of these

drugs. It was recommend that individuals at high cardiovascular disease risk

attain LDL levels < 100 mg/dL and individuals at very high cardiovascular risk

attain LDL levels < 70 mg/dL. These are abnormally low levels of cholesterol,

meaning drugs must be used to create an artificially low level of LDL

cholesterol, an unnatural physiological condition. This is very difficult to do

and requires high doses of statins, doubling or tripling the dose, oftentimes

combined with other drugs. Needless to say, such therapies are extremely

expensive and often do not work. These guidelines immediately boosted the sales

of statins from fifteen billion per year when the report was released in 2004 to

over twenty-two billion in 2005. And now we come to find out there is not a

shred of scientific evidence to support that lowering cholesterol in this manner

will reduce cardiovascular disease, compared to simply having an LDL lower than

130.

 

Statins are also being pushed for prevention of a first heart attack in people

with only moderate cardiovascular risk. A careful analysis of the statistical

data shows that such statin use may reduce cardiovascular death by 1% in this

preventive population over a ten year period. However, the drugs kill 1% as a

side effect, due to accidents, suicide, and infection. This means there is no

benefit at all, from a societal point of view, for wasting billions of dollars

of taxpayer money on this pointless preventive strategy.

 

The amount of money wasted on this fraudulent scheme is at least seven billion

dollars a year, money that is in essence stolen from hard working Americans.

Class-action lawsuits have already been filed against Pfizer for illegal Lipitor

promotion, many are sure to follow.

 

Big Pharma and Government Corruption

 

The National Cholesterol Education Program is part of the National Heart, Lung,

and Blood Institute (NHLBI), meaning that it is part of our federal government

and has an operating budget of about one million dollars per year. In 2004 it

selected a panel of nine " experts " to review statin drug use and make

recommendations as to guidelines doctors should follow to reduce cardiovascular

disease.

 

On July 13, 2004 these nine experts published their findings in the journal

Circulation. Their paper lists the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute;

American College of Cardiology Foundation; American Heart Association as

coauthors - meaning these various groups supported the findings.

 

Circulation failed to disclose that six of the nine authors had direct financial

ties to the makers of statin drugs. Those drugs include Pfizer's Lipitor;

Bristol-Myers Squibb's Pravachol, Merck's Lovastatin, and AstraZeneca's Crestor.

For example, Newsday.com reported on July 14, 2004, " Dr. H. Bryan Brewer, a

physician-scientist at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, was one of

the guidelines' authors. He was the subject of a letter to the director of the

National Institutes of Health last week from a consumer watchdog, Public

Citizen's Health Research Group. The advocacy organization charged that Brewer

had failed to disclose his ties to AstraZeneca. Brewer, according to the letter,

had written a glowing report in a medical journal about Crestor without

disclosing that he is a paid consultant and had presided over a

company-sponsored symposium. "

 

Even though these connections were slightly exposed in the media at the time, no

action was taken to review the credibility of the statin science by other less

biased researchers. Instead, the public relations buzz was that the statin

" science " was solid.

 

The October 3 review in the Annals of Internal Medicine tears this " solid

science " to shreds, something that should have been done two years ago. The

review explains the deceitful manipulation of statistics and how not one study

proves that lowering LDL cholesterol to the super low levels recommended has any

benefit in reducing cardiovascular disease. Simply put, this report is shocking.

 

The New York Times did manage to report on this issue; however, the reporting is

more a defense of the status quo than a consumer wake-up call to a major health

scam costing us billions of dollars.

 

The bottom line: there is no credible science, and there never was, that offered

proof that lowering cholesterol levels to physiologically abnormal levels

reduced cardiovascular risk. Thus, basing a broad governmental public health

recommendation on no solid science is flat our wrong. Why aren't these faulty

recommendations being reversed?

 

The Extreme Dangers of Statin Drugs are Downplayed

 

In my book, Fight for Your Health: Exposing the FDA's Betrayal of America I

spend several chapters documenting all the clearly known risks of statin drugs,

citing over 140 references. Even though it is the most widely used drug in

America, most doctors prescribing it are not aware of its many side effects.

Statins are known to disrupt energy production, weaken the adrenal glands,

interrupt vitamin D synthesis, block co-enzyme Q10 production, induce

cardiomyopathy, damage kidneys, weaken or damage muscles, and in a variety of

situations increase cancer risk.

 

There are numerous reports of suicide, depression, and cognitive impairment from

statin use. Since many elderly patients are using statins, statins are likely to

cause brain damage with ongoing use. This is not difficult for anyone to

understand. Brain cells contain higher levels of cholesterol in their cell

membranes, enabling nerve cells to survive longer. Nerve cells do not split and

divide like other cells in the body, thus they must have a higher level of

cholesterol - this is normal. One clear adverse effect of statins is lowering

the nerve cell-membrane level of cholesterol, resulting in premature cellular

death. Maintaining proper levels of cholesterol in the brain is vital to normal

nerve function. This toxic effect of statins will be worse on a higher dose and

nerve damage will progressively accumulate over time. Doctors, mostly unaware

they could be inducing cognitive decline or neuropathy in their patients, may

prescribe other brain medications to treat the decline in nervous system

function, thinking the symptoms are just part of the aging process. This is a

tragedy.

 

Another seldom mentioned adverse side effect of statins is that they directly

interfere with immune system function. Statin pushers like to claim this is a

benefit, reducing inflammation. There is an element of truth in this; however,

there are much better ways to reduce inflammation than by use of statins that

actually block immune signals. The same system being blocked by statins is

required for a robust response to combat infection. The immune suppressing

effects are so powerful statins are being considered as adjunctive therapy for

organ transplant patients. What happens to a person's immune defense when they

are on a super high dose of statins to lower cholesterol to abnormally low

levels? How is anybody on high-dose statin therapy supposed to fight the flu?

What happens if a pandemic flu strain hits? Guess which citizens won't make it?

 

It is more than alarming when scientists reviewing high-dose statin therapy

state there is no science to show that such therapy is safe. Where is the FDA

when they are needed? Why isn't the FDA requiring more testing before allowing

doctors to use statins in an unapproved manner? Why is the FDA attacking

super-safe nutritional strategies to help Americans naturally and safely

normalize cholesterol levels?

 

There is good reason many Americans are turning to safe and effective natural

options as part of a health strategy to maintain cholesterol levels in a better

range. This latest fiasco is proof that government and Big Pharma work together

to push drug sales, oftentimes disregarding the true effects on human health.

How much longer can Americans tolerate a government on the take from Big Pharma?

 

Byron J. Richards, Founder/Director of Wellness Resources, is a Board-Certified

Clinical Nutritionist and nationally-renowned health expert, radio personality,

educator, and author.

 

Richards encourages individuals to take charge of their health, stand up for

their health rights, and not blindly succumb to propaganda from the

vested-interests who profit from keeping Americans sick. Author of Mastering

Leptin and Fight for Your Health, Richards is now joining forces with health

freedom leaders in the U.S. and throughout the world. Visit his health blog for

up to date happenings. www.truthinwellness.com