Medication alternative?

[cb67]

Hi everyone I'm new here. I'm 67 and 1 year ago began a statin. Only recently did I start with pain/lethargy and it was so severe I quit my medication. I want to know if anyone is aware of an OTC product for cholesterol. I surely would like to use something more natural.

[ianrenwick]

Go back to GP. Don't take any chances.

[cb67 in reply to ianrenwick]

I'm seeing a nutritionist next week. In the meantime I have a lot of research to do.

[sos007 Ambassador]

Niacin:

healthunlocked.com/choleste...

I'm currently taking 600 mg per day. It significantly increases the HDL (good cholesterol) which helps to eliminate LDL. It also moderately reduces LDL.

The best thing you can do to reduce cholesterol and improve your cardiovascular system is to walk between 30 and 60 minutes per day at a brisk pace (this can be broken up into shorter walks that add up to 60 minutes), and to eat plenty of green vegetables - specifically - arugula (rochette), spinach, and broccoli.

You also have to eliminate sugars and hidden sugars that are in packaged goods. Eliminate simple carbohydrates that convert to sugar in your body - white pasta, white rice, white bread, white pizza dough, alcohol (you can drink one 5 oz glass of red wine per day), and all fruit juices and soft drinks. Tart cherry and pomegranate juices are the only exceptions as long as you limit them to 4 oz per day. They both help to improve your cardiovascular health and potentially help prevent cancer.

Read my other posts as well:

healthunlocked.com/choleste...

Good luck.

[Tibblington in reply to sos007]

Well said Niacin.

[cb67 in reply to sos007]

Thank you for this wonderful information. This is the best site.

[123congo]

Just over a year ago I took myself off statins which I been prescribed for about 7 years with horrible muscle pains etc. I decided to take Plant Sterols instead. During this time my cholesterol levels have dropped to acceptable limits according to my doctor. I shall never go back to statins, however I fear they have done permanent damage. Hey ho!

[happydodderer in reply to 123congo]

Yes, plant sterols could well be the answer. Just make sure you get them from a reputable supplier and not from a company no one has heard of on the web.

[123congo in reply to happydodderer]

Natures Best are highly recommended.

[cb67 in reply to happydodderer]

Thank you. I will begin research. I really appreciate your effort.

[Mascha1900]

First of all, don't worry too much about your cholesterol levels! In a healthy person, cholesterol is what the body needs it to be. If cholesterol is very high, this can be an indicator but never the cause of some form of inflammation within the body. Statins are nearly always a bad idea. There is one exception: men between 49 and 69 who have had a heart attack - for this group, lowering cholesterol can help prevent another heart attack. For everybody else, so including all women, statins have had no impact on mortality whatsoever. And the side effects are often severe (I speak from experience). This is because statins interfere with the production process of certain nutrients and enzymes by the liver (the so-called mevalonate pathway), such as CoQ10 which the muscles need. Hence the muscle pains. As regards nutrition, there is a school of thought which says that natural fats are always best: so no plant sterols but butter from grass-fed cows, extra-virgin olive oil, coconut butter. Transfats are always to be avoided, of course, and sugar as much as possible (I don't quite manage to do so myself, although I do avoid processed foods and sugary drinks such as Coca Cola). There are also people who follow a 'low-carb high-fat' diet, i.e. avoiding carbohydrates such as bread and potatoes, and using plenty of fat, meat and vegetables, but I don't do so myself.

Finally, I want to stress that this is just my opinion. I am not a doctor or even a nutritionist, just a lay person who has had a bad experience with statins (Crestor, in my case): bad muscle pains, a feeling of weakness and stiffness in my legs, and difficulty walking. I went off the Crestor 8 months ago and am now fully recovered. But it took me about 6 months, and for some people the muscle issues (myopathy) can be permanent. So, dangerous stuff, and nearly always unnecessary!

[Tibblington in reply to Mascha1900]

Well said Mascha1900. A really good reply thateveryone on statins should read.

[Mascha1900 in reply to Tibblington]

Thanks Tibblington!

[cb67 in reply to Mascha1900]

Thank you so much. I will NEVER take another statin

[Tibblington]

The first question is, do you really need statins. Who told you to take them? Doubtless your doctor who doesn't know what your level ought to be, everyone is different.

Try to cut out white flour and white flour products especially those with sugar added. Do not eat the substitute fats and oils but simply what we have always eaten, dairy products. Your bread should be real wholemeal.

I am 82 and when my doctor suggested statins I gave her a lecture; she obviously knew less about them than I did.

Cholesterol is an important substance in the living body, it is a repair material and when there is a build up it indicates injury probably caused by refined sugar not sugar as found in fruit.

Have a read of the article at: healthscams.org.uk/are-stat... and also what a heart surgeon has to say at: healthscams.org.uk/heart-su...

We have a friend who suffered severe muscular pains whilst on statins, he stopped them and has never taken them since. He is now as fit as a fiddle and walks every day.

Good luck.

[sandybrown]

I am afraid this is the modem way, every one have a script to work to, just like a mobile phone call centre or a bank call centre or a air line call centre. On one can go away from the guided lines!!!

[Tibblington]

I am more inclined to believe a heart specialist and surgeon with many years of experience than I am some unqualified minion briefed to trot out the same old nonsence in reply to phone enquiries. By the way I only quoted inflamation nothing else. Public Health England will give you the same sort of reply; the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (see the list of members at healthscams.org.uk/sacn-mem... ) has 23 members, 17 of them have vested interests either in the food industry or the pharmaceutical industry. Is it surprising that they are unwilling to accept the advice from those in the medical profession who really know. There are too many vested interests and dare I say, brown envelopes floating about.

Believe whom you like but I take the confirmation published in the BMJ as being nearer the truth.

[alangibson]

Hi and welcome I use to take statins and did they cause problems well they sure did. start by affecting my legs and soon I was admitted to hospital where they told me yes they do cause that problem BUT your one in a million I'm afraid I did meet others too and had that said to them as well. so I became interested in how to cure cholesterol and within a few months found the answer in how we eat I eat chips every other day as Potatoes can cause Knee pain so the less you eat or leave your find yourself getting better Okra or I should say lady's fingers are a must to bring down cholesterol anyway and they are easy to cook matter of minutes. so do try them,

[cb67]

Thank you