Children should be given statins

[Sparky3333]

my god....how to create a new generation of shuffling, wobbling, brain dead zombies !!!

rt.com/uk/408736-children-d...

[Penel]

If you have the genetic defect giving you familial hypercholesterolimia you will have high cholesterol from birth. It goes largely undiagnosed. If untreated, about 50 per cent of men and 30 per cent of women with FH will develop coronary heart disease by the time they’re 55. It is not a condition which can be moderated significantly by life style changes.

Statins have their place in treating this genetic condition. No one whose child has been diagnosed with double digit cholesterol levels will be undertaking this treatment lightly.

[sos007 Ambassador in reply to Penel]

Nonsense. I was told I have FH, given a high dose of the most powerful statin, Creator, and sent home. After developing extreme muscle and joint pain I weaned off and have never looked back. Diet and lifestyle changes returned my LDL levels to normal. This is a medical-community created phantom issue, aided and abetted by pharmaceutical companies.

[Penel in reply to sos007]

Not sure how this is a phantom issue? The treatment may be debatable.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

[sos007 Ambassador in reply to Penel]

“Primum non nocere" - Hippocratic Oath - translation from Latin - 'First, do no harm'.

FH is often misdiagnosed. First, dietary and lifestyle changes must be implemented - CVD takes a lifetime to manifest itself, anywhere from 40 to 50 years or even longer. The study of 'epigenetics' says that your genetics are not your fate - your behaviour will influence outcome, regardless of genetics - especially in this area.

There's plenty of opportunity for individuals to pursue a natural approach to good health first.

In addition, there's no evidence that elevated cholesterol levels cause heart disease - there is evidence of 'correlation', but not 'causation'.

Based on more current findings, cholesterol levels are a symptom of heart disease, rather then the other way around. Cholesterol is the body's way of repairing damage.

The question is what is causing the damage? Based on more current literature - sugar and simple carbohydrate consumption and a lack of exercise.

Nobel laureate Linus Pauling argued that insufficient Vitamin C may be the root cause of plaque accumulation. Vitamin C is critical for collagen formation which can effect repairs to the endothelium and not require the body to send plaque to repair weakened segments.

Medical science is constantly evolving - if you read history how people were treated for various ailments in the past has significantly changed with new knowledge.

Condemning generations of children to a drug with known significant side-effects is irresponsible.

It is not the role of government to medically treat people. When you allow government to think for you, you give up your liberty.

[sarahdee1 in reply to sos007]

hi its interesting what you say however I have a family history of FH. My granddad was very healthy and died at 43. My mum has it and so do I. Now I've just found out my little girl who is 3 and a half has a cholesterol reading of 8. So they have diagnosed FH. It isn't her diet she is very active and we eat very healthy. She easily has five bits of fruit a day and I cook most meals from scratch. There is no way at her age that her cholesterol would have just gone up to 8. So what would you do not give her medication when she is 8/10 to prevent heart attacks in the future. Would you just let the cholesterol clime higher and higher? Of course the thought of giving her medication scares me but what else can I do. I don't believe this is a made up condition.

[sos007 Ambassador in reply to sarahdee1]

Try giving her 500 to 1,000 mg of vitamin C daily, then measure her cholesterol in 3 weeks to see the impact. There's no known toxicity to vitamin C. I take 6,000 mg per day spread throughout the day.

My extensive reading on this subject indicates Vitamin C and LDL cholesterol are inversely correlated. Familiarize yourself with the work of Linus Pauling

hearttechnology.com/

I increased my dosage from 1,000 mg to 3,000 mg 3 weeks prior to my recent blood test and my LDL dropped by 18%. I've now increased to 6,000 mg daily.

You should also eliminate all simple carbohydrates and sugar from her diet. Sugars reduce the bioavailability of Vitamin C to the body.

Half of all heart attacks and strokes occur to people with optimal LDL cholesterol levels. Blood clots cause those events. To reduce risk of blood clots increase her folate levels through diet (more arugula, spinach, brocolli, kale) or with a folate supplement. Fibrinogen levels measure the stickiness of blood platelets that can trigger blood clots. Get that test done. Vitamin E and turmeric are natural blood thinners. Read up on foods high in Vitamin E or give her a supplement of each.

In the 1960s thalidomide was prescribed to pregnant women for morning sickness. The result was deformed babies and then the drug was removed from the market.

helix.northwestern.edu/arti...

Statins have serious side effects and should be avoided. The medical community dispenses meds like candy. Over 100,000 die annually from prescription medications. Nobody has died from vitamins, good food nutrition and daily exercise like walking.

We are far too trusting of the medical system which is reliant upon drug companies for research funding and medical education.

There is no profit in proving the efficacy of large dose Vitamin C, so you won't see such research in clinical studies. They've only evaluated lower dose Vitamin C and concluded it's ineffectiveness. The worse that can happen with Vitamin C is diarrhea.

[Penel in reply to sos007]

Prolonged high dose vitamin C supplementation has been associated with an increased risk of kidney stones.

[sos007 Ambassador in reply to Penel]

Long term use of statins is associated with diabetes, Alzheimer's, rhabdomyolysis, joint inflammation, cataracts and the list goes on.

There is no conclusive evidence of kidney stones caused by long term use of Vitamin C. It is water soluble and requires plenty of water. You can get kidney stones from calcium and dehydration as well. Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) can be made from many minerals aside from calcium.

[Penel in reply to sos007]

Statins may be over prescribed or miss prescribed but if you have FH, correctly diagnosed, you may need more than a healthy diet and supplements to counteract it.

We have had contributors to this site who have required blood filtration (apheresis) to control FH, plus a variety of interventions apart from statins. In the most aggressive form of FH, heart problems can be experienced in your 20s.

FH has not been made up to promote the sale of medication.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

[sos007 Ambassador in reply to Penel]

Isn't it logical to first try the natural approach before taking on statins?

[Penel in reply to sos007]

Your approach has worked well for your age and specific health condition. I don't know if this approach would be suitable for young children with a genetic problem.

[Sparky3333 in reply to sos007]

i got kidney stones from drinking a lot of coca cola...I passed them (If you know what i mean) I wouldn't want to ever experience that level of pain again, made childbirth and 3rd degree burns feel like a walk in the park.

[Sparky3333 in reply to Penel]

i think (but don't quote me) that it,s mainly calcium ascorbate, not sodium absorbate that causes kidney stones.

[sos007 Ambassador in reply to Sparky3333]

High dose Vitamin C 'may' contribute to kidney stones in people who have some level of renal failure. It should not affect a person with healthy kidneys.

[sandybrown]

HeartUK has very good information on FH.

heartuk.org.uk/files/upload...

[sos007 Ambassador]

That's what happens when you allow government to run the medical system.

[sos007 Ambassador]

There's no big Pharma, or big oil, or big 'insert industry', without a big government to peddle influence. Government legitimizes pharma's products, pays for them, distributes them, and solicits and accepts their bribes for doing so. They also grant pharma's patent protection for 10-20 years that gives their new products monopoly pricing power.

A competitive marketplace without government influence would have weeded out bad drugs much sooner.

[Penel]

FH is a real problem and it is a potential silent killer. A simple blood test to identify it would enable those affected to make an informed choice about possible early treatment. Statins are a choice, they're not being forced on anyone and people may have no side effects from them.

Many people take statins who do not need to, and they have been badly served by the medical profession. This does not mean that they do not have a place in specific treatments for specific problems.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...