Do we even need statins?

[Guineapiggy]

We know that uncontrolled hypothyroidism increases cholesterol so this needs to be attended to before starting any cholesterol-lowering medication suggested by the doctor. What is not suggested is that we don't need to lower it anyway. Cholesterol is needed by the body for a lot of processes and there is plenty of info available that lowering it is not beneficial. It is known that results of trials can be manipulated to show a desired outcome. There are many reports of statins causing negative health effects with no benefits.

Personally, I believe that they are a moneymaking con promoted by drug companies and I wouldn't consider taking them. Unfortunately, the medical profession seem to have been blinded by the "evidence".

These two videos are well worth watching so you can make up your own minds, especially if you are under pressure from a doctor to take them (hopefully the links work).

youtu.be/Iom8WRaejMc(Not working as expected?)

youtu.be/T3ldcRYadR4(Not working as expected?)

For the full Aseem Malhotra video see

youtu.be/CV-Qbbl_e6o(Not working as expected?)

[ Link edited by admin to one that can work on this forum. ]

[Alanna012]

Thanks for this!

My 67 year old mother has become unhealthily obsessed with her 'high' cholesterol. For many years her cholesterol levels were declared good, but it is now that she has severe osteoporosis (and a few decades past menopause) that it has become raised. Which I think makes sense, as she probably has more inflammation and you make your steroid hormones from your cholesterol. So I can't see the sense in telling her to reduce it.

But since she's been told that it's something to worry about, she has become obsessive about her diet and she has now cut out red meat, cut out dairy (she isn't using an alternative, just cutting it out) switched from butter to vegan spread, stopped drinking tea, given up all her favourite beverages, cut down on her portion sizes, stopped cooking with salt.

Now she is complaining that she feels tired. I don't think she is getting enough vitamins now, and ironically her blood pressure is now high. But she's old school in trusting positions of authority completely, so as far as she's concerned, the cholesterol needs to keep being lowered. If she is offered statins she would take them no questions asked. I just hope that's not what she's offered at her next hospital visit.

[Guineapiggy in reply to Alanna012]

This is why the info we are fed is so dangerous. Looks like your mum has swapped everything good for something bad. Can you show her the Jimmy Dore video if the 3 hour one is too long?

[Alanna012 in reply to Guineapiggy]

Good suggestion I will try with the video. But I have tried speaking to her before, but she doesn't trust me over her GP/consultant. In her mind they of course know best on this issue.

The thing is I'm sure the doctor initially told her to cut down on all these foods, not eliminate them, but she's so anxious now she's just cut them all out completely; she got upset when I offered her a fried egg as I was making breakfast and when I offered to boil her one instead, she said they are really high in cholesterol so she literally refused to eat anything except the toast. I don't think that's healthy, so I thought I'd go along with her and told her to mention all these changes she was making the next time she went to the GP and ask about the eggs, thinking the GP will say, you really don't need to go this far. But when she came back she said the GP was pleased and commended her on the changes she's made!🤦🏾‍♀️

[Guineapiggy in reply to Alanna012]

It's not easy. My husband is the same and thinks a GP knows everything. As we know, that certainly doesn't apply to us folks with an underactive thyroid and they only prescribe levo, only want to measure TSH and ignore free T3 levels!!

[arTistapple in reply to Alanna012]

I have found it’s a waste of time talking otherwise to persons with this outlook. After you have supplied the sources of info and a brief explanation, they should be treated like adults and left to make up their own minds - especially if you know they are the type to follow GP advice without question.

That sounds very uppity I realise but it’s like many issues in life. Plus it’s not our responsibility. We hate it when doctors appear to be ‘wrong’. It’s really a similar process just the other way around.

[Guineapiggy]

Another good one

youtu.be/2NelIuNXuY4?si=52v...(Not working as expected?)

[elaar]

" What is not suggested is that we don't need to lower it anyway. Cholesterol is needed by the body for a lot of processes and there is plenty of info available that lowering it is not beneficial."

I would disagree with this, it obviously depends how high it has reached though. Hypercholesterolemia is not a good thing to have. It has a cause, and that cause specifically needs to be identified and treated rather than doctors continuing their obsession with statins.

I think the confusion with cholesterol is that people are often told that cholesterol (LDL) has to be low as it's the "bad" one, when that's not the case. It certainly has to be kept from going very high though (untreated thyroid issues, diabetes, obesity etc..). But what exactly is too high is another question.

There's plenty of large unbiased scientific studies published online that show that high levels of LDL increase all-cause mortality, BUT the same seems to be true of low levels of LDL also.

I have a rule, no youtube videos/vloggers/bloggers/podcasts when researching this type of thing.

[Guineapiggy in reply to elaar]

This wasn't aimed at people with hypercholesterolemia, but for the general population who are needlessly being prescribed them. Just as you said, high and low levels of LDL seem to be correlated with mortality therefore it is logical to assume that LDL is not the bad guy anyway. It is the manipulation of the data that uses relative risk versus absolute risk to demonstrate the effectiveness of statins and so persuade doctors to prescribe them. If the absolute risk is negligible then this is just a moneymaking machine for pharmaceutical companies.

[Guineapiggy]

Here's another good one:diabetes.co.uk/news/2016/ju....

There is evidence that statins increase diabetes risk so doctor's are now being paid to prescribe them to type 1 diabetics!! There is a good bit at the bottom of the article saying that low cholesterol increases mortality in the elderly.

[Sparklingsunshine in reply to Guineapiggy]

Its a bit like weight, we know being overweight or obese increases a myriad of diseases, heart disease, strokes, diabetes, even some cancers. And yet being underweight when you are elderly is associated with a higher mortality risk. It seems its better to carry a bit of excess weight the older you are. As ever these things are not black or white.

[RedApple]

Guineapiggy, you seem to be researching this quite a lot. Have you come across anything that acknowledges and/or discusses genetic variations that can cause some people to have naturally low or naturally high levels?

[Guineapiggy in reply to RedApple]

I haven't looked that far into it. I guess there will be genetic variations as there are with everything but I haven't seen it mentioned in the the stuff I have read.

[serenfach]

The brain contains approximately 20–25% of the body's cholesterol. Growing evidence suggests that different statins are able to lower brain cholesterol synthesis, slowing the transmission of nerve impulses. At my age, I worry about going dolally on a regular basis, let alone allowing an outside chemical help the process! Now anyone see where I put my glasses?