by Mila McManus MD
How’s your cholesterol level? Do you obsess about it? Do you keep a spreadsheet? You know who you are.
Did you know:
• 50% of people who have a heart attack have normal cholesterol
• Merck and Schering-Plough, makers of Zocor, Zetia, and Vytroin, recently revealed their ENHANCE study showed NO benefit in terms of artery-plaque progression. And that they sat on this data for 2 yrs, meanwhile raking in $10 billion in sales for Vytorin.
• A common, yet not-well-known side effect of statin drugs is JOINT PAIN
• Studies have shown that LOW cholesterol levels are associated with depression, anger, and mental slowing.
• Study from Finland found that low cholesterol levels were significantly associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
• Post-mortem studies revealed NO correlation of cholesterol levels with amount of plaque build-up found at autopsy.
Statin drugs (e.g., Lipitor, Zocor, Crestor) can be very dangerous and harmful, yet they are the top selling drugs in America. (visit www.epocrates.com to look up side effects of medications) Big Pharma advertising campaigns have done a fabulous job of making patients and doctors obsess about cholesterol. I encourage all of you out there to do the research. Question your health care providers. Cholesterol is a very small piece to a very large puzzle when it comes to heart disease, or any other disease for that matter. Many people in their 40s with normal cholesterol levels die of heart attacks, and many people live into their 90s with cholesterol levels over 300. Why is that? I don’t have all the answers, but I do recommend that you read a book titled “The Great Cholesterol Con” by Anthony Colpo.
Look at the big picture. I don’t consider high cholesterol to be a disease, but rather a symptom of something more profound going awry in the body. Stop trying to band-aid your symptoms. You CAN improve your health without prescription drugs. You CAN reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure, arthritis, etc, without prescription drugs. Let us help you be all that you can be! Don’t let life pass you by while you’re stuck on the sidelines. We care.
Disclaimer: Do not start or stop any medications or vitamin supplements without first consulting with your physician. (side note: Unfortunately, the same physician who prescribed you your medications is not likely to want to change anything. Conventional doctors are trained to prescribe drugs. That’s what they do. It’s what I used to do when I was a ‘traditional’ doctor. I hope some day I will be proven wrong.)