Diabetes and Statins


Red Rice Yeast

Statin Users Risk Heart Attack by Dropping Drugs or Taking Low Doses (343) Aching muscles are especially common among statin (Lipitor) drug users, and according to Bottom Line Yearbook 2002, muscle ache can actually be a sign that body tissues are breaking down, which can lead to serious kidney damage
Lipitor problems "Aching muscles are especially common among statin (Lipitor) drug users, and according to Bottom Line Yearbook 2002, muscle ache can actually be a sign that body tissues are breaking down, which can lead to serious kidney damage... [Also, mental confusion and short-term memory loss]. Cohen writes that he has heard more complaints about side effects from Lipitor than all of the other drugs in its class combined. "Perhaps this is because the standard dosage of Lipitor is so strong; it is far stronger than many patients actually need or can tolerate," he writes. Indeed, the recommended dosage of Pfizer's Lipitor is notably high -- usually 10 mg or higher.
The Truth about Statins "the possible consequences of taking statins in strong doses or for a lengthy period of time: Depression of mental acuity; Anemia; Acidosis; Frequent fevers; Cataracts... The most common side effect is muscle pain and weakness, a condition called rhabdomyolysis, most likely due to the depletion of Co-Q10, a nutrient that supports muscle function"
Statins in Our Drinking Water? (341) "If Fluoride in our drinking water prevents cavities then why not statins? Statins found to reduce heart attacks by 29% and strokes by 14% in those without heart disease
Red Yeast Rice vs statins--Non-prescription Cholesterol Lowering FDA has removed the real stuff from the market
Dangers of Statin Drugs What You Haven’t Been Told About Popular Cholesterol-Lowering Medicines... Hypercholesterolemia is the health issue of the 21st century. It is actually an invented disease, a "problem" that emerged when health professionals learned how to measure cholesterol levels in the blood... Doctors who treat this new disease must first convince their patients that they are sick and need to take one or more expensive drugs for the rest of their lives, drugs that require regular checkups and blood tests... numerous side effects, because statin drugs inhibit not just the production of cholesterol, but a whole family of intermediary substances, many if not all of which have important biochemical functions in their own right... the possible consequences of taking statins in strong doses or for a lengthy period of time--depression of mental acuity, anemia, acidosis, frequent fevers and cataracts... have all these doctors forgotten what they learned in biochemistry 101 about the many roles of cholesterol in the human biochemistry? Every cell membrane in our body contains cholesterol because cholesterol is what makes our cells waterproof--without cholesterol we could not have a different biochemistry on the inside and the outside of the cell.... Cholesterol is the body’s repair substance: scar tissue contains high levels of cholesterol, including scar tissue in the arteries... Cholesterol is vital to proper neurological function... cholesterol is the precursor to all the hormones produced in the adrenal cortex including glucocorticoids, which regulate blood sugar levels, and mineralocorticoids, which regulate mineral balance... Statins...The most common side effect is muscle pain and weakness, a condition called rhabdomyolysis, most likely due to the depletion of Co-Q10, a nutrient that supports muscle function.... Neuropathy: Taking statins for one year raised the risk of nerve damage by about 15 percent--about one case for every 2,200 patients. For those who took statins for two or more years, the additional risk rose to 26 percent. .. nerve problems are a common side effect from statin use. The damage is often irreversible. People who take large doses for a long time may be left with permanent nerve damage, even after they stop taking the drug... The heart is a muscle and it cannot work when deprived of Co-Q10.
Most doctors are convinced--and seek to convince their patients--that the benefits of statin drugs far outweigh the side effects. They can cite a number of studies in which statin use has lowered the number of coronary deaths compared to controls. But as Dr. Ravnskov has pointed out in his book The Cholesterol Myths,31 the results of the major studies up to the year 2000--the 4S, WOSCOPS, CARE, AFCAPS and LIPID studies--generally showed only small differences and these differences were often statistically insignificant and independent of the amount of cholesterol lowering achieved"...An analysis of all the big controlled trials reported before 2000 found that long-term use of statins for primary prevention of heart disase produced a 1 percent greater risk of death over 10 years compared to a placebo. (Ravnskov U. BMJ. 1992;305:15-19).
A Better Way
If statins work, they do so by reducing inflammation, not because they lower cholesterol. Statins block the production of mevalonate leading to inhibition of platelet clumping and reduction of inflammation in the artery walls. However, simple changes in the diet can achieve the same effect without also cutting off the body’s vital supply of cholesterol:

Avoid trans fats, known to contribute to inflammation
Avoid refined sugars, especially fructose, known to stimulate clumping of the blood platelets
Take cod liver oil, an excellent dietary source of anti-inflammatory vitamin A, vitamin D and EPA
Eat plenty of saturated fats, which encourage the production of anti-inflammatory prostaglandins
Take evening primrose, borage or black currant oil, sources of GLA which the body uses to make anti-inflammatory prostaglandins
Eat foods high in copper, especially liver; copper deficiency is associatied with clot formation and inflammation in the arteries
Eat coconut oil and coconut products; coconut oil protects against bacteria and viruses that can lead to inflammation in the artery wall
Avoid reduced-fat milks and powdered milk products (such as powdered whey); they contain oxidized cholesterol, shown to cause irritation of the artery wall

(the last, taken from article above by Sally Fallon and Mary G. Enig).

Taking Statins May Increase Cancer Risk "Lowering cholesterol with statins may slightly increase the risk of cancer, a study suggests more moderate doses" (Journal of the American College of Cardiology, July 2007 )


Red Rice Yeast

Red Yeast Rice: About dosage: 600 mg, 2 to 4 times per day
Red Yeast Rice Side Effects
Beginner's Guide to Red Yeast Rice "in 2001, this natural product was removed from store shelves. The Food and Drug Administration felt that its components were too similar to the prescription medication Mevacor"


Colby Glass, MLIS