Do Cholesterol Drugs Do Any Good?

On newsstands now, for the first time ever on a major magazine (BusinessWeek) is a cover story entitled, "Lipitor: For Many People, Cholesterol Drugs May Not Do Any Good."

Follow this link Do Cholesterol Drugs Do Any Good? to BusinessWeek online.

Here are the reasons that I think this would be of interest to those in USANA:

1. Heart disease is the number cause of death for both men and women, and it is mostly caused by our lifestyle choices; diet, lack of exercise, smoking, obesity, high homocysteine levels, deficiency of antioxidants (oxidized LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, and arteries). It is not caused by a lack of statin drugs. Heart disease and atherosclerosis is caused by oxidative stress. To maintain heart health antioxidants and a proper lifestyle (diet, exercise, etc.) are critical; i.e.; the USANA message.

2. Statin drugs are the number one prescribed drugs in the U.S., let alone the world, and cause a depletion in co-enzyme Q10 levels in the body, with resultant serious side-effects. We in USANA know something about the importance of co-Q10.

3. It is difficult for USANA associates to encourage potential customers/associates to be on USANA because their doctors have them on statin drugs, and put down the use of nutritional supplements.

4. The article in BusinessWeek (January 28, 2008) provides 3rd-party information that shows that statin drugs, although they lower LDL cholesterol, they do NOT prevent heart attacks, strokes, and death in the majority of cases (actually, according to the article out of 100 people on a statin drug, only 1 person will benefit). All of them are having their co-Q10 levels depleted, and their cardiac function is being impaired, among other side-effects.

5. The article ALSO points out that the ONLY people to benefit from statin drugs are those who are at high risk for heart attacks (people with coronary artery disease), and even then, they should be on low-dose statin drugs (10 to 20 mg), ...with combination use of co-Q10 to off-set the side-effects of the drug. (I want to point out here that there are many good physicians both in and outside USANA who are properly prescribing low-dose statin drugs WITH antioxidants, including co-Q10 because the medical research indicates that is the responsible protocol at this time among those who are at high risk for heart disease.)

6. The statin drugs mechanism of action in reducing the risk of repeat heart attack in those who are at high risk of heart attack is NOT through the lowering of LDL cholesterol (as I have been writing about for years), but is through this drugs anti-inflammatory / antioxidant effect ! This has been one of the on-going themes of my messages, and add all of the above together, I believe it all applies to the TRUE HEALTH message.

I think it is a turning point in the media, ....unless of course, Pfizer steps up its ads in BusinessWeek and spins, ...excuse me, "sponsors" favorable articles about Lipitor over the next few months, while trashing the use of nutritional supplements, which is par for the course in the battle for people's opinion in the media.

Written by:
Ladd McNamara, M.D.