Statins are advertised as the best way to lower cholesterol and prevent a heart attack. These medicines are among the most prescribed medicines on the market. There are, however, many opposing concerns about the efficacy and side effects of statins.
Below five reasons not to take statins.
1. Statins don’t work
Not only people with heart conditions are prescribed statins, people with high cholesterol or blood pressure are also recommended to use these drugs. But in more than half of the patients who are prescribed statins preventively by their doctor, the medicine does not do what it should do. They still have an additional risk of heart disease, this is what British researchers wrote in the BMJ.
Moreover, statins reduce the production of cholesterol in the liver, but you cannot assume that it reduces the risk of heart disease and heart attacks. There are more factors involved than just cholesterol levels. There is evidence to show that statins can make heart health even worse. Statistically, only 1 percent of the population benefits from statins.
2. Statins reduce CoQ10
Another reason is that statins deplete your body of coenzyme Q10. CoQ10 is important for good health, high energy levels, lifespan and overall quality of life. The reduced form of CoQ10, Ubiquinol, is a critical component of cellular respiration and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production. ATP is a coenzyme that is used as an energy carrier in every cell of the body. When you consider your heart as the most energetic organ in your body, you may wonder how potentially devastating it is to deplete your body’s main source of cellular energy.
While statins should remedy heart disease, you actually increase the risk of heart failure by depleting your body from CoQ10. So do you use statins? Then you should also take a CoQ10 supplement. Dr. Steven Sinatra, cardiologist and founder of the New England Heart Center, recommends taking a minimum of 100 mg, but preferably 200 mg of high-quality CoQ10 or Ubiquinol daily.
3. Statins reduce vitamin K2
Taking statins increases the risk of vitamin K2 deficiency, which is known to contribute to a number of chronic diseases, including osteoporosis, kidney stones, heart and brain diseases, heart attacks and strokes. Vitamin K2 protects blood vessels against calcification. Vitamin K2 helps move calcium to the right areas of the body, such as bones and teeth. It also plays a role in removing calcium from areas where it should not be, such as in the arteries and soft tissues. According to a Dutch study from 2009, vitamin K2 is associated with reduced vascular calcification, even with small dietary intake.
4. Statins reduce ketone production
Statins lower cholesterol levels by inhibiting the enzyme in the liver that produces cholesterol. This is the same enzyme that CoQ10 produces, but also ketones. Ketones are important biological signal molecules. Ketone bodies appear to inhibit the HDAC function, which plays a role in the regulation of metabolic health and lifespan. Furthermore, researchers noted that “ketone bodies can link environmental cues such as nutrition to the regulation of aging.” In addition, ketone bodies are used as fuel by the brain and are able to protect against neuronal disorders, seizures and age-related brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s and Parkinson’s.
5. Statins increase the risk of serious diseases
Because statins deplete the body of CoQ10, inhibit the synthesis of vitamin K2 and reduce the production of ketone bodies, they increase the risk of other serious diseases, including:
– Cancer
Research has shown that long-term use of statin (10 years or more) more than doubles the risk of women for two major types of breast cancer: invasive ductal carcinoma and invasive lobular carcinoma. In addition, the use of each statin drug, in any amount, was associated in a separate study with a significantly increased risk of prostate cancer and there was an increasing risk associated with an increasing cumulative dose.
– Diabetes
Statins have also been shown to increase the risk of diabetes through a number of different mechanisms. The most important thing is that they increase insulin resistance, which can be extremely harmful to health. Secondly, statins increase the risk of diabetes by raising your blood sugar.
– Neurodegenerative diseases
Cholesterol is also essential for your brain, which contains around 25 percent of the cholesterol in your body. It is crucial for the connections between neurons, allowing you to think, learn new things and form memories. So perhaps it is not surprising that memory loss is reported on a large scale due to statin usage.
– Musculoskeletal disorders
Statin users are more likely to suffer from musculoskeletal disorders, injuries and pain than non-users. Myalgia, muscle weakness, muscle cramps, rhabdomyolysis, autoimmune disease and tendon disorders have all been reported in connection with statin use.
– Cataracts
An objective assessment of PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane assessment databases showed that out of every 10,000 people taking a statin, 307 were extra patients with cataracts. This was supported by a separate JAMA study, which further revealed that the risk of cataracts has increased among statin users compared to non-users.
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