Originally Posted by
chandltp
That is true.. and why I try to take as little medication as possible. I've been on meds for various issues in the past and decide that the side effects are worse than the issue itself in many cases.
I haven't read a single thing that convinces me that artificially lowering cholesterol has any impact on incidence of heart disease. I do believe that high cholesterol is a potential indicator for heart disease, because it's the body's way of trying to heal itself. Statins don't do anything to fix the underlying problem that contributed to the high cholesterol to begin with.. so it's kind of like stopping the bleeding from a gun shot wound but leaving the bullet in (which is admittedly probably a flawed analogy in some way).
Now naturally lowering cholesterol with diet and exercise is a completely different story, one which I believe can be highly effective.
I wish you the best of health. I trust that you're making the decisions that are best for you. Although you may want to research statins and memory loss if you're concerned about dementia.. and keep a look out for the signs.
Good points. Check this out:
http://www.zetia.com/ezetimibe/zetia/consumer/index.jsp Here they are pushing a drug just for the sake of cholesterol numbers, while forced to admit that it is worthless for preventing heart problems!
" ZETIA has not been shown to prevent heart disease or heart attacks." There are some authorities who believe that statins have an anti-inflamatory effect that may be of some benefit in reducing heart problems -- mostly in those who have already suffered a heart attack. I don't think reducing cholesterol numbers through drugs is well-advised for most. It is claimed that serious side effects from statins are rare. I seem to know an awful lot of people who have suffered this "rare" affliction. My LDL is high according to current standards. The current LDL guidelines are a result of big pharma approaching the American Heart Association to get the limit lowered. The AHA is essentially a lobbying front for big pharma if you care to look at where its funding comes from. I really don't give a rat's ass that my LDL levels are above current guidelines. Since I have taken up cycling hard over 100 miles/week and stopped drinking Cokes and eating trans fats, etc., my HDL is super high, triglycerides very low and HbA1c is very low.
Don in Austin