It usually happens sometime around your 55th birthday.
You stroll into your doctor’s office for a routine check-up. But you walk back out with a prescription for a statin clutched in your hand.
And then you’re stuck taking it for the REST OF YOUR LIFE.
Sound familiar?
The need for statins is questionable at any age. (More on that in a moment.)
But if you’re a senior in your 70s, it’s time to go see the doc again, according to a new study published in the BMJ.
Because despite what you’ve been told there’s new evidence that those heavy-duty drugs might not be doing a darn thing to lower your heart disease or stroke risk.
In fact, according to the huge study of 46,864 healthy seniors aged 75 or older, the drugs didn’t reduce their risk of dying from ANY cause.
And if you’re thinking, “That’s the ONLY reason I’m swallowing those horse pills every day!” you’re absolutely right.
Statin drugs can come with serious side effects
So what’s the tradeoff for that lack of protection?
You face a long list of potential statin side effects, of course.
Including…
- memory loss
- confusion
- cataracts
- severe muscle pain
- weakness
But as bad as those are, it gets worse. Because according to other research statins could make your risk for diabetes skyrocket.
And we’ve known about this link for over a decade. In 2008, researchers first warned us about the connection.
Since then several meta-studies have added to the evidence. And just last year a study conducted at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City added more fuel to the fire.
Statins could raise your diabetes risk by 36%
Researchers concluded that at-risk folks had a 36 percent greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes once they started taking a statin.
Of course, despite the mounting evidence that in many cases statins can do far more harm than good, mainstream medicine refuses to budge.
Statins are still being prescribed for seniors at record rates.
Even worse, once you start taking them, there’s very little chance your doc will ever have you stop them.
And even if you’re at a higher risk for heart disease or already have type 2 diabetes taking a statin is often little more than a crapshoot. Because these drugs miss the bigger picture.
Statins fail to target the REAL problem oxLDL
You see statins are laser-focused on just a part of the problem, which is your LDL cholesterol count. But they ignore the REAL problem which is oxidized LDL (oxLDL).
When LDL hasn’t been oxidized, it’s essentially harmless. In fact, it has an important job to do, which is to carry fat-soluble nutrients around your body.
But when LDL cholesterol reacts with free radicals, it can become oxidized, making it stickier, more reactive, and dangerous.
And the stickier it becomes, the more likely it will build up on the walls of your arteries, forming plaques and leading to heart disease.
So your goal should be to reduce oxLDL, something statins don’t address.
But YOU can fight oxLDL head on by…
- Slashing the sugars in your diet, which contribute to LDL stickiness
- Cutting the unstable omega-6s in your diet which generate oxidizing free radicals by avoiding vegetable oils
- Raising your vitamin E levels with foods like such as sunflower seeds, almonds, and hazelnuts or taking an E supplement with all eight of the tocopherols and tocotrienols your body needs
- Taking an astaxanthin supplement
If you’re a senior and still on a statin, it could be doing you far more harm than good. And it may be time to sit down with your doctor for a serious chat about other options.
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