MYTHS- CHOLESTEROL ,HEART ATTACK and STATINS

1
MYTHS- CHOLESTEROL ,HEART ATTACK and STATINS
Most people react to being told they have
high cholesterol in the same way they would if
they were told that they had terminal
cancer.These two words, high cholesterol
strike immediate fear. FACTS Cholesterol is
so important that every cell in the human
body can manufacture it. The membranes of
cells are constructed primarily of lipids,
which play a vital role in regulating what may
enter and exit the cell. Body uses cholesterol
as a kind of band aid to cover abrasions and
tears in damaged arterial walls just as it
does it for any other wound .
2
Cholesterol is nothing less than a life-saver
it is used to synthesize several steroid
harmones, including estrogen, progesterone,testost
erone, as well as as corticosteroids, also the
precursor from which the body synthesizes
vitaminD. Our God given chemical
factory,Liver is the largest producer and
consumer of cholesterol. Since it is insoluble
in water and blood, it is transported in the
form of spherical lipoproteins . Depending on
the size they are LDL HDL
3
We have been taught that there isgood
cholesterol (HDL) and bad cholesterol (LDL)
which is a myth. The LDL and the HDL are
merely the carriersof the cholesterol.
LDLcarries cholesterol from the liver to
whereit is needed for cell repair and all the
other jobs that cholesterol does.HDL carries
secondhand cholesterol from cells being
replaced back to the liver for re-use .
Neither are goodor bad - they are both
essential.
4
Two recent studies (both in 2006 )
dispelled the myths about LDL and HDL. The
first, published in the journal of the
American College of Cardiology, found that
LDL was NOT a predictor of greater
diseases. This was confirmed by a joint
Canadian and American group who also found
that levels of LDL did not predict heart
disease.
5
This is exactiy the opposite of what we
have been told for almost 50 years ! the
combined resuffs of more than 40 different
trials which looked at whether lowering
cholesterol levels reduced the occurrence of
heart disease, analysis shows there were
similar rates of heart attack and overall
mortality both in the groups who lowered
their cholesterol and in those who did
not. A study sponsored by the German
Ministry of Research and Technology showed
that no link exists between food
cholesterol and blood cholesterol.
6
Even more surprising , in Japan,
cholesterol levels have risen during recent
years , yet the number of heart attacks
has dropped . But how did we arrive at a
place where, despite voluminous research to
the contrary, it is accepted as gospel
truth high cholesterol causes heart
disease?
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A trip down the memory lane.... In 1953
Dr. Ancel Keys PhD, was convinced that
high levels of fat consumption resulted in
high levels of heart disease. He conducted
a multi-country research project and
presented a compelling linear chart, showing
how high fat and high cholesterol
correlated directly with heart disease for
six leading countries, Keys played a little
statistical trick on everyone by
showing data from only 6 of the 26
countries that he had assessed.
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If he had included the other 20
countries (such as France, Italy, Spain,
Sweden, Holland etc.,) then his graph would
have looked very scattered and would not
have shown a link between high fat diets
and heart disease. It took twenty-five years
before anyone discoveried the missing data
. By that time, keys high cholesterol / heart
disease theory had become so strongly
entrenched in the population that it is now
considered common knowledge .
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Most of the momentum for the anti-cholesterol
campaign has come from major pharmaceutical
companies whith huge marketing budgets.
Statin drugs block enzyme pathways involved
in the production of cholesterol, thereby
lowering cholesterol levels. But thats not
all these drugs do. The same enzymes that
are also required for the production of an
essential compound called coenzyme Q10 .
Not surprisingly, lower cholesterol levels in
statin users are accompanied by reduced
levels of Co Q10. Low levels of CoQ10 are
implicated in virtually all cardiovascular
diseases.
10
Why do people who live in countries like
France and eat plenty of cholesterol rich
foods like cheese, cream, butter, and
meats have such a low incidence of heart
disease? The fact that natural, unprocessed
foods have healing properties. The French
cuisine relies heavily on fresh foods,
which are much closer to natural than the
typical western diet. The French never
use trans-fats or hydrogenated oils. They
use normal healthy fats like butter and
olive oil.
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The French paradox is important because it
substantiates the findings by countless
researchers that normal in take of
cholesterol and saturated fats does not
cause heart disease. As is evident from
this report, the cause of heart disease is
NOT high cholesterol . The major causes are
unhealthy diet, stress, obesity, and a
sedentary lifestyle.
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When you eat too many fatty foods and do
not get enough exercise the arteries in
your heart begin to clog with fatty
deposits. Over time, these deposits can
lead to major restriction of heart atteries,
which leads to heart attacks. Its a very
simple process. So never blame an active
circulatory lipoprotein for the disease
caused by your inactive sedentary life.
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CHOLESTEROL DOES NOT CAUSE HEART DISEASE Quite a
number of physicians and scientists are
shattering the sacrosanct dogma of cholesterol
which holds that dietary saturated fat and
cholesterol cause heart disease. Dr.Uffe
Ravanskov, the spokesperson for this growing
group says that there is no proof to support this
hypothesis available scientific evidence
contradicts this claim.
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Ravanskov cites a study by a group of researchers
published in the British Medical Journal (31
March 2001) which shows that not a single life
was saved by dietary changes to reduce fat
intake. Dr.Walter Willet says that the ongoing,
longest running, most comprehensive diet and
health study ever performed, involving 300,000
subjects, makes it quite clear that the idea low
fat is good and all fats is bad has
contributed to the obesity epidemic.
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HIDDEN DANGERS OF CHOLESTEROL DRUGS There is no
evidence that lowering cholesterol averts heart
disease. Experts point out that half the heart
attacks under the age of 50 happens without any
recognized risk factors like elevated
cholesterol. There is absolutely no evidence
anywhere that normal cholesterol floating around
in the blood does any harm. In fact, cholesterol
is the building block for all your steroid
hormones, which includes all the sex hormones and
the cortisones
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Even slightly low levels of cholesterol are
associated with depression, suicde, and lung
cancer in older womenFor most people, eating
high cholesterol foods does not raise
cholesterol. While a cholesterol-lowering drug
will usually do a very good job of lowering your
cholesterol, there is scant, if any, evidence
that it will help you live longer or reduce your
risk of heart attack
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If the American public had even a clue of how
destructive these drugs are, they wouldnt touch
themEvery information sheet on the most commonly
prescribed cholesterol-lowering drugs will tell
you that they cause cancer in rodents when taken
long-term in relatively normal doses. It is also
well-known that they can cause severe emotional
imbalances in men along with a wide array of
life-threatening side effectsThe wisest course
of action is to avoid these drugs.

Earl Mindell
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CHOLESTEROL DRUGS A DEATH SENTENCE? Coenzyme
Q10 (CoQ10), a vitamin-like substance, is
required for our muscles to function well. This
is very important for the heart muscle. Healthy
humans under the age of 40 make sufficient CoQ10
in their body. But the elderly people have low
CoQ10 levels. As a result they experience
fatigue, m uscle pain, and possibly heart
failure. Most statin cholesterol lowering drugs
arrest the bodys ability to make CoQ10. They
thus lower CoQ10 in the body. Let us hear what
an expert and researcher in this field has to
say
19

• We are now in a position to witness the
  unfolding of the greatest medical tragedy of all
  time never before in history has the medical
  establishment knowingly created a life
  threatening nutrient deficiency in millions of
  otherwise healthy people.
• Peter H. Langsjoen, M.D.

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According to his researches, diminished CoQ10
leads to heart failure. Cholesterol-lowering
drugs inhibit the production of it in the liver.
This is done by arresting some enzymes that are
involved in the production of cholesterol. But
the same enzymes are also required for the
manufacture of CoQ10. So when cholesterol
production is controlled, the production CoQ10
also is limited. This results in lower levels of
this important molecule with lower cholesterol
levels.
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CoQ10 is required for the making of ATP, the fuel
that runs cellular processes. It is present in
every cell but is concentrated in every active
cells of the heart. Depriving the heart of
CoQ10 is like removing a spark plug from your
engine it just wont work. Low levels of CoQ10
are implicated in virtually all cardiovascular
diseases, including angina, hypertension,
cardiomyopathy and congestive heart failure. -
Peter H. Langsjoen, M.D.
22
Arent the manufacturers of cholesterol-lowering
drugs aware of this great harm done to the users
of these drugs? Yes, very much. In 1990, the
drug manufacturer Merck obtained a patent for
their statin drugs to be formulated with CoQ10 to
prevent or alleviate cardiomyopathy, a serious
condition that can cause congestive heart
failure. But such combinations have not come to
the market.
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The company has not cared to educate the
physicians on the importance of supplementing
CoQ10 to offset the dangers to the heart caused
by these drugs. Because this company has the
patent, other companies cannot bring out such a
product.
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• In the last 15 years (roughly the time that
  statins have been on the market), the incidence
  of congestive heart failure has tripled.
• Peter H. Langsjoen, M.D.
• Dr.Julian Whitaker recommends that statin drug
  users take at least 150 mg of CoQ10 daily to
  avert the tragedy.

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STATINS LINKED TO CATARACTS According to a study
by Christopher Meir in Switzerland, published in
Archives of Internal Medicine, a brief exposure
to high levels of some statin drugs may
irreversibly damage the lens of the eye. Taking
an antibiotic like erythromycin in combination
with a statin drug may increase the risk of
cataracts. Erythromycin slows the removal of
statins from the body and can greatly increase
blood levels of these drugs. A single course of
antibiotics, typically ten days, appears to
double the risk of cataracts, and two more
courses triple the risk.
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THE STATIN DRUG DEBACLE The drug companies
organize studies after studies, earnestly hoping
and praying that at least one will show
beneficial result. But no study has shown the
fancied good result. No study that has released
its unedited data has shown that heart patients
reverse their disease by taking statins, says
Owen Fonorow. And this is not for lack of
trying. Pfizer alone has financed 400 such
studies for just one of these drugs.
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The shocking fact is that statin drug not only
fails to slow the accumulation of fatty plaque in
arteries but it actually contributes to plaque
formation. Cardiologists at the Cleveland clinic
organized a study to assess the effectiveness of
a statin drug, Zetia, made by the pharmaceutical
giant Merck and Schering-Plough. Not only did
the drug fail to benefit patients in the two-year
clinical trial, but it..increased the buildup
of harmful plaque in arteries.
28
What is more, the company refused to reveal the
clinical trial result for a long time. This was
a ploy to keep up the sale of the drug. Millions
of patients continued to take this useless and
harmful drug. It is prescribed 100,000 times a
day in the US alone. But later under pressure
from the government the company disclosed the
shocking finding. The drug does nt work. It
just does not work, said Dr.Steven Nissen,
Chairman of Cardiology at the Cleveland Clinic.
See how unethical and dishonest are the ways of
the drug companies.
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LINK TO CANCER Dr.Thomas Newman has warned about
statins link to cancer ( JAMA Jan.1996). A
study published in Lancet (Nov. 2002) given the
same warning those who took statin drug had
more cancers than those who did not take. Breast
cancer was found to be more among the users of
stain drug (NEJM Oct. 1996).
30
Though statin drugs may help in angiogenesis
(development of tiny arteries) they increase the
risk from cancer survival rate is reduced
(Brit. J.Cancer Oct. 2000 Nature Med.Sept.
2000). As Shane Ellison observes, the reduction
of heart attack from taking statin drug is 1
the increase in breast cancer is 1500.