Over the Christmas season, a nutritionist very often ends up being the person that people run away from at a party. I am used to getting lots of questions about health but during holiday season, everyone wants to enjoy their “naughty” foods in peace (I know that and I understand and warmly embrace celebration!). A good example happened this year at my in-laws. As my father-in-law munched on his traditional homemade shortbread, a love gift from his wife, he was not interested in hearing about his high cholesterol. However, he is taking statin drugs to control it and I naturally I am very concerned about the side effects these drugs have.

I decided to do some digging into the latest research before bringing it up with him. I was relieved to see this new research coming out against the widespread use of statin drugs and thought I would share it here on my blog. Please feel free to share this with your loved ones as there is so much that can be done (see below) to lower cholesterol naturally.

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Jan 21, 2011 (London, UK) — A new Cochrane review has provoked controversy by concluding that there is not enough evidence to recommend the widespread use of statins in the primary prevention of heart disease.

The authors led by Dr Fiona Taylor reports, the previous data showing benefit may have been biased by industry-funded studies. This has led to headlines in many UK newspapers saying that the drugs are being overused and that millions of people are needlessly exposing themselves to potential side effects. Statins

Statin drugs work by blocking a key enzyme in the production of cholesterol. Cholesterol is a natural product of the liver and in the right amounts is critical for hormonal balance in the body. Statin drugs block the enzyme linked to the liver’s cholesterol production, HMG-CoA (3-hydroxy-3-methyglutaryl COA) reductase, thus inhibiting the liver’s ability to produce LDL. This causes an increase in the number of the LDL receptors on the surface of liver cells, resulting in more cholesterol being removed from the bloodstream and a reduction in risk for high-cholesterol related diseases.

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Look at the side effects that statins cause (exerpt taken from: http://www.statinanswers.com/index.htm)

Muscle symptoms are a common side effect of statins; many people experience aching in the shoulders, pain in the jaw, or muscle pain in the legs. The muscle pain is a symptom muscle breakdown that is occurring in the body due to the side effect of the statin drug. When tissues break down, the body must eliminate the excess waste products. The waste products then overload the kidneys, causing more serious problems. Rhabdomyolysis (often called rhabdo for short) is the medical term for the breakdown of muscle fibers that results in the release of muscle fiber contents into the bloodstream. Besides muscle pain, the other major symptom of rhabdomyolysis is dark, red, or cola colored urine.

Muscle weakness is frequently a symptom of neuropathy and the muscle weakness may develop in a matter of days or may slowly progress over weeks or months. Individuals may simply not recognize the progressive muscle weakness and excuse the symptoms away as the result of being tired, overdoing or just getting older. For those who take statins, keep muscle weakness in mind as it “could be a sign of a rare but serious side effect.”

Other symptoms of neuropathy include: numbness, tingling, and pricking sensations; burning pain (especially at night); and/or sensitivity to touch. If left undiagnosed, neuropathy can lead to deterioration of the muscles and paralysis. Remember that we all need throat muscles to swallow, chest muscles to breathe, and that the heart is a muscle. In the extreme, severe neuropathy as a side effect to statin use can lead to death.

Some researchers estimate the 1 in 10 people who take statin drugs will experience a mild form of neuropathy where the symptoms may be a feeling of tiredness, difficulty in arising from a low chair or getting out of bed, shortness of breath or difficulty walking.

Some people experience memory loss, report an inability to concentrate as well, and feel that they are developing Alzheimer’s disease when taking statin drugs.

This memory loss may be so extreme as to be amnesia that lasts for 6 to 12 hours. These types of problems are known as cognitive defects. Other people claim to experience mood swings and other behavioral changes when taking statins. These differences in behavior are not just subjective feelings on the part of the individual but tend to be corroborated by family members.

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A study released in Jan 2011 may reverse the medical community's stance on statins for people who have had hemorrhagic strokes. Researchers at Harvard now advise against statin drugs for those patients.

Some people experience memory loss, report an inability to concentrate as well, and feel that they are developing Alzheimer’s disease when taking statin drugs. This memory loss may be so extreme as to be amnesia that lasts for 6 to 12 hours. Other people claim to experience mood swings and other behavioral changes when taking statins.

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So what is a good alternative to statin drugs?

I have two great suggestions for you: Fibre and Sterols

The easiest fibre to use: PGX^®/PolyGlycopleX^® is a novel natural polysaccharide (fibre) complex.

Here is some information from their website. From there, the cholesterol finds its way to the bloodstream, where it can clog arteries and cause other kinds of health problems. But soluble fibre, like PGX, binds with some of these cholesterol-containing bile acids when they arrive in the small intestine, and quickly moves them out of the body. This removal results in lower total and “bad” cholesterol levels.

Research Results: In one published study involving healthy male and female volunteers, a dose of 10 grams of PGX^® per day over 21 days was shown to reduce total cholesterol levels by 14% and LDL levels by 17%, respectively⁴. In males and females with a BMI ranging from 27 to 40, 10 grams of PGX^® over 14 weeks was shown to reduce total cholesterol levels by 18% and LDL by 25%⁵.

Phyto Sterols:

In order to lower cholesterol naturally it is important to know what foods are high in plant sterols. Adding these foods to a healthy diet and exercise plan can be a step in significantly lowering your cholesterol. The amount recommended by most researchers is 2000 mg.

Nuts and seeds are a good source of plant sterols as well.  1 oz will contain between 30 and 100 mg.

Organic Peanuts

Almonds

Walnuts

Pecans

Sunflower seeds

Pumpkin seeds

Sesame seeds

Fruits and Vegetables

Fruits and vegetables have trace amounts of plant sterols. The amounts are so small that you would need to eat pounds of produce to get the recommended amount of plant sterols per day.

Fruits and vegetables that are a good source of sterols include:

Broccoli

Cauliflower

Brussels sprouts

Dill

Apples

Avocados

Tomato

Vegetable oils

Wheat germ oil

Blueberries

If you are not able to commit to eating 10 servings of veggies and fruit per day, you may want to look for a nutritional supplement like CHOLESTEROL ESSENTIALS® Advanced Cholesterol Support System by Julian Whitaker, MD.

References

Taylor F, Ward K, Moore THM, et al. Statins for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease.Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2011; 1 (CD004816).

Ebrahim S, Taylor F, Ward K et al. Multiple risk factor interventions for primary prevention of coronary heart disease. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2011; 1 (CD001561).

Heneghan C. Considerable uncertainty remains in the evidence for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease [editorial].Cochrane Libr2011 (January 19, 2011).