Cholesterol Drug Linked to Cancer!

Staton drugs have been touted as a great advance due to their cholesterol lowering properties… but now research is demonstrating that they can increase the risk of cancer! And, as we will see, the “hype” of the importance of lowering your cholesterol numbers should be called into question anyway!

Cholesterol Pill Taken by Thousands Causes Cancer

Dr. Mercola writes: “A pill intended to lower cholesterol levels has been linked to an increased risk of cancer. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is reviewing data from a trial which found a ‘larger percentage’ of patients treated with the drug Inegy died of cancer. The FDA is expected to issue its conclusions within six months. Inegy combines the widely-used statin drug simvastatin with a new medication called ezetimibe. Ezetimibe works in a different way from statins. Statins block cholesterol made in the liver, while ezetimibe blocks the absorption of cholesterol in the gut. Back in 2004, the U.S. Government’s National Cholesterol Education Program panel advised those at risk for heart disease to attempt to reduce their LDL (bad) cholesterol to very low levels. It’s been a health disaster ever since. Before 2004, a 130-milligram LDL cholesterol level was considered healthy. The updated guidelines, however, recommended levels of less than 100, or even less than 70 for patients at very high risk. These updated guidelines instantly increased the market for cholesterol-lowering drugs. Not surprisingly, eight of the nine doctors who were on the approval panel for these absurdly low guidelines had been making money from the companies of the cholesterol-lowering drugs they were suddenly pushing onto a much larger (oftentimes healthy) segment of the population. Now, in order to get to these outrageous and dangerous low levels usually requires multiple cholesterol-lowering drugs, such as Inegy, which combines two cholesterol-lowering drugs into one. Folks, it is VERY rare for anyone to need a cholesterol-lowering drug, let alone multiples. Among the more than 20,000 patients who have come to my clinic, only four or five of them truly needed these drugs, as they had genetic challenges that required it. But if you or someone you know is taking them, odds are very high — greater than 100 to 1 — that you or they don’t need them, and they may even create more health challenges than what you started out with. Inegy combines two different medications — simvastatin and ezetimibe — into one pill. Although the Daily Mail article above claims statins ‘should lead to a drop in heart attacks and other cardiovascular problems,’ that is not necessarily the case. Statin drugs can actually increase your risk of heart disease because they deplete your body of Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), which can lead to heart failure. They have also been linked to:

* Weakness
* Muscle aches
* An increase in cancer risk
* Immune system suppression
* Serious degenerative muscle tissue condition (rhabdomyolysis)
* Potential increase in liver enzymes so patients must be monitored for normal liver function

Is ‘Bad” Cholesterol Really ‘Bad?’

It’s important to remember that you actually NEED cholesterol in your body – including LDL, or so-called ‘bad’ cholesterol — in order to maintain your health. There is actually no such thing as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ cholesterol. Both HDL and LDL cholesterol perform vital functions in your body, which is why it’s actually dangerous to bring your LDL levels down too low. HDL (high density lipoprotein) and LDL (low density lipoprotein) are actually proteins that transport the cholesterol to and from your tissues. Cholesterol in turn is a precursor to steroid hormones. For example, you can’t make testosterone or estrogen, cortisol, DHEA or pregnenolone, or a multitude of other steroid hormones that are necessary for health, without cholesterol. Even more importantly, you can’t make new cell membranes without cholesterol. So, the major reasons your body makes cholesterol in the first place, and why you have LDL, is to take the cholesterol to the tissue so you can make new cells or repair old damaged ones.”

This information from Dr. Mercola’s article is stunning, and I suggest that you do more personal research into the issue… check out this book:

The Cholesterol Myths: Exposing the Fallacy that Saturated Fat and Cholesterol Cause Heart Disease

The truth is amazing!