The Truth About Cholesterol and Statins

If you have high cholesterol and have been told to start taking a statin medication, or are currently taking a statin, you need to read this article.

Cholesterol is a requirement to sustain life. Our bodies utilize cholesterol to manufacture vitamins, hormones, and enzymes, as well as to provide structure to cell membranes.

The liver produces cholesterol, but sometimes it produces an overabundance. Some scientists believe dietary cholesterol plays a large role in elevated cholesterol levels, but I believe this single variable is too often exaggerated. Other contributing factors include lack of physical activity, smoking, being overweight, sleep apnea, excessive alcohol intake, and elevated blood sugar levels/diabetes.

Background

A lot of the medical insight into cholesterol is from the Framingham Heart Study, which began in the 1940s and continues today. Early on, the study found that elevated cholesterol levels were associated with heart disease. Ever since then, cardiologists have argued that keeping cholesterol numbers within a certain range is the best way to reduce heart disease risk. Even with new information, such as treating high blood pressure and sleep apnea to reduce heart disease risk, providers are quick to treat high cholesterol with statins, even if the patient has really good HDL levels or lacks signs of inflammation.

I have to say, statins do work at reducing cholesterol numbers, but unlike many of my colleagues I question the significance of this. Why is it we occasionally see patients with "normal range" cholesterol levels have heart attacks, while other patients have severely elevated levels and never experience any heart disease? And what about the side effects of statins? Why does everyone have to fit "in a box"...what happened to individual assessment and individualized care?

You are more than the numbers on your lab report.

Some people have a genetic predisposition to having elevated blood cholesterol levels, but if there is not a family history of heart attack or stroke, the true concern regarding elevated cholesterol is minimal. You are more than just the number that appears on your blood work - the clinical picture, which includes your general health, combined with several other lab values, helps me gauge your risk for cardiovascular disease. In fact, elevated cholesterol levels can sometimes be a good thing!

"What's more important is the amount of inflammation in the body."

As a holistic practitioner, I believe in assessing your health as a whole. If your LDL, triglyceride, or total cholesterol levels are elevated, I want to compare that to your HDL and oxidized LDL levels, as well as your inflammatory markers, blood pressure, weight, and fasting glucose. If you have inflammation in your body AND very high triglycerides or LDL, then there is potentially a big problem. Rather than prescribing you a statin medication to make sure I meet the insurance company's benchmark, I'd recommend a combination of dietary and lifestyle changes, over the counter supplements, and/or IV treatments.

Statin therapy is not without risks.

If you're one of the unlucky ones, you've experienced muscle aches or cramps on this type of medication. Your provider might have told you it's to be expected, and prescribed you another brand. I'd love to give you my opinion on statins:

Statins are known to cause muscle aches and muscle breakdown. Did you ever stop and think that your heart is also a muscle? Additionally, statins deplete your natural CoQ10 levels, which decrease with age anyway. CoQ10 is a nutrient that protects against free radicals and is even prescribed as treatment for high cholesterol. So, not only do statins damage your muscles (including your heart), but it lowers CoQ10 levels which normally have a protective effect on cholesterol and inflammation. Once again, if you have inflammation, this is more of a red flag for your health than the high cholesterol numbers on your lab report.

Bottom Line

If you are currently taking a statin, I do not recommend stopping it abruptly, but it would be a good idea to consider discontinuing it under the guidance of a provider. If your provider is unwilling to discuss alternative treatment options with you, then schedule an appointment with me and let's chat about it. In the meantime, try increasing your activity level and reduce your sugar and carbohydrate intake.

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