More Info on Prescription DrugsDrug companies try to seduce us with good reports about "miracle" drugs while hiding the bad news.
Yes, these companies love to push their products as panaceas. Once-glowing medical reports touted horse estrogens and progestins as cures for menopausal symptoms, osteoporosis, heart disease and Alzheimer's. Later studies confirmed what was brushed aside 25 years ago: These drugs increase a woman's risk of heart disease and cancer.
Drug companies are getting richer by giving glowing reports of on "new" drugs while playing down the bad news. Recent examples are statin cholesterol-lowering drugs, such as Lipitor, Mevacor, Pravachol and Zocor. Baycol, another statin, was banned after causing many cases of liver failure.
Over 12 million Americans now take statin drugs. But there is a push to increase this number. One so-called "health group" claims that 36 million Americans should be taking statins, as they supposedly reduce the risk of osteoporosis, multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's.
So what's the problem with this picture? For one thing, it ignores the fact that diet and lifestyle are major influences on heart disease risk. You can lower your cholesterol by eating more fruits and veggies and fewer sugars, refined carbs, and bad fats. You can also take safe cholesterol-lowering supplements, such as chromium, garlic, niacin, oat bran, etc.
And statins have a dangerous side effect. They lower cholesterol by limiting the body's production of HMG-CoA reductase, an enzyme which also suppresses the production of C0Q10, a nutrient that keeps the heart healthy and reduces cancer risk. This may explain in part why heart failure and liver problems can be side effects of statins.
No we are not making this up....The drug companies have had this info for at least 15 years. Indeed Merck, one of the world's largest drug companies, own patents for using C0Q10 with its Zocor. --adapted from Let's Live, February 2004.
Side Effects from Statins
Yes, these "wonder drugs" have a hidden side effect! According to an aritcle in Prevention, July 2003, these drugs can cause mystery aches, soreness, weakness, fatigue, difficulty walking and getting out of bed. The cause, according to one study is muscle or nerve damage. Researchers found that there may be a link between statins and severe muscle damage--of a sneaky sort that eludes the standard blood test (creatin kinase) for muscle breakdown.
Some medical scientists in large cholesterol clinics think that up to 1 in 10 people who take statins may have a form of this muscle toxicity. They may just feel tired, or have trouble getting out of a low chair.
More than this, a huge Danish study found that long-term statin users had a 4 to 14 times higher risk of peripheral neuropathy, nerve damage that can cause weakness, pain, and trouble walking.
Statins, it seems deplete C0Q10, the natural antioxidant that helps the body's cells produce energy.
Diet and exercise are suggested as a natural way to lower cholesterol. --adapted
Suzanne
[This message has been edited by Suzanne Sutton (edited 02-08-2004).]