More than 1 in 4 Americans aged 45 and older are now on statins to lower cholesterol. Statins are among the most-prescribed of all medications in America.
The best doctors that I know will write a prescription instantly for a statin (i.e., a drug to force cholesterol lower). The cholesterol myth is so well-established and so completely accepted by doctors that there is almost no inquiry into this crime of commerce.
The cholesterol myth is based on the Lipid Hypothesis created by Ancel Keys in the 1950s. The Lipid Hypothesis is a theory that saturated animal fats and cholesterol in our food raise cholesterol levels in the blood. Then the theory goes that high blood cholesterol causes atherosclerosis, leading to obstruction of blood vessels of the heart and resulting in coronary heart disease. The pharmaceuticals saw trillions of dollars of profits. Who can say that the pharmaceuticals didn’t create the flawed studies that led to the cholesterol profit empire that we have today. In fact, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) both rely on [pharmaceutical] industry studies when giving their approval for drugs. You may call it a “science” of fraud?
[Editor's Note: it is frequently posited that the FDA and CDC test drugs and prevent the marketing of bad drugs and medical devices. But when has a featherbedded, unionized, "make-work jobs" government bureaucracy EVER helped any non-government employed or associated Americans?]
(click above link to review the references cited in this section except for [5] below.)
There was ongoing contention about the results and meaning of intervention studies undertaken before the introduction of statins.[24][25][26][27] A meta-analysis of cholesterol-lowering trials found that trials that were supportive of the lipid hypothesis were cited almost six times as often as those that were not, and although there was a similar number of trials unsupportive of the hypothesis, none of them were cited after 1970; some of the supportive reviews also exclude and ignore certain trials which were less favorable to the hypothesis. This meta-analysis, including the less-cited trials, found that mortality was not decreased by lowering cholesterol, and that the lowering of cholesterol was unlikely to prevent coronary heart disease.[28][29][30] Uffe Ravnskov, director of The International Network of Cholesterol Skeptics, maintains that "prominent scientists have turned white into black by ignoring all conflicting observations; by twisting and exaggerating trivial findings; by citing studies with opposing results in a way to make them look supportive; and by ignoring or scorning the work of critical scientists." [31]
In particular, Keys' supplementary hypothesis that reducing saturated fat in the diet will reduce cardiovascular disease has been described as a "fallacy".[5][6][Editor's Note: [5] will link to the study.] A meta-analysis in 2014 finds that "current evidence does not clearly support cardiovascular guidelines that encourage high consumption of polyunsaturated fatty acids and low consumption of total saturated fats".[32] This meta-analysis was called "seriously misleading" by Walter Willet, chair of the Department of Nutrition at Harvard, who explained that the paper contained major errors and omissions, most notably that the foods used to replace saturated fats were other unhealthy foods like refined sugars and starches.[33]
[Editor's Note: the profit motive is a healthy, capitalistic incentive for developing and distributing GOOD consumer products for the advancement of people. When government is involved, FRAUD and BIASED or improper statistically or procedurally designed studies lead in this case (statins) to the creation of more patients (and fraudulently extorted money) for doctors and hospitals. The NUMBER ONE method for minimizing the number of doctor/hospital visits is good nutrition. Two grams of Omega-3 and 6 fatty acids and a gram of vitamin D3 daily. However, one cannot change one's DNA. If your predecessors have a history of heart disease, then one can lower the probability of heart disease with a lifestyle different than your ancestors including without limitation good nutrition, supplements, and excercise.]
[Editor's Note: My former doctor told me that I had three months to live. I said, "But Doc, I can't pay your bill !" He replied, "OK, I'll give you another three months."
I highly recommend the book entitled The Cholesterol Myths — Exposing the Fallacy That Saturated Fat and Cholesterol Cause Heart Disease by Uffe Ravnskov, MD, PhD. Ancel Keys' 'myth' began in the 1940s long before the great laboratories of today with computers and electronic medical and chemical testing equipment — not to mention DNA analysis. Conclusions reached in those days were erroneously derived from imprecisely measured data and attempts to force data to fit hypotheses. The Lipid Hypothesis still remains as the number one rule for scamming people out of their money!]
Suppressing cholesterol is not about health. It’s about making money, and the people who created the cholesterol myth did so to make trillions of dollars — and they are doing it.
A study from Harvard on Asta-Zeneca’s statin drug Crestor, promoted by the American Heart Association, claims that people with normal cholesterol levels taking Crestor have a 54 percent lower risk of heart attack than people not taking it. That and other studies were funded by — you guessed it — Astra-Zeneca. But the study in question did not explain why.
But that decrease, if founded, comes at a steep price. Studies show that for every 10,000 people on statins, there were:
307 additional patients with cataracts.
23 more patients with acute kidney failure.
74 additional patients with liver dysfunction.
Another scientific review found that statins were even worse for women,
(NY Times?) actually increasing their risk for cardiac disease
(increased risk of diabetes). It also showed that statin therapy increased:
Muscle fatigabilty by 30 percent with more than 11 percent incidence of rhabdomyolysis (a life-threatening muscle condition) at high doses.
Coronary artery and aortic calcification.
Erectile dysfunction, which is 10 times more common in young men taking the lowest dose of statin.
Lowered testosterone in men and lowered libido in both sexes.
Increased diabetes risk.
Increased cancer risk.
Patients on statins also often have a side effect known as myalgia, which is a muscle pain, or myonecrosis, which is the death of muscle cells.
A new study conducted by the Jewish Hospital of Cincinnati has found that vitamin D supplementation reduces these effects.
The crux of the matter is that you can get the benefits of statin drugs — decreased mortality and lower rates of atherosclerosis — by changing your diet and by supplementing vitamin D.
It’s not a “diet” as much as it’s a lifestyle change. It starts with fresh, whole foods — primarily raw — and only free-range meats. The Nutritarian Diet is one such option.
The cholesterol myth is a monument to the lies, deceit and fraud of the pharmaceuticals and the government. Save and invest the $600 or more that you are spending monthly to keep up the pharmaceuticals. I promise and guarantee you positive results beyond anything you can imagine.
[Editor's Note:
For further analysis, I recommend reading as much as possible about Niacin (vitamin B3), and the meta-analysis studies showing that the
only lipid reduction (LDL and VLDL) substance with statistical significance is Niacin (not nicotinamide or niacinamide). The meta-anlysis studies are difficult to find anymore. I read them, and (now) I can't find
them. The magically disappearing studies that show Niacin is better than statins (and cheaper too). In these studies, hyperlipidemic patients were given various mega-doses of Niacin such
as 1500mg (1.5 grams) daily. The studies showed that Niacin increased HDL, metabolized VLDL, and indirectly reduced LDL. REAL scientists do not know why Niacin has this effect. The only
disadvantage to daily doses of Niacin is the side effect of flushing (e.g., warmth, redness, itching or tingling), but it's a vitamin not an expensive drug that doesn't work. The 'flushing' can be
ameliorated with a 325mg aspirin 30 minutes before taking Niacin. Exercise right after swallowing the Niacin shortens the 'flushing' duration to maybe 10 minutes.
I take a smaller dose, 125mg daily along with a baby aspirin (81mg). Also, I take 1 gram of Fish oil and 1 gram of flaxseed oil daily along with other vitamins. This keeps my LDL and VLDL below the normal line and increases HDL (blood tests).
I must emphasize that this is what I do. You may or may not choose to setup a similar regimen, but it is your decision. (it's one of the freest countries in the world) Whatever you do, it
must be consistent.
Cholesterol "is an essential structural component of all animal cell membranes and is
essential to maintain both membrane structural integrity and fluidity." We humans CANNOT exist without cholesteral, and there is no PROOF that lipids or cholesteral causes heart disease. Generally,
the cause of heart disease is a combination of heredity, bad diet, and a stressful occupation. Regular exercise (buy a treadmill and an exercise bike) alleviates or eliminates stress. Stress causes inflamation
in arteries. Arteries react chemically by building up layers of plaque, made from lipids and calcium (Atheroma), on the interior walls of the arteries. This constricts blood flow and raises blood pressure.
Eventually, one might have an arterial blockage heart attack. So, there is no need to cause
all kinds of other ailments by taking statins which studies have shown don't work and may increase the risk of other diseases since your body needs cholesteral. My experience with statins was muscle pain
and a general bad feeling.
]
A new Congress has been seated, and it brings the prospect of perhaps, maybe, potentially, in a possible way doing something about the runaway federal deficits. And in other news, several New York area bridges are for sale, which you can acquire at a bargain price.
Excessive Spending Destroys!
Feds Have a Spending Problem — DO NOT RAISE THE CEILING!
Feds Have a Sewage Problem!
Becky Gerritson: "...government is out of control!" and "...our representative government has failed us."
A federal judge on Thursday ordered the IRS to detail under oath how some of former agency official Lois Lerner’s emails went missing, as well as any potential methods for recovering them.
Judge Emmet Sullivan of the U.S. District Court in Washington gave the Internal Revenue Service exactly a month — until Aug. 10 — to file a report, which he demanded as part of a lawsuit from a conservative watchdog, Judicial Watch, against the agency.
Judicial Watch is seeking a wide range of documents from the IRS, including Lerner’s emails, as part of a Freedom of Information Act request. It has complained that the IRS didn’t tell it that the agency couldn’t recover all of Lerner’s emails from 2009 to 2011.
Sullivan cast his ruling as a compromise, and a potential way for Judicial Watch to get answers without the court wading any deeper into the matter. Judicial Watch had asked the court to potentially compel IRS officials to testify about the lost emails, through a process called limited discovery.
The FairTax is a consumption tax unilaterally applied to all Americans at the same rate. For businesses, payroll taxes would no longer exist. Our exports would include a heavy tax for overseas buyers purchasing our products, while our imports would be cheaper for us to purchase. I'm not sure how this would affect GDP, as more information is necessary.
According to the FairTax website, "Under the FairTax, every person living in the United States pays a sales tax on purchases of new goods and services, excluding necessities due to the prebate." The prebate gives every legal resident household an "advance refund" at the beginning of each month so that purchases made up to the poverty level are tax-free.
So a family of four making something like $50,000/year should not have to pay taxes, thus preventing an unfair burden on low-income families. Since the FairTax eliminates both federal and payroll taxes, you get to keep your gross pay amount of each paycheck earned.
John Adams said, “Without [term limits] every man in power becomes a ravenous beast of prey”. That being said, here are some of the reasons we believe our country needs Term Limits.
Term Limits can help break the cycle of corruption in Congress. Case studies show that the longer an individual stays in office, the more likely they are to stop serving the public and begin serving their own interests.
Term Limits will encourage regular citizens to run for office. Presently, there is a 94% re-election rate in the House and 83% in the Senate. Because of name recognition, and usually the advantage of money, it can be easy to stay in office. Without legitimate competition, what is the incentive for a member of Congress to serve the public? Furthermore, it is almost a lost cause for the average citizen to try to campaign against current members of Congress.
Term Limits will break the power special interest groups have in Congress.
Term Limits will force politicians to think about the impact of their legislation because they will be returning to their communities shortly to live under the laws they enacted.
Term Limits will bring diversity of people and fresh ideas to Congress.
[Editor's Note: If you want to get rich, i.e. advance from a low paying government bureaucrat job on the local or state level, THEN GET ELECTED TO THE US CONGRESS (House or Senate). Once you're elected, it's easy to steal from your campaign contributions or the Congressional budget allocated to your seat and staff. You can go on a government-funded junket with 'lavishly' paid expenses. The list of ways to steal from the government while in office is inexhaustible. There are only a few Congressmen who left Congress just wealthy instead of a multi-millionaire. Of course, there are several who arrived in Congress as multi-millionaires and don't need to steal from the government.]
