Excepts by Justin Smith with permission because we both want you to thrive!
Pharmaceutical companies and those people in the pockets of pharmaceutical companies have altered the definition of high cholesterol in order to increase the number of people who are eligible to take cholesterol medications. This article explains how many people who have been told they have ‘high’ cholesterol, in fact have a normal cholesterol level.
Statins Exposed on TV
Recently, Full Measure with Sharyl Attkisson aired a piece describing the financial ties between experts who set the cholesterol clinical guidelines and the pharmaceutical industry.
What is Normal Cholesterol?
The bell shaped curve is the normal distribution of sometime we can measure. This phenomenon has been observed for centuries. It is the most fundamental and the most widely used concept of statistical analysis.
The bell curve has certain characteristics. For example, if we measure the height of women in the U.S., we would find that most women have an average height, a small number of people are very tall and a small number of people are very short. This is a normal distribution and is represented by the typical bell shaped curve.
As would be expected, the range of values that are found for cholesterol levels within a population also follow a normal distribution. And cholesterol levels vary tremendously between different people. Supporters of cholesterol-lowering medications would have us believe that the ideal cholesterol level is below 200 mg/dl (or 5 mmol/l), but we have known for decades that cholesterol varies from 105 to 343 in people who are perfectly healthy.
The bottom figure shows the range of normal levels found in healthy people.
This same range of cholesterol levels has been seen in people who do have heart disease and people who do not have heart disease, as documented by Professor Brisson using data from the Framingham Study – which is one of the largest studies ever done in it.
Since the Framingham Study, other studies have also confirmed that people with heart disease have the same cholesterol levels as people who do not have heart disease.
For example, in the UK, the typical person who has a heart attack tends to have the same cholesterol level that is seen for healthy middle-aged and older people in the general population. Something that is not unique to the UK.
A study published in the Lancet, included 5,754 patients from Australia and New Zealand who had already had a heart attack. The average cholesterol level of this group of people was around 220 mg/dl (5.7 mmol/l). Data from the WHO Global Infobase shows that around the same time, the average cholesterol level for the general population was also 220 mg/dl (5.7 mmol/l). So people who suffered a heart attack had the same average cholesterol level as the general healthy population.
A study published in the American Journal of Cardiology included 8,500 American men with existing heart disease had findings almost identical.
It wasn’t that long ago that we were told anything above 250 mg/dl (6.5 mmol/l) was too high. And over the last few years the threshold has progressively been lowered and lowered – each time without scientific evidence to support the lowering of the threshold, and each time the decision to lower the threshold being taken by experts with links to the companies that make statins. Of course, each time the threshold is lowered, millions more people become eligible for cholesterol-lowering medications – massively increasing the market size for the drugs.
Lowering the threshold massively increases the market size for statins overnight. Screenshot from Statin Nation.
Those with vested interests have done a really good job of confusing people about normal cholesterol levels and created a huge amount of unnecessary fear about it solely for the purpose of turning healthy people into patients.
Cholesterol Lowering Statin Drugs Side Effects:
- Muscle damage (myotoxicity): view 80 studies here.
- Nerve damage (neurotoxicity): view 54 studies here.
- Liver damage (hepatoxocity): view 32 studies here.
- Endocrine disruption: view 16 studies here.
- Cancer-promoting: view 9 studies here.
- Diabetes-promoting: view 8 studies here.
- Cardiovascular-damaging: view 15 studies here.
- Birth defect causing (teratogenic): view 11 studies here.
Statin drugs affect adversely diseases like Multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s, and ALS by Inhibiting Remyelination in the Central Nervous System.
Eat these 3 foods regularly, and you can lower your cholesterol by 50%!
This is WORTH the moment it takes!
Many thanks to Justin Smith for allowing me to reprint excerpts. Justin writes Statin Nation.
Diana
How do you find a doctor willing to treat without statins? Someone medically knowledgeable should be overseeing your choice to try alternatives, but PCPs mostly won’t help you. Stopping a statin and eating apples and beets seems somewhat risky if you already had a heart attack.
I grasp the dangers and all and agree most assuredly! I love your blog and the information here. Cannot tell you how it has helped my family. BUT, I can’t ask my dad to get off statins when he had a heart attack already and his doctor won’t see him unless he is on statins. It’s like a no-win situation for us laymen. Maybe in certain areas of the country doctors are more holistic, but in New England, it’s heavily mainstream medicine.
Jacqueline
Hi, Diana! I’m reading your note to my husband 🙂 His father was 91 and didn’t want to be in the hospital ever again, so we had 3 years of taking care of him at home and were his main caregivers. He was so sick of being confused and all the side effects, with his permission, my husband took him off all his drugs (15 of them and 4 supplements) one at a time, very slowly. He roused “woke” up and was super clear-headed and w/o side effects of bone and joint pain, diarrhea, dizziness and incontinence the last 2 years and was even able to pray cards with visitors. He prayed and blessed us all the day before he died naturally at almost 94. Each case is different, so different, but I thought you might get a kick out of that!
The pressures are very hard to navigate today, especially in some areas of the country. We simple didn’t tell the doctor(s). We looked at all the drugs he was on (put them all out side by side), went to websites that told side effects, and all the things he was on displayed the very side effects he was having. Top for him were joint pain, dizziness, and mental confusion or lack of clarity. We discovered that many were contraindicated to be taken together. We eliminated the most dangerous ones first, so we took him off statins pretty early. With Papa, he had had so much medical intervention that he didn’t want any more and just wanted to live naturally till he died so it wasn’t like he was 80 and had a lot more years ahead of him potentially. Anyway, it worked for good bc he had a high quality end of life happily surrounded by family. He was mentally clear till that last day.
I would look for a functional doctor and he would be able to integrate all of his meds and lifestyle changes together. They have interest in the whole person plus a passion for medicine and patients to take active ownership of their health. This website has a locator and I did some checking in a few NE states. There are many to choose from. https://www.ifm.org/find-a-practitioner/
Your father should be able to choose his care and may not want to change anything. He may be happier just staying status quo. Conversely, he may read about the truth of statins and realize he may literally be doing far worse to his mental state and neurological state than he would do to his heart by getting off statins (there is a lot of fear surrounding this once you are habituated to a drug). Getting him on a healthy high-fat diet could do wondrous things for him if he was willing to change key things. Just some perspective, and NOT advice. Also, I realize many older patients are not able to be educated to this as they have heard the mainstream advice for so long.
I know you care very much for your father and will pray for your talks with him. Blessings, J
Diana
Thank you for your perspective and that link. That meant a lot!
Karissa Goebel
Such great timing seeing this shared on your facebook! I’ve been told I have ‘slightly elevated’ cholesterol as of late, and I’ve been wondering about more natural methods of lowering it. My doctor (thank goodness) said she’d let me try a natural way to lower it since I didn’t want drugs. I’ll definitely have to try these out!
Jacqueline
Hi, Karissa! I’m glad it is helpful! And if you want to detox out the heavy metals that raise your cholesterol, please let me know. Toxicity is the issue most people overlook: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/11/181105081733.htm
I can guide you using TRS. Cholesterol is just 1 of many things this detox will address: https://deeprootsathome.com/avalyns-story-how-trs-a-safe-heavy-metal-detox-can-help-you-and-your-child/
Blessings,
Jacqueline
Judi
So, what are the three foods to eat? The video won’t play for me.
Jacqueline
Hi, Judi! I do hope you try it again, because what he says is so interesting. It must be your browser – it is working!