I hate to say it but, if I were you, I'd be very concerned instead of
elated. You might want to read a book called "The Cholesterol Myths"
by Swedish physician Uffe Ravnskov. Not a crackpot but a well published
researcher (mostly in the Lancet) who will show you that the emperor has
no clothes. Furthermore, at levels of total cholesterol of 110 I would
be very concerned that you are setting yourself up for potential health
problems unrelated to heart disease. Total cholesterol levels below 180
are statistically associated with increasing death rates from many
causes. In fact, if you're over the age of 65 or 70, the people who
live the longest are the ones with the highest cholesterol levels. See:
<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=retrieve&db=pubmed&list_uids=11502313&dopt=medline>
which is just one of many studies which demonstrate this point. You can
also see that the researchers are extremely timid in their conclusions
lest they be seen as bucking the conventional wisdom.
But it really shouldn't be a surprise. Cholesterol is a critical
building block for the nervous system. Something else that's critical
throughout your body is Coenzyme Q10 the production of which is also
reduced by statin drugs since it is produced along the same metabolic
pathway as cholsterol.
In 1998 I had a triple bypass and was put on Lipitor to bring down my
cholesterol. I stayed on it for about 7 years but I believe that the
Lipitor (a statin drug just like Vytorin) is responsible for long term
muscle aches throughout much of my body. I can't prove that but it
caused me to start probing deeply into the statin drug phenomena which
is now like a steamroller pushed by drug industry money. Unfortunately,
good science seems to be something that has been pushed over by the
steamroller. See the following paper by Richard Smith, former editor of
the British Medical Journal
<http://medicine.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371/journal.pmed.0020138>
When I first started reading Ravnskov's book I was very skeptical until
I read a claim that he made about the failings of the peer review
process in medical journals. He made a statement that I considered
outrageous... that doctors only read the summaries of papers and that
these papers frequently contain assertions not supported by the data in
the body of the paper. I just couldn't believe that was true. So I
logged onto Medline and picked two short papers (3 pages) at random
having to do with cholesterol and statin drugs. I chose short ones
since I thought I might have a vague chance of following the medicine
but would at least understand the statistics. I was astounded. Even in
such little papers I found that Ravnskov was right. Both authors made
claims in the summaries that were not supported by the data in the body
of the paper. Absolutely incredible for peer reviewed papers. I even
had a discussion about it with my (Harvard teaching hospital)
cardiologist who said he knew it was a problem. Amazingly, it didn't
seem to bother him in the least... as he tried to convince me to resume
taking Lipitor.
To be sure, Ravnskov points out that statin drugs do (slightly) reduce
the incidence of heart attack and stroke for people with pre-existing
coronary artery disease (meaning me). But they do so independent of
cholesterol level. So, while the statin drugs are beneficial in one
respect, it can't be that it's due to cholesterol lowering. It's
another mechanism which is not yet understood. But the statins may be
promoting other long range maladies such as cancer (and in the elderly)
increased suceptibility to infectious disease due to the reduction of
cholesterol levels.
I urge anybody who is concerned about cholesterol and is taking statin
drugs to read Ravnskov's book and check the details he provides about
the major studies used to drive the cholesterol/CHD hypothesis. I don't
understand the medicine in detail but I do understand the statistics.
I'm afraid the scientific method has been seriously compromised and
tossed on its head.
If you don't read the book you might at least read the reviews on
Amazon's page above. I feel exactly like this reviewer who said:
-----------------------------
Having had many an unpleasant argument with my doctor (and then the
poorly informed nutritionist he refered me to) about taking cholesterol
lowering drugs for a cholesterol level that is only marginally higher
than the UK average, it is reassuring to have a book that brings
together all the strands of evidence against the mainstream "cholesterol
is bad" view. Although I am not a physiologist (I'm a physicist), I have
been interested in the lack of solid evidence for my
doctors/nutritionist's advice for several years, and have read many of
the original studies in that time. In discussions with my doctor I have
raised this lack of evidence and have even spent time looking at the
hard data in his office when a heated debate continued long after my
appointment should have ended. The data don't support the medical
establishments advice. And, interestingly, although my doctor could see
this fact, he could not bring himself to actually acknowledge it.
What is best about this book is that it brings together so many of the
key studies in one place, and shows what is wrong with them. And that's
not to say that there is no connection between blood cholesterol and
coronary heart disease, but rather that the connection is not simple and
is not what the regulatory bodies have told us it is.
In short, I thoroughly recommend this book, but you should also go to
the original sources (clearly given in the bibliography) and have a look
for yourself.
--------------------------------
Good luck, John. With a total cholesterol reading of only 110 you might
well need it.
ps: There's lots more free and informed reading here:
<http://www.thincs.org/>
Chuck Norcutt
John Hermanson wrote:
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> Way OT but yesterday I heard from my doctor that through the use of
> Vytorin, I've gotten my cholesterol down to 110 (from 218).
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