Cholesterol treatment
Control your Cholesterol Levels

Cholesterol treatmentPrescription medications concentrate only on helping to combat high cholesterol and bring levels down. The main group of medicines for doing this are known as ‘statins’.

Examples of statin drugs include Fluvastatin (Lescol), Lovastatin (Mevacor), Simvastatin (Zocor), Atorvastatin (Lipitor) and Crestor.Statin drugs have been used for some years to treat high cholesterol. The use of these drugs accelerated thanks to massive advertising and the downward adjustment of recommended safe cholesterol levels. Patients are normally advised to take these drugs for the rest of their lives, making statins the most profitable group of drugs ever developed.

Statins work by inhibiting HMG-CoA (a reductase, a necessary enzyme involved in the biosynthesis of cholesterol from acetyl-CoA). By inhibiting these enzymes statin drugs prevent the liver from manufacturing its full ‘quota’ of cholesterol.

Unfortunately cholesterol is produced using the same biological pathway asco-enzyme Q10 (CoQ10). CoQ10 is an essential antioxidant, critical for the production of energy in every cell in your body. It destroys free radicals and is a crucial enzyme your body needs for the health of all cells, tissues and organs.

Regrettably, because cholesterol and CoQ10 share this pathway, the process statin drugs use to inhibit cholesterol production also prevents the manufacture of CoQ10 by inhibiting its fundamental biosynthesis.

Consequently, depletion of CoQ10 in the body by users of statin drugs can set the stage for some serious long-term health problems. Senior Health

In 1990 studies began into the actual safety of statin drugs. These studies discovered many more adverse and potentially dangerous side effects which statins are now widely known to produce. These side effects include nausea, upset stomach, diarrhea, constipation, muscle aching, headache, dizziness, rashes, sleep disturbances, depression, irritability, tingling and numbness, swelling, shortness of breath blurred vision and weight gain.

More serious side effects also include elevated liver enzymes and myopathy(muscle pain and tenderness).

Along with the mentioned stomach, lung and liver problems, the following serious effects have also been associated with statin drug use:

* Severe muscle weakness and pain, even at low doses
* Cognitive impairment and memory loss
* Increased risk of heart failure
* Impotence, and
* Birth defects.

(In further studies cancer has also been found.)

Some statin drugs have been removed from the market place after multiple reported deaths, the most notable one being Baycol.

This all leads to one question….is the Cholesterol treatment use of statin drugs to lower cholesterol outweighed by their interference with your long-term health?

NB: If you do choose to either start taking a statin or if you are already on one, please ensure that you also supplement with a good quality CoQ10.

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