Health Alert 263
Dear Subscriber:
If your cholesterol has ever topped 200, your doctor probably whipped out his prescription pad and wrote you one for a statin drug. You may have felt you had to follow his advice. You don’t want a heart attack. But what about your body’s other crucial organ, your brain?
The latest research shows that statins can actually harm your brain. And today I’m going to show you why. You’ll also discover 3 simple steps you can take to improve your heart health without taking statins.
A New study from the University of Pittsburgh found that statins lower mental performance. In the study, patients taking Zocor didn’t perform as well on mental tests. They experienced a loss of attention span, memory and overall mental efficiency that they didn’t suffer before they started Zocor.1 And this wasn’t the first time…
In another trial involving the statin Mevacor, users experienced the same mental deficiencies.2 How? Statins alter the way you metabolize fat. Remember your brain is 60% fat. It needs normal fat metabolism for maintenance and performance. It’s no surprise that without it, your memory starts slipping. So what’s a person with high cholesterol to do?
I’ll say it again; you don’t need statins to protect your heart health. We can no longer ignore the side effects. In addition to lowered brain function, you could suffer from muscle pain, kidney failure, liver failure, cancer,3 even death.4
There are safer, more natural ways to achieve healthy cholesterol ratios and protect your heart. The most important among them is exercise. You should exercise 20 minutes every other day. Even this small amount of physical activity will go a long way.
So will some simple dietary changes. Try to eliminate trans fats from your diet. These include French fries, fried fish and chicken, commercially baked crackers and cookies. Try to avoid anything with hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated soybean oil. Instead, increase your omega-3 fatty acids. This is as easy as adding more fish oils, avocados, nuts, olives and eggs to your diet.
Yes, eggs. Despite the bad press, eggs improve cholesterol ratios. Not to mention they’re loaded with fat-soluble vitamins, heart healthy omega 3’s and coenzyme Q10.
To Your Good Health,
Al Sears MD
Sources:
1. Muldoon MF, et al. ‘Randomized trial of the effects of simvastatin on cognitive functioning in hypercholesterolemic adults’ AM J Med. 2004 Dec 1; 117(11):823-9.
2. Mercola, Dr. Joseph. ‘Cholesterol Drug May Impair Brain Function’ Dr. Mercola.Com, March 2005
3. Pahor M. ‘Carcinogenicity of lipid-lowering drugs.’JAMA 1996; 275:55-60.
4. Executive Summary of the Third Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) JAMA May 16, 2001; 285: 2486 – 2497.