Big Pharma won’t be satisfied until every American adult — and even some kids — are taking one of their dangerous statin drugs.
And they’ve resorted to desperate measures to achieve that goal.
Here’s what’s going on…
As you probably know, one of the most common side effects of taking statins is muscle pain. I see this all the time at my clinic when new patients come to see me. And if you or someone you know takes these drugs, you’ve probably seen it, too…
But a new study claims that people only get statin side effects like muscle pain if they know they’re taking the drugs. Researchers claim that if a patient doesn’t know whether they’re getting a statin or a placebo, they don’t experience side effects.1
In other words, if you’re on a statin and you have side effects, it’s all in your head.
It’s called the “nocebo” effect.
You’ve heard of the “placebo” effect. It says that if people think they’re taking a drug — even if it’s a fake — they’ll get better.
The nocebo effect, on the other hand, says if someone thinks they are taking a real pill, they’ll believe they’re having side effects.
The study authors issued a dramatic statement. They warned that “hundreds of thousands of people are dying” because of a fear imaginary side effects.
Their message was clear: “Take a statin or die.”
And they even took it a step further…
The only way to save you from your imaginary side effects, the authors said, was for the government to stop putting warning labels on statin drugs.
They don’t want you to know what the possible side effects are. They argued that if you don’t know what the side effects are, you won’t get them.
It was hard for me to understand how scientists could make that argument. Until I saw who paid them…
Pfizer sponsored the study. And the authors disclosed that they received payments from Amgen… Merck… AstraZeneca… Lilly… Novartis… and other Big Pharma giants.
Those companies all have a huge stake in getting more people to take statins. It’s a $26 billion industry… but sales of Big Pharma’s brand-name drugs have been slipping since generics hit the market a few years ago.
So they’d rather put the blame on you than admit their drugs are hurting people.
The evidence is clear. People who take statins have higher rates of diabetes, erectile dysfunction, sleep disturbances, memory loss and cognitive problems.
The side effects of statins are NOT all in your head.
Statin drugs lower your body’s CoQ10 levels by as much as 40%.2 A deficiency of CoQ10 can cause extreme physical and mental fatigue. People with low levels also have frequent headaches, migraines, jaw pain, or muscle and joint aches.3 Those are the same as statin side effects.
But the sad truth is that statins don’t work. Sure, they lower cholesterol, but cholesterol does not cause heart disease.
Statins do not prevent heart attacks or save lives. In fact, a shocking 75% of heart attack victims have normal cholesterol. And a study in The Lancet proved that people with higher cholesterol have a lower risk of dying from all causes.4
I don’t prescribe statins for my patients. Instead of trying to lower their cholesterol, I help them raise their HDL or “good” cholesterol. You see, raising your HDL high enough is linked to having almost no chance at all of developing heart disease.
3 Easy Ways To Raise Your HDL
- Follow my PACE program. Quick, simple exercise that increases in intensity — like my PACE workout — is the most effective way to increase your HDL levels. One study of Navy personnel doing PACE-type training proved it. Doing the workout for just five days increased HDL levels by 31%.
- Increase your omega-3s. Omega-3 fats increase HDL, as well. You can find them in wild-caught salmon, grassfed beef, sardines, walnuts and olive oil. Or you can take a supplement. For most people, I recommend 4,000 mg per day from krill or squid oil.
- Get more niacin. Studies show niacin (vitamin B3) raises HDL levels by 25 to 30%. To raise HDL levels you’ll need 750 to 1,000 mg a day. For that you’ll have to supplement. I recommend starting at a small dose of 250 mg per day. Too much niacin can lead to “flushing.” Increase the amount gradually every month until you get up to your target. You can also split your dose into twice a day to help reduce the flush.
To Your Good Health,
Al Sears, MD, CNS
1 Gupta, Ajay et al. “Adverse events associated with unblinded, but not with blinded, statin therapy in the Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial—Lipid-Lowering Arm (ASCOT-LLA): a randomised double-blind placebo-controlled trial and its non-randomised non-blind extension phase.” 2017 May 2. pii: S0140-6736(17)31075-9.
2 G. Ghirlanda et al., “Evidence of Plasma CoQ10-Lowering Effect of HMG-COA Reductase Inhibitors: a Double- Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study,” Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 1993; 33(3): 226-229.
3 Quinzii CM, DiMauro S, Hirano M. “Human Coenzyme Q10 Deficiency.” Neurochemical Research. 2007;32(4-5):723-727. doi:10.1007/s11064-006-9190-z.
4 Weverling-Rijnsburger AW, Blauw GJ, Lagaay AM, Knook DL, Meinders AE, Westendorp RG. “Total cholesterol and risk of mortality in the oldest old.” Lancet. 1997;350(9085):1119-23.