In fact, six of the nine panelists had either received grants or were paid consulting or speakers' fees by the companies that produce some of the most popular statin medications on the market (Panel's ties to drugmakers not cited in new cholesterol guidelines. Newsday.com), including:

Unfortunately, for many people lifestyle changes have not been sincere enough, and a lipid-lowering drug treatment is being prescribed.

From conventional doctors' point of view, being on medication doesn’t mean you failed – just that you need a little more help that diet and exercise can provide.

And that it is not correct to say that once you start on medicines, you get hooked to it. It all depends - your doctor says - whether your triglycerides levels remain within acceptable limits or not. (You need to take your medication for initially 3 months and then check your triglycerides level under medical supervision.)

And your doctor will tell you there is nothing to worry about side effects which are minor and in any event more acceptable than high triglycerides levels.

However, the fact is prescription drugs do have serious potential side effects and there are far safer ways to treat abnormal blood lipid levels and decrease cardiac deaths without taking medications.

There several statins available on the market today in tablet or capsule form. Some commonly used brand names are:

• in the U.S. - Lescol, Lipitor, Mevacor, Pravachol, Zocor
• in Canada - Lescol, Mevacor, Pravachol, Zocor
• in the UK - Zocor, Lipostat, Lescol, Lipitor, and Crestor.

Statin therapy can achieve reductions in LDL-“bad” cholesterol of approximately 30-40 percent. However, reductions in excess of 50 percent are achievable only with high doses of some statins.

Statins work by blocking a key liver enzyme involved in this process, thereby slowing down the production of cholesterol in the liver.

This encourages the liver to take extra cholesterol, LDL-“bad” cholesterol in particular, out of the bloodstream, causing the LDL cholesterol level to decrease.

As cholesterol synthesis tends to be highest at night patients are generally advised to take their statin dose at night, with the exception of Lipitor, which can be taken at any time.

Statins are now recommended for all patients with established coronary disease.

They are also indicated for those at high risk of developing heart disease, particularly those with

• diabetes,
• high blood pressure
• a family history of premature death from heart disease
• total cholesterol level above 5 mmol/L, or 194 mg/dL, and
• LDL-“bad” cholesterol level above 3 mmol/L, or 116 mg/dL.

Statins are relatively free of adverse effects, however, some people may experience symptoms such as

• skin rash
• gastrointestinal upsets
• sleep disturbances and
• headaches.

If you are taking statins, particularly simvastatin (Zocor) and atorvastatin (Lipitor), you should avoid grapefruit juice; other fresh fruits, including limes and lemons, seem fine.

A chemical in grapefruit juice deactivates a liver enzyme that is important in breaking down statins; and this leads to excessively high levels of the drug in the bloodstream, causing statin toxicity symptoms such as

• extreme tiredness
• muscle aches, even
• potentially lethal effects on the heart muscle.

If you take statins of any sort, but particularly these two (Zocor and Lipitor), steer well clear of grapefruit juice.

Some doctors think a little is OK occasionally, but we’d err on the side of caution and give it a wide berth.

Also alcohol potentiates the toxicity of cholesterol-lowering medications much more than the drugs would do alone. Actually, this is the major problem with the statins.

The counterfeit Lipitor 20mg tablets were recalled in the U.K. on July 28, 2005. Health authorities in the U.K. stated that initial results of tests performed on the counterfeit drugs do not indicate that this product poses an immediate risk to patients, however, they are advising that patients stop taking the drug and return it to the pharmacy where they obtained it.

U.K. pharmacies are being advised to return all remaining stock of this batch to Pfizer Ltd., the manufacturer of Lipitor.

Consumers who purchased FDA-approved Lipitor products through legitimate U.S. pharmacies should not have received any of these counterfeit tablets and are not subject to this recall.

But some U.S. residents may have obtained prescription drugs from the U.K. through the operations that do not supply legitimate, FDA-approved products, or through state-run drug importation programs that facilitate the purchase of unapproved foreign drugs. Consumers who purchase drugs through these arrangements may have received these counterfeit products.

The affected product is 20 mg. "Lipitor" and is sold in packages of 28 tablets. The drug packages are marked with batch number 004405K1 and an expiration date of "11 2007." The batch number can be found on the end of the box next to the expiration date and on the foil backing of the drug's blister pack. Legitimate U.K. Lipitor also has this same batch number.

Zocor (Simvastatin) is indicated in addition to diet - after diet alone has failed to achieve target levels.

However, this drug should not be used by:

• anyone who is allergic to any of its components,
• patients with liver disease or elevated liver enzymes (liver function tests need to be performed first),
• women who are pregnant, breast-feeding, or of childbearing age who could become pregnant.

According to the Zocor^® website, major side effects include:

Mixed dyslipidemia - both elevated cholesterol and triglycerides - is a condition which affects approximately 40 percent of patients in the U.S.

Lescol XL is now currently indicated as an adjunct to diet and exercise for the treatment for patients with

• hyperlipidemia and
• coronary heart disease (CHD) - to slow the progression of atherosclerosis.

The most commonly reported adverse reactions to Lescol XL are:

• fatigue
• nausea
• diarrhea
• dyspepsia
• abdominal pain
• rash
• upper respiratory tract infection
• influenza-like symptoms
• back pain
• headache

Lescol XL is contraindicated in

• patients with active liver disease or persistent transaminase elevations
• pregnant or nursing women.

Advicor is a combination product containing both extended-release niacin and lovastatin (Mevacor). This drug has been approved for the treatment of primary hypercholesterolemia and combined or mixed dyslipidemia (raised cholesterol levels are associated with raised levels of triglycerides).

It is indicated for patients who were previously treated with either component of Advicor, but who require additional lipid modification for LDL or HDL cholesterol and triglycerides.

The most frequently reported adverse effects include the following:

• flushing, often accompanied by dizziness, fainting, heartbeat irregularities, chills, shortness of breath, or swelling
• upset stomach (indigestion, diarrhea)
• rash

Other common side effects include:

• abdominal pain
• back pain
• flu-like symptoms
• headache
• high blood sugar
• itching
• muscle pain
• nausea
• vomiting
• weakness

Contraindications: Advicor should not be used if

• you are pregnant or nursing (breastfeeding), or
• you have liver problems, active peptic ulcer, or arterial bleeding, kidney disease, gout, or the chest pain of angina
• you are allergic to niacin or lovastatin
• you have diabetes, as Advicor may affect your blood sugar levels
• you are a child.

Taking Advicor my interact with the following drugs:

According to the author, Dr. Sidney Wolfe, director of Public Citizen’s Health Research Group, Crestor was approved despite an FDA claim that new cholesterol drugs would only be approved only if they presented a comparable or lower risk of rhabdomyolysis than drugs already on the market.

According to Wolfe, patients taking Crestor experienced severe muscle deterioration at higher rates than patients taking other cholesterol-lowering drugs. In fact, the rate of post-marketing reports of rhabdomyolysis for Crestor appears to exceed that of all other currently marketed statins.

From its approval in August 2003 to mid-April 2004, 18 patients, including 11 in the United States, suffered severe muscle deterioration. In addition, eight cases of acute kidney failure and four cases of kidney insufficiency related to the use of Crestor have been reported. (Dangers of rosuvastatin identified before and after FDA approval. The Lancet, Vol. 363, Issue 9427, 26 June 2004. pp. 2189-2190.)

In their enthusiasm to reduce premature deaths from heart attack and strokes the authors of the current Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) guidelines are recommending that millions of Americans be put on statin drugs while ignoring warning signs of potentially serious side effects from the long-term use of these compounds.

Would informed health consumers willingly choose to lower their risk of cardiovascular disease if it meant substantially increasing their chances for developing cancer or ALS after a decade or two?

Dean Ornish, clinical professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco and president of the nonprofit Preventive Medicine Research Institute, pointed out that “As tens of millions of people begin taking these medications for decades, more long-term side effects are likely to become apparent.”

• bezafibrate,
• gemfibrozil and
• fenofibrate.

There many fibrates available on the market today in tablet or capsule form. The most widely used brand name in the United States is Lopid (Gemfibrozil). In Canada, it is also known as Apo-Gemfibrozil, Gen-Fibro, Novo-Gemfibrozil, and Nu-Gemfibrozil.

Gemfibrizol is available only with doctor's prescription in capsule or tablet form.

Candidates for drug therapy with fibrates include individuals with

• mixed or combined hyperlipidemia - in such cases, raised cholesterol levels are associated with raised levels of triglycerides.
• raised triglycerides alone (often associated with low levels of HDL cholesterol) who are at risk of pancreatitis and disturbances of blood clotting mechanisms.

The drug acts by several mechanisms, the principal effect being to reduce VLDL (very low density lipoproteins) in the blood. These structures are composed predominantly of triglycerides.

Treatment with fibrates tends to increase HDL-"good" cholesterol levels by 10-15 percent. It may also lower cholesterol by up to 25 percent using the more modern fibrates.

However, fibrates are not very effective for lowering LDL-"bad" cholesterol.

Although side effects of fibrates commonly prescribed are considered minimal and temporary, those more frequently cited include:

• gastrointestinal discomfort (the most common side effect),
• increased likelihood of developing cholesterol gallstones,
• nausea,
• headache,
• skin rash, or, very rarely,
• muscle aches or liver disturbances.

PLEASE NOTE: Some people with hyperlipidemia may be treated with a fibrate and a statin. In such cases, the risk of muscle and liver damage is increased.

Lopid (Gemfibrozil/Systemic) is usually recommended when treating:

• isolated hypertriglyceridemia (much less expensive)
• combined dyslipidemia requiring LDL-"bad" cholesterol reductions
• patients with coronary heart disease, 'normal' LDL cholesterol and HDL cholesterol< 40 (HDL Intervention Trial, NEJM 1999; 341:410-418).

However, results of a large study using Lopid seem to show that it may cause a higher rate of some cancers in humans.

As Lopid is similar to another prescription medicine, called clofibrate, it may also increase your risk of

• liver disease
• pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas)
• gallstones and problems from gallbladder surgery (although it may also decrease the risk of heart attacks).

More common side effects include:

• severe stomach pain
• gas
• heartburn

Less common side effects include:

• diarrhea
• nausea or vomiting
• skin rash
• cough or hoarseness
• fever or chills
• lower back or side pain
• painful or difficult urination.
• muscle pain
• unusual tiredness or weakness (rare).

For Lopid, the following should be considered, as it may

• increase the effect of the anticoagulants (blood thinners).
• cause muscle or kidney problems or make them worse when used with Lovastatin
• increase the risk of muscle damage and kidney failure when used with Lipitor
• make gallbaldder disease or gallstones conditions worse.

Lopid is also less effective if you are greatly overweight. In most cases, it does NOT reduce the LDL ("bad") cholesterol levels.

However, TriCor may interfere with

• HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (statin medications) and
• coumarin-type anticoagulants.

This drug is not recommended, if you have

• liver, gall bladder or severe kidney disease
• gallstones
• muscle pain, tenderness or weakness.

TriCor has also side effects, such as:

Fenofibrate, sold as Tricor, lowers triglycerides and boosts good cholesterol, seemingly lowering heart risk. But in most type 2 diabetes patients, it failed to achieve the goal of reducing a combination of heart attacks, strokes and deaths, says lead investigator Henry Ginsberg of Columbia University.

The study, called ACCORD, involved 5,518 patients. It found that treating diabetic patients with Tricor and cholesterol-lowering simvastatin offered no greater benefit than the statin alone. The fenofibrate group had 291 heart attacks or strokes, vs. 310 in the statin group. "The drug is way overused," says Douglas Weaver of Henry Ford Health System in Detroit. "It's used to reduce cardiovascular events in people with diabetes, and the endpoint of this trial suggests that there's no evidence that it does that."

Tricor was approved in 1974 [to lower cholesterol]. The Food and Drug Administration last year approved a new formulation, called Trilipix. Together the drugs earned $1.3 billion globally, reports their maker, Abbott Laboratories.

The study, released here at the American College of Cardiology's annual meeting, provoked a sharp response from Abbott vice president Eugene Sun, who said in a statement that most study patients did not qualify for fenofibrate treatment because they did not have abnormally high triglycerides or low levels of good cholesterol. In such patients, he noted, pairing fenofibrate and simvastatin reduced heart attacks, strokes and deaths by 31% over simvastatin alone.

But Steven Nissen, chief of cardiology at the Cleveland Clinic, called the analysis "unreliable," saying the subgroup was too small to generate trustworthy results. In a second, related study, doctors examined the benefits of intensive blood pressure lowering in diabetic patients and found that it failed to reduce deaths, heart attacks and strokes taken together, though it did reduce strokes in a separate analysis.

But there are risks, Nissen says. "More intensively treated patients had a higher incidence of kidney failure and other serious side effects."

The research is published online in The New England Journal of Medicine.

(c) Copyright 2010 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.

There many nicotinic acid derivatives available on the market today in tablet, capsule or solution form. Some commonly used brand names are:

• in the U.S. - Niacor, Niaspan, Nicolar, Nicotinex Elixir, Slo-Niacin
• in Canada - Novo-Niacin.

Some strengths of niacin are available only with doctor's prescription. Others are available without a prescription, since niacin is also a vitamin.

Niaspan is one of only two products in the United States approved for increasing HDL-"good" cholesterol levels in patients with dyslipidemia. At doses of 1,000 to 2,000 mg per day, it can increase HDL levels by 14 to 32 percent.

Unfortunately, the most common side effect of Niaspan is the flushing sensation, which typically occurs on the face, neck, chest, and back, and is characterized by redness, tingling, or itching.

Fortunately, in most cases, flushing lasts for one hour, approximately two to four hours after taking the dose. To minimize flushing, you should avoid alcohol, hot drinks, and spicy foods.

The following adverse events - in general, more common in women than in to men - have also been reported with niacin products, either during clinical trials or in routine patient management:

• edema, asthenia, chills
• atrial fibrillation and other cardiac arrhythmias; tachycardia, palpitations, orthostasis, syncope
• hypotension
• toxic amblyopia, cystoid macular edema
• activation of peptic ulcers and peptic ulceration
• jaundice
• gout
• myalgia
• dizziness, insomnia
• hyper-pigmentation, acanthosis nigricans, maculopapular rash, urticara, dry skin
• sweating
• migraine.

Niaspan is not recommended for those who have:

• active liver disease
• peptic ulcer
• arterial bleeding.

The active ingredients in Omacor are EPA/DHA ethyl esters, which have several beneficial effects on the cardio vascular system.

In November 2004, Omacor - manufactured by Pronova Biocare and Reliant Pharmaceuticals (aquired in 2007 by the UK drug giant GlaxoSmithKline) - was approved by the Food and Drug Administration as a drug available by a prescription only. According to the FDA’s Consumer Drug Information Sheet, it should be used in adult patients for

• post myocardial infarction and
• hypertriglyceridemia (very high triglyceride levels, over 500 mg/dL, or 5.7 mmo/L).

This drug is also meant to serve as an adjunctive therapy in addition to healthy eating habits, and the control of heart disease risk factors, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol levels, and to be used in combination with other cholesterol-lowering medications.

The mechanism of action of this drug is completely known; however, there are many theories surrounding how omega-3 fatty acids may work. These mechanisms may include:

• reducing the amount of triglycerides made in the liver
• inhibition of the esterification of other fatty acids, and
• the inhibition of diacylglycerol O-acyltransferase, which is an enzyme that catalyzes the final step of triglyceride synthesis.

Omacor is active on the plasma lipids by lowering triglyceride levels as a result of a fall in VLDL (very low density lipoprotein), and the substance is also active on hemeostasis and blood pressure.

Omacor reduces the synthesis of triglycerides in the liver because EPA and DHA are poor substrates for the enzymes responsible for triglyceride synthesis and they inhibit esterification of other fatty acids.

The increase in peroxisomes of ß-oxidation of fatty acids in the liver also contributes to the fall in triglycerides, by reducing the quantity of free fatty acids available for their synthesis. The inhibition of this synthesis lowers VLDL.

A rise in HDL-“good” cholesterol is only small, significantly smaller than seen after administration of fibrates, and not consistent.

The manufacturers of Omacor state that they use a highly modified purification process than differs from what can be obtained on the shelves at your local pharmacy.

Omacor should be taken with meals. The typical dosage is 4 grams a day, which may be taken as one 1-gram capsule four times a day or two 1-gram capsules twice daily, especially if adequate response is not been obtained.

An incomplete list of side effects associated with Omacor includes:

• rash pruritic, acne
• an increase in LDL-“bad” cholesterol levels in patients with hypertriglyceridemia
• belching, often called a “fish burp”
• upset stomach, dyspepsia, nausea
• an increase in the AST and ALT liver enzymes
• prolongation of bleeding time
• infection
• flu-like symptoms
• change in sense of taste

Omacor should not be taken by

• patients under 18 years of age
• patients who are pregnant or trying to become pregnant
• lactating, breast-feeding mothers
• patients with bleeding disorders or who are on anticoagulation therapy, and
• patients with liver disease (they should consult their health care practitioner before using this drug).

In the absence of efficacy and safety data, use of Omacor in children is not recommended. It also should be used with caution in patients allergic to fish.

If both Omacor and a blood thinner are taken, health care provider should check occasionally to see if an effect has occurred. Because of the moderate increase in bleeding time (with the high dosage, i.e. 4 capsules), patients receiving anticoagulant therapy must be monitored and the dosage of anticoagulant adjusted if necessary.

Regular monitoring of hepatic function (ASAT and ALAT) is required in patients with hepatic impairment (in particular with the high dosage, i.e. 4 capsules).

PLEASE NOTE: Omacor is not indicated in exogenous hypertriglyceridemia (type 1 hyperchylomicronemia). There is only limited experience in secondary endogenous hypertriglyceridemia, especially uncontrolled diabetes.

The effort of this investigator-initiated and self-funded study was to determine what components of lipid profiles have the greatest impact on risk of atherosclerotic events.

In his scientific poster, Dr. Freeman presented data on 1,339 men and 1,479 women ages less than 29 to greater than age 80 who were seen in his practice between 1974 and 2001.

According to Dr. Freeman's findings, the earliest onset of atherosclerosis have people with abnormal values for

• HDL-"good" cholesterol (39 mg/dL or less)
• LDL-"bad" cholesterol (170 mg/dL or higher) and
• triglycerides (150 mg/dL or higher).

This group does require aggressive lipid therapy.

The most typical lipid disorder, however, represent people with

• normal HDL-"good" cholesterol (>39mg/dL) but
• abnormal LDL (>170 mg/dL) and triglycerides (>150 mg/dL)

The definition of metabolic syndrome X or insulin resistance represent people with

• normal LDL-"bad" cholesterol (<170 mg/dL) and
• abnormal HDL-"good" cholesterol (>39 mg/dL) and triglycerides (>150 mg/dL).

All these people require lipid therapy as - according to Dr. Freeman - dyslipidemia, after smoking, is the next most important risk factor for atherosclerosis.

However, lipid therapy is not required in people with

• normal HDL-"good" cholesterol (>39 mg/dL) and LDL-"bad" cholesterol (<170 mg/dL), but
• elevated triglycerides (>150 mg/dL).

Research suggests that the combination of low HDL and high triglycerides indicates a generalized disorder of lipid (fat) metabolism, called metabolic syndrome X, which may place you at high cardiovascular risk.

In this case, before prescribing any medication, your doctor will recommend for three intial months basic lifestyle changes - suitable for all people with elevated triglycerides and other lipids - such as:

However, according to a Canadian study, fenofibrates should be the drugs of choice to increase HDL and reduce triglycerides, especially the newly available microcoated fenofibrate with better pharmacokinetics (Canadian Cardiovascular Congress 2000 Vancouver, B.C. / October 29-November 1, 2000).

From doctors' point of view, being on medication doesn’t mean you failed – just that you need a little more help that diet and exercise can provide. However, you would be astounded how many people would rather take a pill than consider changing anything else.

Not all doctors would agree you should be treated medically, unless you have history of vascular disease. However, this line of treatment may be considered, if you

However, an important issue is how to best manage these people.

In those cases, doctors may now use a new commercially available test. This procedure uses nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to fractionate VLDL, LDL, and HDL concentrations into 15 different subfractions. It is completely automated and takes only about one minute to perform, since it measures all subfractions simultaneously.

Also high insulin values accelerate the rate of development of both diabetes and aging.

Decreased Levels of Antioxidants
Antioxidant blood levels decrease Alpha Tocopherol and Beta Carotene levels in the blood fall by up to 22 percent in patients taking statin drugs.

Decreasing one's anti-oxidant stores in the blood is obviously undesirable as this means that our ability to remove free radicals will be impaired.

Greater Incidence of Peripheral Neuritis
The cause for peripheral neuritis is often obscure. The incidence of peripheral neuritis is 15 times greater in persons taking statin drugs than in control subjects. This could also relate to deficiency of CoQ 10.

Transient Global Amnesia (TGA)
This neurologic disorder causes patients to have a total loss of memory for several hours. During these episodes the person does not know who he or she is, does not know what they are doing and often has a complete loss of memory about their past history.

The relationship of these memory problems to usage of statin drugs is nearly completely unknown in the medical community. Stopping the statin drug leads to recovery which may take several months.

Abnormal Liver Function
Abnormal results of liver function tests are common in persons taking statin drugs. Severe abnormalities are uncommon and the abnormal liver function disappears when statin therapy is stopped.

Increased Risk of Gallstones
Cholesterol-lowering drugs actually increase the amount of cholesterol secreted in bile. This in turn can increase the risk of gallstones.

Increased Risk of Stroke
Stroke risk goes up when cholesterol values are lowered below 140 mg. Dr. Gilbert Gordon suggests keeping cholesterol values near 220 mg. to preserve the natural antioxidant benefits of cholesterol for the body (Dr. Garry Gordon Chelation Discussion Group Feb 11, 2004 How low for cholesterol?).

Increase in Depths from Suicide and Cancer
A large population study of cholesterol levels in patients taking statin drugs revealed a decrease in deaths from heart disease but this occurred at the expense of an equivalent increase in deaths from suicide and cancer. Lowering cholesterol decreases the number of receptors for serotonin on brain cell membranes. Serotonin acts to suppress aggressive behavior so lowered serotonin levels could lead to increased violence and suicide.

Increase Risk of Cancer and Lymphoma
Possibly of greater importance several early studies of the results of statin therapy suggested that there might be an increased risk of developing cancers and lymphomas in persons taking statin drugs.

Certainly some of this increase in cancer incidence could be due to the rapidly increasing statin drug usage. Knowing that CoQ 10 is a fine therapy for cancer suggests that lowering the levels of CoQ 10 with statin drugs might increase the risk of cancer.

There is no question that it does some very good things.

However, Lopid is also known to

• tax the liver and
• increase the liver enzyme production.

Our liver is our major detoxifying organ. People that live long are good detoxifiers while people that die early are poor ones.

This is directly related to our genetic ability to detoxify through standard liver enzyme pathways.

Unfortunately, Lopid, in its regular and ordinary pharmacologic course, causes an overproduction of liver enzymes. (There are 50 to 100 delicate liver enzyme systems involved in the cytochrome P450 liver phase I and phase II glutathione-S-Transferase).

As Ronald B. Keys, JD, PhD put it, by choosing liver-toxic Lopid, you overtax and burden these systems compromising the long-range liver capacity and function – and, consequently, shorten your life.

It is not just whether the liver enzymes are elevated from the toxic aspects of Lopid, but whether its long-term use is destroying the functional reserve of the liver at the same time.

In other words, you could have normal liver enzymes - yet have impaired hepatic function reserve from the long-term use of this toxic medication.

Lopid then is an ideal medication for those who want to live in physician’s office everyday instead of going to work and/or managing family.

However, there are not any large-scale, randomized, controlled trials comparing both drugs alone or in combination.

But a combination therapy - with either statin-fibrate or statin-niacin - can be considered in people with:

• insulin resistance
• diabetes
• progressive atherosclerosis and
• a mixed hyperlipidemia.

These beneficial features are likely the reason studies show decreased cardiac deaths when they are used.

Nevertheless, the statin drugs' potential side effects are significant. In some they deplete coenzyme Q 10 within the liver enough to cause liver enzyme elevations and within the muscles to cause myopathy (see below).

Also, in many physicians' experiences, statins cause depression or loss of motivation in the majority of patients, probably due to alteration of cholesterol metabolism in the brain.

Atorvastatin is the chemical name for Lipitor ^®, the world’s best selling cholesterol-lowering prescription drug.

This new study, however, is simply confirmation of what scientists have known for some time: “miracle” but potentially harmful statin drugs may lower levels of Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) - a superior antioxidant, essential for the production of energy in every cell of the body.

Isn’t it a little ironic? Millions of heart patients are taking a drug that depletes CoQ10 which - through many years of research - has been shown to be effective in protecting the cardiovascular system and helping to prevent heart disease.

Meanwhile, the United Kingdom has decided to reclassify Zocor (another best selling statin drug) as over-the-counter (OTC), in spite of the fact that Zocor may cause muscle pain or weakness, as well as liver problems (according to the Zocor website).

Statins are not cholesterol- but "mevalonate"-lowering "therapy". This mother molecule (mevalonate) also makes CoQ10 and other vital "stuff" like farnesyl, isoprenyl, isopentenyl, geranyl, dolichol and squalene.

Similarly, aspirin is not simply "anti-clot therapy", it rearranges all fat-based "house keeping", pain and signal machinery. Statins and aspirin hamper (inhibit) fundamental body processes. Whatever good necessarily comes with the bad.

PLEASE NOTE: If you are on statins, taking 100 mg - 200 mg of CoQ10 daily will help you replenish depleted CoQ10 stores as you work with your doctor in weaning yourself off these drugs.

“The purpose of the Heart Protection Study was to explore whether lowering cholesterol provides benefits to a wide range of people at high risk for coronary events.

It was the largest clinical trial of its kind, conducted over 5 years with more than 20,000 patients with heart disease, diabetes, and noncoronary vascular disease.

The Study was the largest of its kind, researching groups who had not previously been extensively studied. It was the largest study of women. The largest study of people older than age 70. The largest of people with diabetes. And even the largest of people with heart disease and normal cholesterol.

The Heart Protection Study was designed, conducted, analyzed, and reported by Oxford University and funded in part by Merck & Co., Inc.”

Unfortunately, the above medical study is an example of unethical reporting. Both its sponsor (Merck) and their authors - Oxford's Drs. R. Collins, Armitage and Sir A. Peto - did not publish the negative findings hiding the truth about the study patient group mortality curves (in this case, women).

Wednesday, April 26, 2003: Thanks! I have been trying to reduce my triglycerides for several years now. I was placed on (...) Tricor which produced side effects so badly that I could not take it. I started taking your Triglycerides Reduction Formula and following the Diet just under two months ago. My doctor just called and gave me my lab results. My triglycerides fell from 432 to 170, my HDL went from 30 to 48 and all the other results were normal which hasn't happened in years. Needless to say, I just ordered another 2 months' supply of your Triglycerides Reduction Formula. It really works! Thanks again, Gene * The testimonial above has been presented as a true story. However, it has not been reviewed by Full of Health and is the opinion of the listed individual.

Prescribing drugs like Lopid is legal and within standard clinical practice guidelines. However, it is a horrible abomination to treat one problem and create a dozen other problems. The patient ends up in a vicious cycle of taking one drug to chase after the effects of another drug. Doctors call this problem an “adverse drug reaction” and the condition, “polypharmacy.”

Therefore, starting with lipid-lowering medications puts you - as Ronald B. Keys, JD, PhD put it - on the drug-treatment-merry-go-round nightmare.

In fairness, many physicians, legally, may be under a gag rule and be unable to tell you about non-pharmaceutical options and alternative treatments to lower triglycerides because of "managed care requirements" such as Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) - a health plan involved in delivery of health care.

These requirements have made the whole managed care set up controversial and destructive of the time-honored physician-patient relationship, detrimental to the short-term and long-term interests of the patient. Oftentimes, it is the system rather than the physician that is the problem.

Nevertheless, there are dozens of ways to lower triglycerides and other lipids without using drugs - potential poisons. These safer and much more beneficial methods applying a risk/benefit analysis include such simple things like

• diet
• nutritional supplementation, and
• biobehavioral modification, interconnected with the psychosocial, behavioral, and biological processes.

These non-drugs methods, however, usually require the person to be intimately involved with his or her own treatment and life. Unfortunately, most people choose to take their body to the doctor and say, "Here's my broken body. You fix it. Give me a magic pill."

If you're interested in avoiding or ending personal experience with this disorder, we have good news for you.

The main and foremost goal of the nutritional approach to elevated blood triglycerides is to improve and/or restore the body's metabolism of

• lipids (fats) and
• carbohydrates, especially refined sugar, processed grains and starches.

Fortunately, there are people, including a growing number of doctors, who admit that there are successful methods to reduce elevated levels of blood lipids (fats), other than temporary medical intervention.

There have been medical studies on the beneficial effect of nutritional supplementation on triglyceride levels; it appears people with high triglycerides do benefit from dietary supplements.

Nutritional factors - naturally occurring substances, not drugs whose substances are foreign to the body - are able to boost the body chemistry by

• correcting possible deficiencies and/or imbalances
• improving metabolism of lipids (fats) and carbohydrates (sugars, starches, processed grains), and
• providing optimum conditions for the proper functioning of the body's own intrinsic ability to heal itself.

As far as the cardiovascular system is concerned, according to orthomolecular nutrition, if the right building blocks (nutrients) are present in the body - in the right amounts and at the right time - the body will do the rest.

In other words, if you want to lower your triglyceride levels you need to get to the root of the problem. By just pulling a dandelion out by its leaves, you are not going to get very far...

So far, we have introduced our proprietary Triglyceride Reduction TGs Formula to our clients and customers in 44 countries: the United States (including Virgin Islands, Hawaii, and Guam), Malaysia, Australia, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Thailand, New Zealand, Germany, Belgium, Trinidad, Mexico, Italy, Spain, Pakistan, Singapore, Mauritius, Suriname (South America), France (including Martinique), Bolivia, Russia, Croatia, Poland, Portugal, Denmark, United Arab Emirates, Brunei Darussalam, Hong Kong, Macau, St. Lucia (West Indies), Norway, Saudi Arabia, Philippines, Brasil, Yemen, Kingdom of Bahrain, Turkey, China, Guatemala, Kuwait, Japan, Taiwan, Jordan, Cyprus and Fiji Islands.

This all-natural combination of 65 nutrients and phytonutrients (plant nutrients) not only keeps your blood fats in check (as drugs do), but actually helps your body rebuild the organs and systems that control your blood lipids - without side effects.

It has been designed to provide optimal concentrations of vitamins, anti-oxidants, lipotropic factors, chelated minerals, trace minerals, and digestive enzymes as they are all necessary to bring the triglycerides down to normal.

This approach is based on the well-known fact that elevated blood triglycerides are usually caused by:

• too acid pH of glycerol (due to diet and lack of potassium via phosphorylation in the stomach) and
• improperly oxidized (metabolized) fatty acids in the gut by pancreatic enzymes.

Therefore, only a multi-based, full-spectrum nutritional supplement can help - in most cases - solve the problem.

Complete nutritional supplementation is also effective when blood triglyceride levels are too low; this condition is often caused by:

• too alkaline pH of glycerol (due to lack of infusion of chloride via phosphorylation in stomach; when the cellular tissue are too alkaline, the fatty acids tend to disintegrate and give off glycerol) and
• fatty acid congestion in the liver.

Again, a full-spectrum nutritional supplement providing B vitamins, lipotropic factors, hydrochloric acid (HCL) and digestive enzymes can help - in most cases - solve the problem.

But not everybody agrees that this kind of evidence is enough to act upon. Until formal proof is established, this matter remains a legitimate question of judgment, which varies from one person to another.

However, the only way to obtain scientifically acceptable proof of the association between nutritional means and blood triglycerides would be to

• take a large number of persons from the same population,
• put half of them on a triglyceride reduction formula and a diet, and
• see if that half has lower triglyceride levels than the rest.

Such critical test should be performed in a three-to-five-year, $75-million study conducted, for example, by the American Heart Association. The conclusive evidence would be published as a formal proof of the role played by optimum nutrition in the process of controlling blood triglycerides.

Unfortunately, such a multi-million study has not been run yet.

Should we wait then for "conclusive" evidence, which may be years away and - too late for some of us? Can we accept probable evidence?

We need to realize that not taking a stand, insisting on waiting until all the evidence is in, is itself - a position and a recommendation! Not taking a stand is not really the neutral position it is made out to be.

On the other hand, physicians like to pretend, and many have kidded themselves into believing, that whatever they espouse has been "scientifically proved."

Nonsense!

A great deal of what established medicine recommends today with good conscience is not formally "proved"! In other words, in medicine it is not uncommon to recommend measures for which only substantial evidence exists.

Example No. 1:
Many doctors have for years been recommending the lowering of blood cholesterol because this would probably help prevent coronary heart disease, but this was not "proved" until 1984, and then for only a selected category of patient.

And only in early 1985 did a panel of 13 experts convened as part of a National Institutes of Health "consensus conference" conclude "beyond a reasonable doubt" that lowering elevated blood cholesterol levels would reduce the risk of heart attacks.

In fact, "beyond a reasonable doubt" means "with a high order of probability." Surely this is not formal proof. It's a consensus decision.

Example No. 2:
The formal proof on the health benefits of exercise is not yet in, yet practically all physicians recommend it. And they are right to do so, because the probable evidence is excellent.

The key question for much good nutritional advice is not whether proof is at hand, but what is the order of probability that the advice is correct.