Posted on 01/19/2008 8:20:27 PM PST by neverdem
Correction Appended
For decades, the theory that lowering cholesterol is always beneficial has been a core principle of cardiology. It has been accepted by doctors and used by drug makers to win quick approval for new medicines to reduce cholesterol.
But now some prominent cardiologists say the results of two recent clinical trials have raised serious questions about that theory — and the value of two widely used cholesterol-lowering medicines, Zetia and its sister drug, Vytorin. Other new cholesterol-fighting drugs, including one that Merck hopes to begin selling this year, may also require closer scrutiny, they say.
“The idea that you’re just going to lower LDL and people are going to get better, that’s too simplistic, much too simplistic,” said Dr. Eric J. Topol, a cardiologist and director of the Scripps Translational Science Institute in La Jolla, Calif. LDL, or low-density lipoprotein, is the so-called bad cholesterol, in contrast to high-density lipoprotein, or HDL.
For patients and drug companies, the stakes are enormous. Led by best sellers like Lipitor from Pfizer, cholesterol-lowering medicines, taken by tens of millions of patients daily, are the largest drug category worldwide, with annual sales of $40 billion.
Despite widespread use of the drugs, though, heart disease remains the biggest killer in the United States and other industrialized nations, and many people still have cholesterol levels far higher than doctors recommend.
As a result, drug companies are investing billions of dollars in experimental new cholesterol-lowering medicines that may eventually be used alongside the existing drugs. If the new questions result in slower approvals, it would be yet another handicap for the drug industry.
Because the link between excessive LDL cholesterol and cardiovascular disease has been so widely accepted, the Food and Drug Administration generally has not required drug companies to prove that cholesterol medicines actually...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Cholestorol drugs are no good? What next? Gatorade causes cancer? Alar will kill your first born? Coffee causes heart attacks? Eggs will kill you but will prolong your life?
I lose track.
“No statins for me!”
When I am asked if I worry about my cholesterol, my answer is “only if it goes too low”
High cholesterol does not cause heart disease or heart attacks. Arterial blockage is generally caused by inflamation and calcium deposits. Stop the inflamation, replace calcium with magnesium in the diet or in supplement form, eliminate polyunsaturated fats (Omega 6’s) and use coconut oil for all your cooking needs (coconut oil is mostly lauric acid, a medium chain saturated fat).
Statin drugs stop production of cholesterol in the liver. the liver produces cholesterol because the body needs it, especially for the nervous system and the brain. Cholesterol is not a disease, nor is it related to any disease - this is doctor/drug company propaganda designed to promote the biggest single money maker the drug companies have - statin drugs.
This all happened when they discovered that “cholesterol screening” was a down and dirty test easily done with quick results. Data is available that shows persons with higher cholesterol live longer than those with lower cholesterol. Data does not prove that lowering cholesterol with statins prevents heart attack or stroke.
Cramping up of legs not the only problem. A friend almost collapsed on the east coast after legs gave out on him while climbing up three stairs into hotel!
Have you considered taking co enzyme Q10? Statins lower co-enzyme Q10 in addition to reducing cholesterol.
Whether swimming is aerobic or not, it’s not weight bearing exercise, so it doesn’t help build strong bones and muscles. One way to do both is to do water aerobics. From the outside looking in, it looks as though folks are just kind of jumping around in the water; looks pretty easy. From the pool, it’s quite a different story! I never knew you could sweat while being chest deep in water! It is a real workout!
Heh, when I swim, it’s a four stroke process. First stroke, second stroke, third stroke with face in the water, fourth stroke, face up to the right and breathe, then repeat one, two, three, breathe. Don’t know when I learned that, I’ve just always done it.
True. I generalized.
Now if you are a swimmer with poor stroke efficiency as most triathletes are, than it will be more of an aerobic workout.
Ahem. Most triathletes, at least the ones I hung out with, are maniacal about stroke efficiency - even more so than the swimmers I know. It is the same way on the bike - we are way more paranoid about aerodynamics than just straight bikers. We know that we have to maintain muscle energy and fuel for the long run - so we'd rather be efficient but maybe a bit slower, rather than flail around with better speed.
It's why we kick slower in our swim style, too. This may be why I had drilled into me that swimming is anaerobic - because for a good triathlete, that's the case.
Please check out Total Immersion Swimming.
Yes, that is a very popular system with many triathletes I know.
No, you don't have to be a member. But if you are a member (at a cost of $75/year) you not only get the 12 issues of the magazine, you also get a 25% discount on the cost of all of their products, plus an additional 10% during their annual "Super Sale" (going on until the end of the month), and also you get about $130 or so of free product (retail) of your choice when you renew (i.e. membership is, essentially, free).
My pleasure to post. I hope that a lot of people can become informed when I post something about health, but if only 1 person for the rest of my posting days is helped because of seeing my posts, I will feel like it would all have been worth it.
No proof has ever been offered that there is a shred of reason to reduce your cholesterol, LDL, or HDL.
I am using Blue bonnet cholesta rice, red yeast rice caps. No side effects and is doing the trick for me. May not for others depending on severity. Oatmeal everyday helps as well
Your link, http://www/lef.org, is now dead (404 error)
Funny, the link you posted doesn’t work, but I went to google and put it in for a search, and the link there works.
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