Subject: Are Your Cholesterol Lowering Drugs Killing You?
Friend,
This isn't your normal email...It's long. But it's got some
very important warnings that necessitate serious explanations. Sor
please forward and take 10 minutes to read....
Most people don't question whether or not they need Lipitor and
aspirin to save them from heart attack and stroke.
They trust their doctor's recommendation.
That's stupid.
When was the last time you were taught anything substantial about
medicine?
Never.
Instead, you're bombarded with commercials urging you to "ask your
doctor if this drug is right for you?"
This lack of education helps the industry swindle your uninformed as$ into
taking drugs. It makes you fear an unknown or misunderstood enemy, and
offers a false solution.
According to the American Heart Association (AHA), over 105 million
Americans have total cholesterol levels of 200 mg/dL or higher. To the
pharmaceutical industry, this equates to 105 million potential customers.
In order to turn these millions of people into patients, America has been
told this cholesterol level is bad for them – so the lower the better.
But in reality, rising cholesterol levels are simply an observation of
biology, which is no different than observing how many heart attack
patients owned a refrigerator.
In other words, It's a fact of life, not a sign of illness.
I Used to Think People Were Stupid
With dollar signs in their eyes, drug companies have launched a massive
fear campaign about cholesterol. Being led by the pharmaceutically-compliant
National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP), the campaign convinced
the entire world that LDL- cholesterol is bad and that total cholesterol levels
should remain below 200 mg/dL in order to prevent heart disease.
(Of the nine nerdy members of the NCEP, eight had financial ties to
cholesterol lowering drug makers like Pfizer, Merck, Bristol-Myers
Squibb, and AstraZeneca. This fact was concealed when the
NCEP made its recommendations public.)
The professional alarmists of the NCEP successfully created a cholesterol
problem in the minds of millions while providing a false solution: the
cholesterol-lowering drugs. It worked too, cause nobody knew what the hell
cholesterol was prior to the scary advertising disguised as education…And
nobody was sick from it…
As a young kid I had a hunch that most people were stupid, even some of my
high school teachers. (Hmmm. Maybe that's why I skipped school so often
that I became ineligible for wrestling…Good thing the SAT was so
easy...It gave me a second chance on getting that wrestling scholarship!)
I was wrong. People are fuckin' stupid.
Bear with me.
The so-called disease of "high cholesterol" causes no fever, no coughing,
no labored breathing, no heart palpitations, no hormone imbalance, no pain,
no nothing! How do you convince someone who doesn't feel sick that they're
suffering from a terminal illness like "hypercholesterolemia," which was
invented to describe "high cholesterol," and subsequently get them to take
Lipitor, every day, for life?
…Ah, don't take this personal. (Sorry mom and dad. I love you guys. Glad
you're off Lipitor.)
I've done some f$ckin' stupid things myself. But, I'm proud to
say that one of them was never falling for the low-cholesterol lie.
Not many can say that.
Pfizer's blockbuster drug Lipitor became the first prescription drug to
make more than $10 billion in annual sales. To date, Forbes Magazine tells
us that statins are earning drug pushers $26 billion in annual sales –
the equivalent of your lifetime income, plus 1500 others, every year! Think
this can buy medical journals, ads and lobbying to push fear along with the
cholesterol-lowering agenda?
Ask Your Doctor These Questions
Eventually, you or a loved one will be forced to make vital decisions
surrounding heart disease. So before you follow doctors orders and take a
pill to lower your cholesterol to 200 mg/dL. or below, ask the following
questions.
How is it that EVERYONE should have the same cholesterol level?
It's a legit question. I mean, do you really think all women should have
big breasts or men a large package? Wait, scratch that. Bad analogy.
Should all people have the same shoe size?
If your doctor insists that we should all in fact have cholesterol levels
below 200 mg/dL., then ask him, "Do you know of any studies to prove it?"
He may go into a well-crafted rant about how high-cholesterol is
responsible for plaque build-up among the arteries of the heart. But that's
ridiculous because cholesterol is found everywhere in the body, which means
that "high" levels would be blocking off all regions, not just those of
your heart.
(Cadaver studies and a ton more using the latest techniques show that 90%
of the time, blockage only occurs within the coronary arteries, not among
other parts like, legs, arms, fingers, or anywhere else.)
Plus, Time Magazine already highlighted the science showing that "most
heart attack victims have LOW cholesterol?" If high-cholesterol caused
plaque, then why are people with low-cholesterol keeling over from heart
attack?
Fact is, there are no studies to prove that high-cholesterol causes
"plaque."
Cholesterol is very important and levels over 200 mg/dL. will never kill
you.
5 Facts About Cholesterol Your Doctor Doesn't Know About
Cholesterol is a versatile compound that is vital to the function of the
human body and just like everything else; cholesterol levels differ greatly
among individuals. In humans, cholesterol serves five main functions:
1. Cholesterol is used by the body to manufacture steroids, or
cortisone-like hormones, including the sex hormones. These hormones include
testosterone, estrogen and cortisone. Combined, these hormones control a
myriad of bodily functions.
2. Cholesterol helps the liver produce bile acids. These acids are
essential for proper digestion of fats and in ridding the body of waste
products.
3. Cholesterol acts to interlock "lipid molecules," which stabilize cell
membranes. As such, cholesterol is the building block for all bodily
tissues.
4. Most notably, cholesterol is an essential part of the myelin sheath.132
The myelin sheath, similar to the coating on copper wire, ensures that the
brain functions properly by aiding the passage of electrical impulses.
Without the myelin sheath, it is difficult to focus and we can lose memory.
This is why those on cholesterol lowering drugs notoriously lose memory.
Few users recognize this side effect because they forgot how important
having a memory was.
5. And finally, cholesterol has beneficial effects on the immune system.
Men with high cholesterol have stronger immune systems than those with low
cholesterol, as can be seen by the fact that they have more lymphocytes,
total T cells, helper T-cells and CD8+ cells. Many strains of bacteria,
which cause us to get sick, are almost totally inactivated by
LDL-cholesterol.
Due to its importance, cholesterol must be circulated to all parts of the
body via the estimated 100,000 miles of arteries and veins within the adult
human body. Its circulation is based on the fact that oil and water do not
mix. Cholesterol is an oily substance, termed a lipid, and cannot blend
smoothly with water-based blood. In order to transport this non-water
soluble lipid through the bloodstream, the body packages it into special
"vehicles" called lipoproteins.
HDL and LDL Facts
The main cholesterol-carrying vehicle in the body is termed low- density
lipoprotein or LDL. Because this LDL carries the lipid known as
cholesterol, it is referred to as LDL-cholesterol.
Another form of lipoprotein, and there are numerous, is known as high-
density lipoprotein, or HDL-cholesterol. The notion that one is bad and the
other is good is simply based on the fact that LDL- cholesterol has been
found to be one of many components of arterial plaque – HDL has been
shown to transport cholesterol back to the liver. The simplistic notion
that one is good and the other bad is pharmaceutical sales rhetoric.
Bad cholesterol is as real as the Easter Bunny. Whether a person's
cholesterol is high or low, LDL-cholesterol will still become a component
of plaque. There is no relation to the amount of LDL- cholesterol and the
severity of plaque. Plaque is nature's "Band Aid" to the damaged inner
layer of the artery, known medically as the endothelium. Without the
packaging of LDL-cholesterol we would not be alive. How can this be bad?
It's like saying the immune system is harmful to us.
Having grasped what cholesterol really is, we can now move on to
understanding its relation to heart disease. While complex, it is not hard
to learn the basics of how heart disease, or rather atherosclerosis,
develops.
What Really Causes Heart Disease?
Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory response initiated by damage to the
innermost layer (known as the endothelium) of the arteries, which faces the
bloodstream. This can happen anywhere, but 90% of the time it happens in
the spaghetti-sized arteries of the heart (coronary arteries), probably due
to the mechanical stress in this region.
Preventing damage to the endothelium [ www.getcardiofx.com ] of the
arteries sets precedence over lowering LDL-cholesterol levels. Damage to
the inner layer of the coronary artery can be attributed to any number of
biological disturbances. Working to prevent these inflammatory disturbances
is working to prevent plaque build-up and subsequent
atherosclerosis/premature death that may follow.
10 Reasons Why You Might Have Heart Disease
- Oxidized Low Density Lipoproteins (LDL)
- Infection
- Smoking
- High blood pressure
- High blood sugar and insulin attributed to insulin resistance
- Type II diabetes
- Increased levels of homocysteine attributed to lack of folate and
nutritive B vitamins
- Increased levels of cortisol (i.e. stress)
- Lack of exercise
- Lack of nutritive vitamin C (best source citrus fruits)
Once damage occurs to the inner layer (endothelium) of the coronary artery,
the body's natural repair mechanism takes over. The repair mechanism begins
with circulating levels of low-density lipoproteins (LDLs) into the damaged
area, particularly between the smooth muscle layer and endothelium of the
artery.
Once LDLs move into the damaged area of the endothelium, there is an
alteration in endothelium function. This alteration begins the inflammation
cascade. Most notably, to signal for help, the endothelium begins to
produce reactive oxygen species (ROS). This attracts the immune cells to
the damaged site. This, in turn, produces growth factors, which cause
muscle cells to multiply and invade the damaged area of the blood vessel.
Eventually, the conundrum of LDL, immune cells, muscle cells and debris
from the initial damage form "plaque."
Here is the most important thing to understand, plaque is Nature's "Band
Aid" for damage to the arterial wall. This "Band Aid" forms whether an
individual has high or low LDL. This, in part, explains why researchers
have failed to find a correlation between levels of cholesterol and the
growth of atherosclerosis.
If damage to the endothelium persists, atherosclerotic plaque accumulates
on the arterial walls. This leads to decreased blood flow from the heart,
which causes lack of oxygen and nutrients throughout the body. A lack of
oxygen and nutrients leads to major problems, involving not only your
heart, but also your brain, lungs, kidneys, penile reaction and eventually
every bodily system.
Over time, build up of atherosclerotic plaque initiates heart attack and
stroke, sometimes without warning. As the artery narrows, tiny blood clots,
which are normally harmless, become a death threat. These tiny blood clots,
usually capable of passing through a healthy artery, become caught in the
plaque and further block the blood flow.
If an artery is blocked in the heart, a heart attack is the result. And if
a blockage occurs in the brain, a stroke is the result. Aspirin won't save
you.
Nature's Heart Cures: Better than Aspirin for Preventing Heart Attack
Out of fear of blood clots and subsequent heart attack, the majority of
medical doctors in the USA also recommend aspirin for the prevention of
first heart attacks to almost everyone age 50 or older. Such a
recommendation has little scientific justification.
Neither men nor women who supplement aspirin benefit from its use. Men who
used it aged 55 to 74 with no history of heart disease showed no increase
in longevity relative to those who did not use it. The Women's Health
Study, a 10-year randomized, double- blind, placebo-controlled study
conducted among 40,000 healthy women age 45 and older, found that aspirin
did not prevent first heart attacks or death from cardiovascular causes.
The major study used to rationalize widespread aspirin use today did not
use aspirin alone. Most studies utilized buffered aspirin, which contains
calcium and magnesium. Thus, the calcium and magnesium present in the pill
may have been responsible for the beneficial effects – not aspirin. This
is not inexplicable. Magnesium supplementation ensures normal heart rhythm
and blood pressure – abnormalities in any one of these functions can
increase the risk of complications after a heart attack.
Aspirin use is not without risk. The side effects of aspirin are so severe
that they can cause a higher death rate relative to the populations who do
not take it. These include hemorrhagic stroke (rupture of blood vessel in
the brain), ulcers and allergic reactions.
It would make more health sense to quit taking aspirin and utilize
interventions that actually work to avoid heart disease (heart attack and
stroke), most importantly losing body fat [ www.ampmfatloss.com ],
increasing your sensitivity to insulin and lowering blood sugar with
exercise, a high healthy fat diet and the removal of sugar and processed
foods from your diet. Supplementally, garlic, magnesium aspartate,
grapeseed extract and hawthorn [ www.ampmfatloss.com ] work far better than
aspirin, statins, or even blood pressure meds. Combined, they enhance blood
flow, reduce inflammation, strengthen the arterial walls and work to
prevent excess clotting – without negative side effects!
LDL not Bad
Getting back to cholesterol – to highlight some of the main points of
heart disease progression, the body uses numerous substances to form plaque
on the arterial walls. This plaque acts as nature's "Band Aid" to heal the
inner layer of the arteries. The plaque consists of LDL, immune cells and
muscle cells, among other things. Recognizing that LDL is one of many
substances found in plaque and that it carries cholesterol, pharmaceutical
companies and medical doctors coined the phrase "bad cholesterol" when
referring to LDL. In a weak attempt to support this, they state that LDL is
the culprit of deadly plaque buildup.
Most medical doctors ignore the importance of preventing scarring of the
mechanically stressed arterial wall. Instead, they hold on to the
one-dimensional argument, which insists that LDL-cholesterol must be
lowered to prevent heart disease. In the same breath they prescribe
cholesterol-lowering drugs.
High Cholesterol Increases Longevity
Increase your cholesterol levels and protect yourself from premature aging.
The researchers at the University of San Diego also highlight that
epidemiological studies show high cholesterol in those over 75 years of age
to be protective rather than harmful.
Professor Beatriz Rodriquez of the University of Hawaii has also found that
low cholesterol among the elderly is not healthy. Reported by BBC News,
Professor Beatriz Rodriquez and colleagues found that men over the age of
70 who had cholesterol levels between 200 to 219 milligrams per deciliter
(mg/dL) were less likely to develop heart disease than those with low
levels. Elderly men with cholesterol levels of below 160 mg/dL had a 55%
greater risk of heart disease.
Other researchers have come to similar conclusions. The European Heart
Journal has published the results of a three-year study involving 11,500
patients. Researcher Behar and associates found that in the low cholesterol
group (total cholesterol below 160 mg/dL) the relative risk of death was
2.27 times higher compared to those with higher cholesterol. The most
common cause of death in the low cholesterol group was cancer, with liver
disease being second.
Other scientists have focused on the link between low cholesterol and
cancer. Behar and associates have linked blood cholesterol levels less than
160 mg/dL to a twofold-increased risk of death from cancer of the liver,
pancreas and haematopoietic system.
These same researchers also brought to our attention that healthy men,
without any history of cardiovascular, gastrointestinal or liver disease,
who lower their total cholesterol, have an increased risk of prostate
cancer. Also shown is that those with low cholesterol have an increased
incidence of death from intracranial hemorrhage, respiratory, kidney and
digestive disease.
Looking deeper into the dangers of low cholesterol, it appears that cancer
is not the only possible outcome. The chances of early death increase as
total cholesterol drops. The most widely respected medical journal, The
Journal of the American Medical Association, published a study entitled:
"Cholesterol and Mortality. 30 Years of Follow-up from the Framingham
Study." Shocking to most, this in- depth study showed that after the age of
50, there is no increased overall death rate associated with high
cholesterol! There was, however, a direct association between low levels
(or dropping levels) of cholesterol and increased death.
Specifically, medical researchers reported that CVD death rates increased
by 14% for every 1 mg/dL drop in total cholesterol levels per year.141 For
example, an individual whose total cholesterol levels dropped 14 mg/dL
during 14 years would be expected to have and 11% higher death rate than
persons whose cholesterol levels remained constant or rose during the same
period.
For those who have already suffered from heart failure, lowering
cholesterol may just add to the problem and increase recovery time. The
Journal of Cardiac Failure published the findings of Horwich and colleagues
in a paper, Low Serum Total Cholesterol is Associated with Marked Increase
in Mortality in Advanced Heart Failure." In their analysis of 1,134
patients with heart disease, they found that low cholesterol was associated
with worse outcomes in heart failure patients and impaired survival while
high cholesterol improved survival rates. Interesting to note, their
findings showed that elevated cholesterol among patients was not associated
with hypertension, diabetes, or coronary heart disease.
Low cholesterol has also been linked to depression and anxiety. Duke
psychologist Edward Suarez found that women with low cholesterol levels,
below 160 mg/dL, were more likely to show signs of depression and anxiety
relative to women with normal or high cholesterol levels. In 2003, Duke
University showed a 20% absolute increase in depression among those taking
cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins.
Their results add to the literature linking cholesterol and mood. Those who
think they are safe from heart disease due to lowering their total
cholesterol levels may want to seriously rethink their preventative
efforts. Lowering cholesterol, whether by prescription drugs or dietary
supplements like red yeast rice, would prove dangerous and goes against
centuries of scientific research findings. High cholesterol is protective
rather than detrimental.
How Medical Doctors are Fooled – Selective Citation
This begs the question: How does one successfully convince the entire
United States that each and every person should have the same cholesterol
level? Why is there such widespread acceptance of the cholesterol myth?
The belief that low cholesterol prevents heart disease is the result of
selective citation rather than scientific results. Selective citation is
the art of conveniently citing supportive studies while burying the
unsupportive ones.
In addition to smothering unsupportive studies from our medical history,
pharmaceutical companies who sell cholesterol-lowering drugs produce
brochures, web pages and various other publications to broadcast the
cholesterol lowering myth to millions. As pointed out by the previous
editor of the New England Journal of Medicine, Jerome P. Kassirer, M.D.,
major publications such as Lipid Letter, Lipids Online, and Lipid
Management are supported and funded by cholesterol-lowering drug makers.
Reaching millions of medical doctors, these publications relentlessly warn
of the false dangers of cholesterol in an attempt to nudge doctors into
prescribing their cholesterol lowering drugs. This ensures not only profit
for these drug companies but also promotion of the cholesterol lowering
myth. Preferential citation, combined with paid publications aimed toward
medical doctors, guarantees that the pharmaceutical industry can "invent
disease" while at the same time providing the remedy.
Cholesterol is among the most important molecules in the human body,
especially for children. It's respective high and low levels do not cause
heart disease or prevent heart attack and stroke. To truly live young, get
your weight in check and adhere to the "nutrient logic" outlined in
Over-The-Counter Natural Cures EXPANDED [ www.goo.gl/McAMlL ].
Not only will you preserve health, but also wealth, allowing you to live long enough to
achieve your dreams and hundreds more you never thought possible. But it
starts, by saying no to Lipitor and aspirin.
Dare to live young!
The People's Chemist
P.S. All of this and much more is in my book, Over-The-Counter Natural
Cures EXPANDED [ www.goo.gl/McAMlL ]. Get it so you can avoid being
swindled by Pharma and trash all your meds!