A new study found older women who take cholesterol-lowering statin drugs increase their risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by almost 50 percent.
Researchers say it isn’t clear why the drug raises the risk of diabetes, and that the findings could be applied to men.
Many people don’t realize that inflammation, not a statin deficiency, underlies high cholesterol, and that the condition usually can be managed naturally.
The study looked at data of more than 150,000 women ages 50-79 for over 12 years. Interestingly, the risk was greater for Asian women and women of a healthy body mass index.
Statins most commonly prescribed drugs
Darlings of the health care industry, statins are the most commonly prescribed drug, accounting for $20 billion of spending a year. About one in four Americans over 45 take statins, despite such common side effects as muscle weakness and wasting, headaches, difficulty sleeping, stomach upset, and dizziness.
Beware low cholesterol
As a result, lab ranges for healthy cholesterol are skewed too low. Not only do statin users grapple with side effects and raise their risk of diabetes, but they also risk symptoms of low cholesterol. Cholesterol is necessary for brain and nerve health and to manufacture hormones, including the sex hormones estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone.
Low cholesterol can imbalance hormones and increase the risk for anxiety, depression, and other mood disorders.
In functional medicine, we don’t like to see cholesterol go below 150 mg/dL.
Statins do not address cause
Although statins lower cholesterol, they do not address the underlying cause of high cholesterol, which is typically inflammation. The body uses cholesterol to patch up damage caused by inflammation. In fact, research shows inflammation is the primary cause of heart attacks and strokes, not high cholesterol.
Hypothyroidism, a condition estimated to affect more than 20 million Americans, raises cholesterol. Many find a gluten-free diet lowers cholesterol, as gluten is inflammatory for so many people.
Research also shows diets low in fat and high in carbohydrates increase the “bad” form of LDL (there are two to look at) and decrease the protective HDL.
Lowering cholesterol naturally
Functional medicine is highly effective for the person wanting to lower cholesterol naturally.
Management includes an anti-inflammatory diet, exercise, and rooting out causes of inflammation. These include hypothyroidism, autoimmune disease, bacterial infections in the digestive tract, poor blood-sugar handling, or other chronic health issues.
By addressing the cause of high cholesterol not only do you avoid the dangerous risks and unpleasant side effects of statins, but also you journey into your golden years with improved energy and well-being.
Spot on with this write-up, I really believe this web site needs a lot more attention. Thanks for the information!
I completely agree, Statins have been shown in numerous studies to contribute to some very serious and painful conditions like neuropathy, joint and muscle pain, and now diabetes. How many people take medications for side-effects of another medicine?
The other aspect of this is that cardiovascular disease is not a disease of cholesterol, but rather a disease of inflammation. Many medications don’t treat the cause, but rather a symptom, or as in this case, miss the mark in a much more significant way. We are killing ourselves with the pharmaceutical approach to most chronic health conditions because these are disease of lifestyle, diet, environment and sub-clinical causes like chronic infections, parasites, food sensitivities, allergies, and chemical toxicity. How does a statin address any of those potential causes? Well, on the bright side at least I’m more likely to get diabetes. Yes, in my opinion statins are as ridiculous as that last sentence.
When are we going to stand-up and demand our healthcare system be truely preventative? I can tell you this, it will be a long time from now. First you have to change the law, which is written by politicians who have campaigns funded by big business, that make their big money from the current laws in place. Marinate on that for a minute. Just to get these changes to occur there will have to be a major public outcry demanding the change. Then your doctor will have to learn it, and you might as well count on them retiring first, and the new younger doctors coming in, but the new younger doctors have to be taught in medical school.
Medical schools will take years and years to get the preventative materials in their curriculum because it has to be written and published in books that are then adopted by the teaching institution. Then the material has to be taught and applied in internships and residencies. Now, how long will that process take? Good luck, you are better off learning this material for yourself.
In the next few weeks I will be changing my blog and offering webinars where you can learn advanced functional medicine strategies to help support a number of conditions. The webinars will be very affordable, just to help cover the cost of keeping my blog up on the web. I will cover cutting edge science on diet and nutritional supplementation among other things. I know doctors that have functional medicine practices that charge $500 to sit down with you for one hour just to review your case, which is not practical for most people. I feel that everyone is entitled to this information, and I intent to share it. I’ll notify everyone with a post and through my newsletter when I start hosting the webinars. Look forward to seeing you there.
I like it when people get together and share ideas. This is a great website, and great information on diabetes. I had no idea statins could increase the risk of getting diabetes, I have to share this with my parents, they are both on statins! Thanks!