To My Readers,
I received a personal email from a cardiologist whom I will call Dr. C. He took exception to some of my views about statins. What follows is a four-day email back and forth debate. I know this is a long post, but I feel it is important to see the differing views about statin treatment.
I would welcome your comments about this debate. Dr. C agreed that I could reprint our comments. He said he was fine with me using his name, but I chose not to. The language between the symbols-{ }–is my explanation of some of the technical part of the emails.
DrB
From Dr. C:
David,
I appreciate your contrarian view on many topics, and read your newsletter with interest each month, as you research the topics in depth.
However I have to point out two errors.
The Jupiter trial reported Number Needed to Treat {NNT—a statistical term for how many people need to take a drug in order to get one beneficial result} in many publications and you did not need to calculate it on your own. {For example, an NNT of 100 means 100 people need to take the drug in order to get one result. In other words, the drug was 1% effective as 1 in 100 received a benefit. Similarly, the drug failed 99% as 99 out of 100 received no benefit from taking the drug. A lower NNT is more beneficial.} For many groups the NNT was under 20 and you can look at the references below. The medical student you taught should have these references forwarded to her or him.
In secondary prevention of heart disease, which you did not subset out although many of your readers likely have CV disease, the NNT is always much lower than the primary group. {Secondary prevention refers to subjects who have already had a cardiovascular event while primary prevention refers to subjects trying to prevent a first cardiovascular event.}
In reality, using CIMT {carotid intimal media thickness—an ultrasound of the carotid arteries to measure the thickness of plaque} and calcium CT scoring {a CT scan of the coronary arteries} along with EndoPAT {a test that measures the elasticity of the arteries}, there is no primary prevention, there are those with no silent plaque or endothelial dysfunction and those with silent plaque and endothelial dysfunction.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1875213609003349
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/20031900/
http://m.circoutcomes.ahajournals.org/content/2/3/279.full
The second issue that you need to research more is Ancel Keys. I never met him and am not related but I have researched his work. I have read primary papers of his. You joined the large group of bloggers like Joe Mercola that consistently report the research incorrectly. Keys presented a hypothesis in the mid 1950s on fat and heart disease using a government database form the FAO and selected the 6 countries with the most diverse and reliable data. For example, he wrote that he excluded Mexico because they reported heart deaths at a time that they had no system for death certificates.
When Yerushalmy and Hillebrew responded to his paper in 1957 they used all 22 countries from the FAO database and still found a significant coefficient of correlation, stronger for animal protein than for animal fat but they tracked one another. In response, Keys planned the first ever multi-country, prospective analysis of diet heart, the 7 Countries Study, that looked at 16 diverse communities in 7 countries with an extensive team of on-the-ground data assistants drawing blood, performing ECGs, taking dietary histories. The study started in 1958 and the first publication was in 1970, not 1953. There are still studies being reported form this radical approach to health data analysis.
Sharing in the spirit of scientific honesty.
Respectfully, C
From DrB:
I appreciate you taking the time to write me.
The original JUPITER Study, which I attached here, (which gave everybody the green light to use statins for primary prevention) never reported NNTs. (1) You had to calculate them yourself. That is what I do with the medical students. My numbers are correct. The medical student in question had the article given to her at my office.
There is no group in the original JUPITER study with a NNT of 20. {Editor’s note: In other words, a NNT of 20 means you have to treat 20 people with the drug for 1.9 years—the length of the study—to achieve one beneficial outcome. Therefore, 19 out of 20 would receive no benefit–a 95% failure rate}.
According to the article I attached (the 2nd one)–look at the table on page 567. There is no NNT of 20. If you look at MI {heart attack}, any stroke, or any death, the difference in the diabetes risk group was 0.5% giving a NNT of 200. {That means you have to treat 200 people to prevent one outcome—199 out of 200 receive no benefit—a 99.5% failure rate!}.
I have also attached the five year data from JUPITER (2nd study). (2) As can be seen from the results table, no endpoint had that low of an NNT. AND, even if the NNT was 20, I say that is a failure as 95% (19/20) receive no benefit. JUPITER and statins (in my opinion) are perfect examples of what is wrong with medicine; we spend way too much money on ineffective drugs that are associated with too many side effects.
You are right, secondary prevention numbers are better than primary numbers, but they are still miserable. See above. Miserable enough, in my opinion, that we need to search for a better way.
And, JUPITER was flawed from the beginning. The lead author had financial ties to the CRP test and 9/14 investigators had financial ties to the sponsor.
Would we use an antibiotic that failed 95-99% who would take them? The answer is obvious.
As for Keys–c’mon. He clearly cherry-picked the data he had available to him. Most diverse and reliable data? Not true. He had other data that was just as reliable to him, yet he chose not to use it because it did not fit his narrative. You can find any diet study to promote any point of view as Keys did. I don’t need to research Keys’ any more than I already have. I have seen patients for over 20 years and I have a pretty good idea which diet helps most patients. I have seen patients on a vegan diet. And, I have seen them on a ketogenic diet. I have seen a lot between.
I appreciate your comments. I look forward to hearing from you.
David
From C.
Appreciate your response. I am lecturing with Dean Ornish at the end of the month at the first ever American College Cardiology CME symposium on plant based nutrition for heart disease. The current president of the ACC is plant based and I urged him to call a conference to present the scientific data. It is not for ketogenic diets. Mortality post MI higher for low carb diets. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25246449).
If you have a minute read this on Keys, Blackburn was there, no bull, an eminent scholar
http://www.startribune.com/in-defense-of-u-research-the-ancel-keys-legacy/267581481/—–Original Message—–
I appreciate the dialogue I will review the Jupiter reference you sent but the ones I sent you by the original investigators had analyses with NNT in them
Peace, C
From DrB,
One last thing:
Keep in mind the original investigators–9 out of 14–were biased. And, the lead investigator, Ridker, held a patent on the CRP test. He had every reason to inflate the numbers and make Crestor look better than it was and encourage everyone to order a CRP test. That is why they reported this study the way they did.
Also, you sent me an article at a 5-year follow up. I sent you the original article. In my mind, they (original and five year) were both failures as 95-99% failed while taking Crestor.
From Dr. C:
I agree for primary prevention, females for sure. Particularly those with no evidence of subclinical atherosclerosis or endothelial dysfunction. Just the others….. a few times a week with CoQ10, PQQ {an antioxidant supplement},etc., maybe….
From DrB:
A few times a week? Where are the studies showing that that is beneficial? You accused me of not presenting the data correctly to the med student (which I did), but somehow you say use it a few times a week? Has it been proven helpful or not? I don’t understand that logic.
Where are the studies showing any statin is beneficial? There aren’t any and there never will be. Any drug that disrupts the human biochemistry as severely as the statins do will cause more harm than good.
David
From Dr. C:
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(94)90566-5/abstract 4S? Grandfather of all secondary prevention trials. Mortality reduction at 5 years. Not sure what you think is not scientific or conclusive about this? J
from DrB:
The 4S study: Unfortunately, 96.5% of the grandfathers died here!!
Keep in mind that this was a secondary prevention study {meaning those studied already had a cardiovascular incident}. There is no primary prevention study {those that have not had a cardiovascular incident} that shows any benefit over a 1% reduction on heart disease mortality.
Seriously, this study illustrates my point: No NNT’s here. You have to calculate it yourself. 4444 treated. Half with simvastatin, half with placebo. Five years later, 8.5% died from MI in placebo v. 5% in simvastatin group. The NNT to prevent one heart attack: 29. Therefore, the drug failed 96.5% (28/29).
C, I am not being contrary here. I am being honest here. I don’t take contrarian views just to be contrary. I take contrarian views in medicine when I see misleading data or ideas.
The numbers can mislead (with RR—relative risk–analysis), but they can provide useful data when a proper statistical analysis is performed which includes a NNT and ARR—absolute risk reduction. Doctors should never base a clinical decision on RR—relative risk (IMHO). RR numbers are used by the Big Pharma Cartel to make a mediocre drug appear much better than it truly is. Statins fit the bill for mediocre drugs.
The 4S study was the best of any secondary prevention trial and the best here is not very good. The rest of the statin trials (secondary prevention) show less than 3.5% reduced death from MI.
I would love to hear your comments on this. I don’t understand how docs can prescribe drugs that fail well over 95% who take them. We (docs) may be able to justify the use of a drug that worked 1-3% of the time IF the drug was cheap and not associated with side effects. Statins don’t fill either criteria. This whole class of drugs should be pulled from the marketplace (IMHO—{in my humble opinion}).
This is from my new book, The Statin Disaster. There is not a single study here that supports the use of statins in either primary or secondary prevention.
Table 5 Results of Randomized Controlled Trials of Statins and All-Cause Mortality[i] [ii] [iii]
| Acronym of RCT | Drug Used | Time(years) | RR (%) | Controls Alive (%) | Treated Alive(%) | AR(%) | AR/Yr (%) | NNT/Yr |
| Excel | Lovastatin | 1 | +150 | 99.7 | 99.5 | +0.3 | +0.3 | N/A |
| AFCAPS | Lovastatin | 5.2 | +3.9 | 97.7 | 97.6 | +0.1 | +0.02 | N/A |
| 4S | Simvastatin | 5.4 | -29 | 88.5 | 91.8 | -3.3 | -0.6 | 167 |
| HPS | Simvastatin | 5 | -12 | 85.3 | 87.1 | -1.8 | -0.4 | 278 |
| WOSCOPS | Pravastatin | 4.4 | -22 | 95.9 | 96.8 | -0.9 | -0.2 | 500 |
| PROSPER | Pravastatin | 3 | -1.9 | 89.5 | 89.7 | -0.2 | -0.1 | 1429 |
| LIPID | Pravastatin | 6.1 | -2 | 85.9 | 89 | -3.1 | -0.5 | 196 |
| CARE | Pravastatin | 5 | -8 | 90.6 | 91.4 | -0.8 | -0.2 | 667 |
| ALLHAT | Pravastatin | 6 | -0.01 ns | 87.6 | 87.8 | -0.2 | -0.03 | 3333 |
| FLORIDA | Fluvastatin | 1 | -35 | 96.0 | 97.3 | -1.3 | -1.3 | 77 |
| ASCOT | Atorvastatin | 3.3 | -13 | 95.9 | 96.4 | -0.5 | -0.15 | 667 |
| JUPITER | Rosuvastatin | 1.9 | -20 | 97.2 | 97.8 | -0.6 | -0.3 | 333 |
From Dr. C:
Ravnskov is a dubious figure. The usual NNT for mortality for 4S presented is 30. Maybe 167 per year but 5-year trial results in 30 for the study duration
Not expensive. Most are on free or cheap generics. Safe? Not for all. NNT of 30 comports with many standard medical therapies. Believe me, lifestyle, detox, stress management all should come first
From DrB:
I must disagree wholeheartedly with this last statement. Not cheap? Give me a break. We all pay for it. We all pay for the 20-90% that develop diabetes, confusion, Parkinson’s, liver issues, cancer increases, brain fog, fatigue, etc. All for a 1-3% reduction in heart attack mortality. A call to CVS today revealed that Lipitor costs $130 a month or $1,500 dollars a year to fail 96-99% and cause adverse effects. Who cares if insurance covers it? Even if it was free it would not be worth it. This is an example of one reason we spend the most on health care and have the worst results on every single health indicator from mortality data to infant mortality.
There is no medical reason to prescribe a statin. Doctors have been hoodwinked into prescribing these miserable drugs for little gain. Ghostwritten studies, pharma written, pharma financed, reported in relative risk numbers, authors on the payroll–doctors should have a much more discerning eye before prescribing drugs that poison enzymes and block receptors as well as disrupting the normal human biochemistry.
An NNT of 30 is a failure for any drug therapy. If docs thought about a drug failing over 96% of those who took it, I assume they would not prescribe it. This is not a contrarian thought–this is common sense.
And, the NNT of 30 is the minority of statin studies. Most secondary studies have an NNT of 50-100 and most primary studies have an NNT of 100 or greater.
We (doctors) have failed our patients. We spend too much money on ineffective, potentially toxic treatments. Statins are the poster child here.
Keep in mind the story of Semmelweis: it took docs nearly 40 years to wash their hands before delivering a baby because it was a new idea. {In 847, Dr. Semmelweis wrote an article claiming that doctors should wash their hands before before delivering a baby in order to significantly reduce both maternal and infant mortality. His idea was roundly rejected by the conventional medical establishment. It took another 40 years (and many deaths) for doctors to acknowledge the benefits of washing their hands before delivering a baby.}
David
From Dr. C
Most of my patients do get atorvastatin (Lipitor) free. Most of my patients have atherosclerotic disease. When lifestyle fails to control their cholesterol, a free medicine that in 5 years prevents 1 event in 30 is an advance for that 1.
Is it better to leave their LDL 200mg/dl? I think not
Respectfully,
C
From DrB
Let’s get it straight: Nothing is free. We all pay for these drugs. And, statins are associated with horrific side effects as they disrupt the normal human biochemistry.
I am not sure when docs decided that using mediocre medicines–that work 1 in 30–is ok. (Also, they fail 99% in primary prevention). It is not and should not be ok. If we had an FDA working for us, they would acknowledge that fact and pull them from the market.
The TACT trial (study on EDTA chelation and heart disease) had a NNT of one in 25 (meaning that 25 patients have to undergo EDTA chelation therapy to prevent one cardiovascular endpoint—a 96% failure rate. Also, that NNT was not reported–I had to calculate it). At least EDTA chelation therapy is safe—there were almost no side effects reported. I still consider EDTA chelation therapy mediocre since most –96%–failed to receive any benefit. However, if it is a choice between statins and EDTA chelation, I would choose EDTA.
And, 50% of MIs occur in people with normal cholesterol/LDL cholesterol levels. How does that fit the ‘everybody with CAD needs statins’ narrative?
If a patient has CAD secondary to as statin deficiency syndrome, then maybe consider it. However, that does not exist.
I say go after other underlying reasons–infections, diet, metal toxicity, hormone imbalances, dehydration, nutrient imbalances, etc,. IMHO, that is a better approach as opposed to prescribing a toxic medication that fails well over 96% who take them.
Finally, I would state that if docs presented to their patients that you will have to take this drug for five years, and potentially be exposed to these serious side effects, for a 3% reduction (in the best of the studies as most reduce dying by 1%) in dying from heart disease, I bet you would have a lot less people taking that drug.
I guess we will have to agree to disagree. I have enjoyed this back and forth.
D
From Dr. C:
I agree with your strategy but I cannot leave people with 70% carotid lesions, for example, with Cholesterol levels near 300mg/dl while pursuing these other approaches. Low-dose generic statins in this example may compliment vascular healing. Monitoring for side effects. With CoQ10 always.
(1) New England J. of Med. Nov. 20, 2008. Vol. 359. n.21. http://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJMoa0807646
(2) Lancet. 2012. 380: 565-581 http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(12)61190-8/abstract
Hello, Dr. B and all commentors!
Wonderfully written and researched article and back and forth with the cardiologist!
I think medical health care, in it’s current form, is similar to the reference you made with Semmelweis;
the medical profession has a difficult time inputing new information.
I’d like to point out that it’s not just the numbers of your CHOL or TRIG or HDL AND LDL, but the size of the fat molecules that contribute to CVD. There are laboratories that offer advanced cholesterol screening; you just have to find an integrative doctor, either MD or ND or DO, who will run the test for you.
Also, not all vitamins are made alike and there are many companies that do not have appropriate research and development facilities and are not GMP (Good Manufacturing Plant). So if you are buying your CoQ10 from a less than reputable vitamin company, you are not getting the supplement you need and you are also wasting your money! I encourage everyone to research the vitamin company from whom they are buying their supplements to make sure they are a GMP FACILITY.
Yours in health!
Carol Lourie, ND (degreed), L.Ac.
Carol,
Thanks for the comment.
My opinion on particle size testing: A big waste of money. The test was designed to sell more statin drugs.
DrB
I would like to comment about statins. 6 months ago I had a scan done of my heart and blood tests for cholesterol. The scan showed that I was just beginning stiffening of my left ventricle and I had high cholesterol. So I had another scan done called a calcium scan that shows up how much plaque and calcium is being laid down. I was at 42% but at the reversable stage which was encouraging as there is heart disease in my family. I was determined to change this. A month ago I had new blood tests taken and everything came down. My total cholesterol came down from 252 to 197 which is under 200. Blood sugar went from 122 down to 87, LDL down to 123 (under 130) and Cholesterol/HDL ratio under 5.0. I was so happy I could not believe it. My cardiologist insisted I take a statin anyway. I was furious so my primary care doc said don’t worry. He said get the lowest dose and cut it in half and see what happens. He takes crestor and cuts it into fourths and take one tiny one every other day or so and it still works with no side effects. This guy totally gets it. My cardiologist wants my LDL down under 100 since I have high blood pressure. Is he nuts and then he told me not to take Q10. I have learned to do my own thinking and so I will take 1/2 of a 10mg of preschool or less and bring down my LDL and blood pressure with natural means and then maybe find another cardiologist. I have found that diet is everything and getting rid of stress and good sleep. I have no idea if the statin will work or not but I think LDL below 100 is pushing is – may 110 but oh my this is a bit much. I would like your opinion on this as friends have lost family to statins and a friend’s mother died of cancer due to lipitor. It maybe great for men but women are different. Maybe others will learn from this
Pamela,
There are zero studies, ZERO, that show statins improve the mortality rate. There is no reason to ever put a woman on a statin drug. A man has about a 1% reduction in cardiovascular mortality with a statin drug if he takes it for at least 3-5 years.
DrB
It is truly heartwarming to see a debate like this, where truth is allowed to surface and not popular opinion, misleading facts or any status quo. These days it is just overwhelming how many are on these statins with sideeffects that can be horrific and in denial about the reality of the power of these drugs to disrupt the biochemistry of the body in so many ways. The public needs to awaken and to “think” truly think that some Dr’s may not have their best interst at heart, might have their best interest at heart and just not know, yet one cannot blindly trust that the Dr knows best.
It is truly a challenge to find an enlightened Dr willing to step out of this conundrum where misleading scientific date is utilized in place of true facts and is the rule, albeit erroneous of the day.
The most important thing in my mind is the “do no harm” of the Hippocratic oath, and from my own studies on statins, that is far from the case!
Thank you!
I was actually embarrassed for Dr. C., not because Doc C. didn’t have the facts that matter (which is true), but because the mind set is set to continue the function of medicine for money. Painfully obvious. Take this empirical personal statin story as you wish but I am the last survivor in my family of many dead or transplanted, with their own heart. 10 years ago, I was on a statin and became in so much pain I quit the statin and changed my way of life and began teaching others how to survive and thrive. They were killing me…severe muscle pain, chest pain, ect. 7-8 years ago, my mother and aunt both had done just fine for 60 plus years with HOCM. Both had their statin dosages raised and low and behold, both within 2 months needed transplants leaving me the last with my own heart with the disease with about 8 gone in my lifetime. Where would I be if I continued that statin? I have no doubt either transplanted or 6′ under. I remember the doctor saying…”You’re Mom’s heart is very sick”. I knew then what did it just as for my aunt a year earlier. I said, “Yeah…no SH….kidding!”. Its saving facefully disgusting that Dr. C made sure he/she mentioned CoQ10. The doctor is so smart now when an uneducated man like myself knew this years ago while they didn’t tell anyone like my mother and aunt who nearly died while someone else had to so they could live!? How many dead because of a drug they touted as save now it has to have CoQ10? Isn’t that on the damnation list as a “supplement”? Ohhhhh no, it can’t be because it makes statins less deadly to continue sales. This Dr.s heart is trying to do the right thing while they lie to themselves like so many are but this is depressing outside the fact people like you help people like me keep going forward while teaching others as a Holistic Health Practitioner. I nearly gave up helping people this way as I have freely for a decade, very recently…but this exchange has again encouraged me to continue even in the mire or lie’s and ignorance even by the most educated. Your fighting the good fight is so encouraging. One of my favorite quotes is from the great George Catlin of the mid 1800’s. A man who did wonderful work-lifestyle study with our native Americans. He said; ” We have spent much on the education of intellect, but little on the education of man”. Never truer. Continued blessings on your great work Dr. B.
Excellent dialogue and very respectful, both ways. However, most people are programmed into thinking a certain way. It’s hard to “unlearn” a lifetime of education. That’s not to say that the Dr.C isn’t smart or a well meaning physician. Only that Dr.C is having problems coming to terms with the complete opposite of what he/she spent years learning. I’m glad however that they at least open to dialogue. A mind that is already full cannot receive knew knowledge.
I’m encouraged when I see honest and frank dialogues like these. I know a number of people who are on statins and they too are programmed by their respective Dr’s to take them and believe that they “work”. Hopefully, in time with enough pressure we can see a reversal of medical opinion on this and other issues to the point that we actually see more Dr’s reject the big pharma pill for every ill mentality. Pharmaceuticals have their place. But only when/if they do the job they claim to do.
Loved this exchange. Dr C is a normal doctor with his head in the sand. My Cholesterol is around 285. I’m 77. My doctor prescribed Statin for me, I took it for about a month and stopped. Was allergic to it and broke out with hives around my ankles. He wanted to give me a different brand. NO! My cholesterol is still 285 and has been for at least 50 years. I don’t believe in the Big Pharma idea that high cholesterol is bad. Keep up the good articles and give the uninformed doctors the truth.
Thanks once again for sharing the entire story, telling the whole truth and educating the public. Wish we had more doctors like you, maybe someday….I keep hoping.
If we invested in proper nutrition and exercised this conversation would be much less needed. Proper nutrition is stuck in a 40 year plus failure and also defended like Doc’s defend statins. My mother-in-law believes in her Doc and statins yet she just had a couple TGA’s recently. No stroke results found. One Doc said might be bladder infection when she had no symptoms? She won’t go off statins for fear her heart issues will become serious. She did have a very low pulse which they caused because of a pharma drug. Ten years ago she was healthy and a walker. Now she hobbles around with a walker and cane because of all the drugs she is on. Her memory story is just like the NASA Doc(story in your book) who was wise enough to fig out statins were the cause.
AntiStatins…yeah, right…for high cholesterol, yeah, right. Inflated numbers to sell drugs to wean out the elderly quicker, but more painfully physically and financially for all who come into contact with them. (Just 3 to 5 years from starting anti-statins (hormone function destroyers) you will have cancer in one form or another.)
Family, friends, medical personnel, nursing homes, in-home caregivers, pharmacists who attempt to provide over the counter relief for the side effects, until the patient develops leukemia and then hospital staff allow the patient to die a little quicker with morphine and no water or food. And if you aren’t familiar with morphine and end of stage illnesses, you don’t realize you are cooperating with hospital staff to hurry up the wait….because it can take weeks…or less if they ramp it up with no fluids/food.
Now that you have cancer (Dad), instead of stopping the lipitor, to correct the leukemia, the patient insists continued use so they don’t die of heart attack. Yeah, right. A heart attack would have been quicker and more humane.
Read this hormone primer “From PMS to Menopause” by Raymond Peat, PhD. See raypeat.com/bookstore/ to order the book As you will note on the Home Page, there is a backlog of orders so they removed obvious access to order books, but they are still accepting them. However, expect a long wait.
One more thing, sorry! I wish Dr. C would describe, in detail, how he feels Dr. Mercola is not reporting information correctly. That’s a pretty bold statement coming from a doctor who is pretty much knowingly prescribing statins he knows (and he has to know) are more damaging than helpful to probably at least 98% of the people he gives them to, wouldn’t you say!? Dr. C sure didn’t want to acknowledge your numbers or percentages, did he? Hmmmm.
But seriously, I’d like to know why he has that opinion of Dr. Mercola.
Great stuff, Dr. Brownstein. Not that the way you’ve explained things isn’t good, but maybe that Dr. C you’re communicating with should read some of the information provided by Dr. Malcom Kendrick (he’s my absolute favorite go-to guy for anything heart or cholesterol related. He is Scottish and talks a bit differently than we do, but he’s easy enough to follow, they just have different expressions that we do here in America. I actually really like reading his information.
Here’s a link to one of his more recent articles regarding cholesterol, and then there are many links scattered throughout the page to click on other articles – ALL of them are simply fascinating.
I hope you and Dr. C enjoy reading his information as much as I do.
http://drmalcolmkendrick.org/2015/05/18/hats-off-to-the-japanese/
Dr. Kendrick also posts at http://www.spacedoc.com (Duane Graveline’s site regarding statins and how they damaged his health), along with a few other contributing doctors who write articles for him, as well. Dr. Graveline is an MD as well as a former astronaut.
Dr. B wrote: ” I think most docs do not do enough research on what drugs do in the body and how they affect the body’s biochemistry. Having said that, you can see how my discussion with Dr. C went. I know for a fact that he clearly understands the biochemical affects of statin medications, yet he still promotes and prescribes them even though they fail 97-99% who take them. Most docs want to help. I think we (docs) have been wrongly brainwashed to believe a prescription drug is the only way to treat everyone. And, finally, most docs have no clue about statistics.
DrB”
My brother, a gastroenterologist, sounds just like this Dr. C.! No matter how many facts you give him he can’t see anything else but drugs as a treatment for disease. One time he even said to me that eventually drug companies will find a cure for all diseases, maybe even death. Yet at the same time out of the other side of his mouth he has often said he wishes he had never become a physician because he never really helps or cures anyone. What?!!!
I also think brain washing is one part of it as you note but another part is not wanting to buck the system and possibily lose one’s license to practice. Dr. C says “I agree with your strategy but I cannot leave people with 70% carotid lesions, for example, with Cholesterol levels near 300mg/dl while pursuing these other approaches. Low-dose generic statins in this example may compliment vascular healing. Monitoring for side effects. With CoQ10 always”
You can practically smell the fear in this statement. At least I do. A patient comes in with 70% carotid lesions with cholesterol near 300mg/dl, he feels compelled to do something immediately because he knows nothing about alternative approaches, and if the patient died soon after seeing him, the family might sue him and the medical board might take his license. The thing is the statins are not going to clean out those 70% carotid lesions (at least to my understanding…correct me if I am wrong) and he is just going to poison the patient with the statins and set him up for heart failure.
The system is so controlled by Big Pharma and the FDA that only the bravest are willing to risk it all to find ways to really help the patient.
Having said that, maybe Dr. C is reading all these posts. He took the first step in even emailing you so maybe there is a bit of hope for the guy after all. Sometimes the path to biochemically correct medicine is one step forward and 3 steps back for quite some and doing a lot more reading before taking the plunge.
Common Dr. C, you can do it!
Dr B, thanks for sharing this issue with all of us, and thanks for being honest and fight against bad medicine and biased studies.
All the best,
Marcus
Dr. B you are our Liferope, if only my husband would agree. he used to be healthy, until a brainy Dr. decided he needed simvistatin his Cholesterol was a little high once., and flomax for his prostate trouble urinating../ Now i can`t get him to quit. He keeps saying”they wouldn`t be in business if they lied to everyone. I try not to harp daily, but I come close. his Dr. told him the other day his prostate #s were really good. I want to cry. I know its hard to believe but these Drs. only care about their paycheck. Heart Drs. think their God. if u ask a question they look at u and actually say “I`m the expert here”. Yes Iv P.O>d many MDs.
I try different ones thinking one day I`L find a Dr. who actually is smart and doesn`t care if he`s a millionare. I had one once, but he died Your debate was wonderfuL. I feel like a new person after reading it I Love the fact that Drs, like your newsletters, but he stiLL tried to turn it around to his benefit. Thanks for Making my Day!! Kathy.
Agree 100% with you Dr. B and was thoroughly enthralled with the conversations; also appreciate that the conversation was respectful on both your parts! I pray that Dr. C. and other allopathic physicians will read what you write and will finally see the light instead of living in the dark!
One comment: although physicians are not normally “paid” by the drug companies, they are plied frequently with meals (for the entire staff), given gifts, trips, etc.–I know because I used to work in a health center. While we were eating our lunch (provided by the drug company), the drug rep (usually young, bright, and oh-so-enthusiastic!) touted the “benefits” of the latest drug s/he was peddling. Our current physician will not let drug reps in the office other than to drop off samples–he does his own testing (many times on himself which we find scary!) and almost exclusively uses nutrition to treat his patients.
Enjoy your postings and am grateful to you for all you do. Many thanks!
G,
You are correct–Big Pharma has other enticements besides money.
DrB
So what can you do if you have had a MI, triple bypass and/or stents? To lower cholesterol they prescribe diet and lifestyle changes but what if this is not enough? How do you reduce high levels of cholesterol if statins are not good? and how do you stop arteries from hardening… I mean this is all well and good but what is the outcome or solution for those who are reading this wondering whether to stay on or come off their statins that their cardiologist have prescribed?
Without drs like you Dr B how can one manage their disease or prevent it when there is no support with Drs of your mindset and calibre..? I think everyone should be very careful before they decide to just stop the statin they are on after reading such information, despite believing in what’s has been presented from you DrB
Todd, if you are still out there: your leg pain from the drug sounds like muscle tissue breakdown, which is a side effect of the drug. You can also end up with the muscle of the heart becoming weak, resulting in heart failure. What happens is that CoQ10 is destroyed by statins. CoQ10 is necessary for cells to make energy, especially cells of the heart. That energy, among other things, helps muscles activate. The cardiologist Dr. Steven Sinatra recommends 400 mg CoQ10 (ubiquinol form)/day, d-ribose 15 g/day, taurine 15 g/day, L-carnitine (not acetyl-l-carnitine or n-acetyl-l-carnitine) 1500 mg/day for prevention of damage to the heart or for after a cardiovascular event, even heart surgery. For your legs (if they still bother you), the same regimen but include acetyl-l-carnitine. I would make sure to do some strengthening exercises in the gym or even at home: squats to 90 degrees, calf raises on the edge of a stair, dropping heels below the stair, stair climbing for the backs of the legs and cardiovascular improvement, stationary bike for light cardio. Check all the above with your doctor, who hopefully agrees.-
As always, Dr. Brownstein is the consummate scientist and expert par excellence in statistical analysis. My other comment is that if anyone takes a moment to examine the Mevalonate Pathway where HMG CoEnzyme A reductase is blocked by statins, they will see what else is blocked, including ten different CoQ10’s (including ubiquinol), prenylated proteins which anchor enzyme complexes, for example, to cellular and organelle membranes, sterols, cholesterol (of course) and dolichols used for glycosylation of proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum—not to mention their precipitous increase in the brain when ubiquinol levels drop with age, dementia and/or Alzheimer’s. I’ll stop with this. When cholesterol is deficient, re-myelination of axons (white matter) plummets. How can any physician, under any circumstance endorse statins?
Dr. B…
EXCELLENT!! I have read you for years and we are on the same page. Dr. C and his mindset is NOT an anomaly, but unfortunately exemplifies the uninformed and outdated thinking of most physicians, especially cardiologists.
Case in point: Dr. C is stuck on the mythology that cholesterol is the primary etiology of CVD. It is not. Rather, the oxidation of some components of cholesterol, such as LP(a) and VLDL-3, are proven causes of CVD. (Of course, you rightly stated other contributing factors.) This oxidation causes an increase in the levels of the Lp-PLA2 enzyme – present in all arterial plaque and is a proven marker for the risk, low to high, of an MI. Fortunately, the PlacTest, which is arterial specific, can accurately measure this enzyme to confidently predict the risk of a cardiovascular or cerebrovascular event. This will give an indication of whether the plaque is stable or unstable and prone to rupture. We know that @ 70% of MIs are due to plaque rupture. Surely your cardiologist friend considers the PlacTest as a first line diagnostic tool? I cannot imagine any physician that treats cardiac patients would not use it – unless they are uniformed. Conclusion: uncontrolled oxidation is our nemesis – cholesterol is our friend! Perhaps some day science will win out over the “snake oil” statin drugs. Long ago, men of “science” thought the earth was flat. Today, they think that a statin deficiency is the proper treatment for CVD.
Thanks Dr. B, for your scholarship and fortitude to teach the truth!
Hi Dr. B,
As a primary care provider this is good info to have for reference and something I had been thinking about so you read my mind! I’m a closet Naturopath however, and I think there are a lot of us out there in what feels like being behind enemy lines so to speak, have nutrition knowledge and use alternatives as best we can to just start getting to the masses, and also to just be honest with patients, pause and think about what we are doing to these people(at least the ones who are willing to listen) and educate them on all side effects of this medication. I was all nervous as being a PA, I had a debate with a patient who ‘loves his statin’ because it will protect him as his 3 brothers had heart attacks and he doesn’t want to die… He has consistent elevated liver enzymes and right sided pain. I have learned in medicine that yes you can have liver pain. So the NP before me worked him up with an U/S and hepatitis panel (I thought that was amusing nothing against her) and not discussing his statin use with him, which he still wants to take. Now what I am seeing is his TSH is going up, and I have yet to recheck his actual thyroid hormones. Regardless it’s already wrecking havoc on his endocrine system and he’s only on 20mg. I sent him out a note on my worry regarding his statins inadvertant affect on his thyroid and I had fears he’d take that to his cardiologist and get an angry phone call on what this uneducated reckless PA told him. 🙂 I’m sure you mention this in one of your numerous books but I did finally get a snippet somewhere about how it interferes with selenium/thyroid function. Perhaps you have this info in another section. I wish I had time to read more. Also, where on earth are they getting this new trend I’m seeing about putting everyone over the age of 65 (can’t remember the exact age) on “high dose” statins and not checking any annual testing on cholesterol? Wow. This is all so frustrating. I commend you for your research and it helps the rest of us who just don’t have time stuck in the trenches who are working there way out. The good thing is AT LEAST this guy is engaging in dialog and could have ripple effects. A lot of it is, he would be the black sheep in his group if he just up and stopped prescribing. Medicine always likes to make anyone who actually thinks feel ashamed for thinking outside some invisible ‘norm’ of following the pharma herd. There is so much indoctrination. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you Dr. B. And yes, I meant complicit.
A pill for a ill! Dr. C sounds a lot like my Dr.
After seven years he still hasn’t come up with any suggestions as to the cause of my illnesses. I have a small stack of Rx’s, unfilled, in my desk folder: I have found that changing my eating habits [ giving up junk foods, sugar, bakery items, etc.] has changed my blood test to the good side. Thank you Dr. B for your blog and books. And another big Thank You for all the informational help you have given us readers in the indexes, as who to contact for natural help in our respective living areas.
God Bless you Dr. B. Keep up the good fight!
Hi Dr D
My husband is a psychophrenic and took Zyprexia. . He developed a high cholesterol level and was prescribed Lipitor. When he complained of aches and pains his prescript was changed to Crestor. His blood pressure went up and he was prescribed Norvasc. Because he still had aches and pains, he was given Alopuralin (not sure of spelling) for arthritis. He was prescribed Arthrexin for his continuous gout. He developed a fatty liver, swollen legs and feet, loss of memory and confusion and a clot in his groin and down his left leg. Up until this time we totally placed our faith in our doctor. Bob,then lost his job through memory and confusion issues and landed in hospital not able to walk and no memory. The hospital did tests and took him off some of his drugs as he was reacting adversely to them. I started Googling his meds and finding their side effects. I discovered the adverse reaction to his statin meds, which could be causing his sore shoulders, aches and pains all over his body. I printed. it out, took it to his doctor and she told him to stop taking them immediately. I bought Nattinokase, COQ10 Ubiquinol, fish oil, Krill oil, a natural mixture to help him with clotting and pushed for him to be taken off Warfarin. The final Xrays showed darkness around the clot and down his artery and his Xrays two weeks later showed that everything was cleared. He was totally off drugs at this stage. Within one month his tests showed all his vitals had gone back to normal. In six months his fatty liver also disappeared. He has slight memory problems which I think are permanent.
He remains on a good antioxident mixture, Vit. B, fish oil, natural sleep and mood tablets, L carnatine and a good diet. He is quite calm and stable. If he has issues, he takes 5 mg. zyprexia for two days which seems to sort him out but it gives him gout.
We have lost faith in the medical system and take no drugs. We only visit a doctor fir blood tests, now.
Regards
Lyn
Very interesting dialogue! I guess we are lucky here to have found an alternative practicing doctor who led me to examine
all the meds we were prescribed and challenge those that I found lacking – mostly with your help and newsletter and other
holistic and alternative medicine practitioners.. It really is our bodies and with the internet we no longer have an excuse to not educate ourselves in its treatment. This is kind of comical but my husband went to his cardiologist for a checkup after he was prescribed pravastatin. I had researched it and discussed it with our alternative practitioner who enlightened me that the dementia that was beginning in my husband was exaggerated by the statin. So I told my husband to stop taking it for that reason and he listened.. When he saw his cardiologist afterwards I was not present and doc asked him who had taken him off the drug and he replied – “my wife did”. Well the next time we went in, the doc asked me about it and I discussed what I had found and how I felt. He did not challenge me – and that was 3 yrs ago. Lately we went in again and he brought up the statins again and said that now later tests have proven that the statins actually ward off dementia!!! This is such a prolific drug and genders so much revenue for Big Pharma that they are relentless in getting the public prescribed with it!
Pleast tell me Dr. B – Is it true that doctors get recompensed for the drugs they prescribe? Is that what is going on? Is this all about profit for the doctors too????
Mila,
The answer to your question is, “No”. Most docs do not get compensated for the drugs they prescribe. I think most docs do not do enough research on what drugs do in the body and how they affect the body’s biochemistry. Having said that, you can see how my discussion with Dr. C went. I know for a fact that he clearly understands the biochemical affects of statin medications, yet he still promotes and prescribes them even though they fail 97-99% who take them. Most docs want to help. I think we (docs) have been wrongly brainwashed to believe a prescription drug is the only way to treat everyone. And, finally, most docs have no clue about statistics.
DrB
So fascinating to see an obviously intelligent MD who when presented with such blatant truth cannot understand it.
Dr.B you are a healer…unfortunately Dr.C (like most MD’s) is a disease manager.
My husband had a minor heartattack 18months ago. His total cholesterol was something like 140. The cardiologist prescribed Simvastatin 20 mg. I was furious but had no control, luckily the doc wanted him to go back 6 months later.
My husband mentioned cramps in his legs. The doctor said : glad to hear that, now I can take you off statins and the powers to be will not blame me for not prescribing you statins. I almost fell off my chair.
The following has nothing to do with statins, he was also prescribed a beta blocker, I noticed my husband was starting to loose it, meaning brain wise. Until I read an article on Doctor Mercola’s website regarding the number of people in Europe who had died from beta blockers and how the the American medical community had ignored that study.
At our next visit I showed the same cardiologist the headlines of this Dr Mercola article, the doc immediately agreed to take my husband off the betablockers and thought it a novel idea : just do nothing. It is my opinion it is because my husband still has not accepted he is older, in his seventies, and that is OK to slow down. His brain has improved in the sense I no longer have to watch everything his does and how he was going downhill slowly but surely, like Alzheimer patients do.
I have total cholesterol levels of 290. My Dr. insists that I get on drugs. I was started on a high dose of statins some years back and after a short period of time could not even walk I was so stiff. I stopped the drugs and many years later still have problems with joints. My HDL is high and my Triglycerides are perfect. I keep insisting with my Dr. that I don’t want these drugs. I am also on thyroid medication and they always threaten to not prescribe me that unless I go on statins because they want to treat the “whole person”. It is getting quite challenging avoiding it.
Bravo Dr. Brownstein. You are a beacon. You show all physicians how high the bar can be raised.
As for Dr. C, where to start.
To begin let me say he appears to be either ignorant or implicit.
You write: “Ghostwritten studies, pharma written, pharma financed, reported in relative risk numbers, authors on the payroll–doctors should have a much more discerning eye before prescribing drugs that poison enzymes and block receptors as well as disrupting the normal human biochemistry.” You are spot on. Known as ‘publication bias’, Dr. C. doesn’t even respond to this point. It would be difficult to respond honestly to this so apparently it’s better to ignore your point. This is of similar importance to your point that the “lead investigator, Ridker [Jupiter study], held a patent on the CRP test”. Ignorant or implicit?
You repeatedly mention the failure rate of statins at 95+%, yet he glosses over this as if it were insignificant. Ignorant of implicit?
It is also worth noting that diagnostic tests can give false positive results as well as false negative results. As a result treatment may be given when not required or not given when required (assuming one is of the ilk that statins represent an appropriate treatment. I do not, unless one has familial homozygous hypercholesterolemia). To this we can add that many diagnostic tests also come with their own health risks. And to your point: “Let’s get it straight: Nothing is free. We all pay for these drugs.”, we can include the cost of the diagnostic tests.
As for his comment on CoQ10 I can only assume he is ignorant, and willfully so. He should be ashamed of himself. One need look no further than the Product Monograph of any HMG CoA Reductase Inhibitor to understand the impact this class of medication has on CoQ10. One should expect a cardiologist to understand the significance of ATP in the proper functioning of the heart.
I loved your reference to Dr. Semmelweis. It should be noted that he was a Ob/Gyn. Today members of that profession encourage their pregnant patients to get vaccinated. It’s enough to cause Hippocrates to turn in his grave.
Dr. C. erroniously believes that he is practising ‘evidence based medicine’. If it’s evidence he wants let him chew on this.
Dr. Barbara Starfield, a revered public health expert at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, published her 2009 paper entitled “Is US health really the best in the world?” The Starfield study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, came to the following conclusions:
Every year in the US there are:
12,000 deaths from unnecessary surgeries;
7,000 deaths from medication errors in hospitals;
20,000 deaths from other errors in hospitals;
80,000 deaths from infections acquired in hospitals;
106,000 deaths from FDA-approved correctly prescribed medicines.
The total of medically-caused deaths in the US every year is 225,000.
Let me close be saying that Primum Non Nocere has devolved into Caveat Emptor.
Once again, thank you Dr. Brownstein for your relentless pursuit of the truth. We are all better because of it.
“The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie: deliberate, continued, and dishonest; but the myth: persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic.”
John F. Kennedy
Mahatma,
Wow. That was some comment.
DrB
Dr. C seems to be sincere in his efforts, as are most allopathic doctors, though some aren’t. However, doctors are human, meaning they protect their territory (conventional medicine), which is intimately entwined with their identities (like salt in water). That includes therapies that have been endorsed by the medical community; to attack a conventional therapy is to attack your own identity – a difficult thing to do unless you are quite self-secure. Also, even if an accepted treatment is ineffective and harmful, like statins, they still want to do SOMETHING for their patients b/c it makes them feel more competent and effective. What I’m saying is, I think many doctors give statins as much for their own gratification as for the patient. Of course, statins aren’t the only poor treatment that is/ has been sanctioned by the medical community and therefore accepted by most doctors, common sense be damned. It is far past the time when we should place doctors themselves under a microscope to assess their knowledge, intentions, and psychological foibles, as all of these play into how they practice medicine. These are some of my observations from thirty years spent working as an RN and psychotherapist. One thing is for sure, doctors, like the rest of us, are influenced by multiple stimuli they are completely unaware of.
Hooray for a dr who actually follows his oath of do no harm, and who sees his patient as a whole and not a series of unrelated problems existing in isolation, AND is actually interested in healing them of the root course if their problems. One thing I tell my friends who follow their Drs advice with blind faith is, I’ve never seen a Dr turn up for their patients funeral because they don’t have enough time to visit them all, bless you Dr B x
Perhaps as patients we need to use Google a bit more and find out the many downsides of statin drugs.
As a 76 year old woman, I understand there would be NO benefit for my age group yet my 87 year old sister was prescribed a statin. She died a very short time before her 90th birthday.
I followed the whole thing. However Dr.C’s last argument “I can’t leave people with _________ (fill in the blank with whatever dire clinical presentation that you want here)” is the most valid. NOT because statins work better than you propose but because (and he doesn’t even raise this spectre directly) no doctor is going to risk his license or the respect of his “peers” maybe his admitting privileges by chancing non-Standards Of Care. Even when those “Standards” are bogus.
Thank you Dr. B for such an honest and complete revealing dialog with Dr. C. I appreciate that Dr. C thought enough of you and us your patients to talk to you about his views. It would be difficult to believe something taught to me by my instructors back when I was learning information that would make me a Dovtor — could possibility be incorret. However you would think that years of working with my patients and seeing little to no help would certainly convince one to examine why and what could be done to have better results. I truly hope that the Dr. ‘C’s out there would listen to us as to how we are feeling and need more than they are doing for us.
BRAVO Dr. B.
I knew you were good Dr. Brownstien, but this dialogue between you and the other MD took you to a entirely new level. Very impressive Dr.B, you really have done your homework. I wish more people could be exposed to you. Hmm. think it’s time for your own reality TV show. Sure would be a shocker to the public.
Oh and we have also been taking iodine and celtic sea salt for a few years now. Thanks for that info!
So proud of you Dr.B! I just don’t understand why traditional medical Dr.s look so quickly to the latest drug craze and never consider nutrition and lack of vitamins and nutrients to help the patient. My hubby and I are 52. He was put on a statin at the age of 44 simply because his father dies at the age of 54. His cholesterol climbed over the years. At age 49 I read your newsletters and clued in. He took himself off the statin (gradually) and started taking great vitamins and extra vitamin C. His cholesterol went from 268 to 206 in 6 months time. All his bloodworm is now excellent and in normal range. No drugs! Thanks to you and the education you do with your books and newsletters.
Dr. Dave, statins have wrecked my life. I was taking simvistatin for probably 6-8 months before the muscle pain in my legs started so I did not associate it with the drug, and kept taking it. By a year I almost couldn’t walk, and work. I saw a crestor commercial one night and figured it out when I heard the side effects. Its been several years since and still get pain though not all the time, but my legs have never been the same.
Hi Todd,
Unfortunately, I have heard a similar story many times. Sometimes taking B12 shots helps the neuropathic pain.
Good luck,
DrB
Dr B, everything you say just makes so much sense I guess the only way to understand it is that the doctors who can´t see the writing on the wall are simply brainwashed. Thank you for shining a light on this and keeping us informed.
Dr. B. & Readers,
Excellent commentary. I commend you for holding your ground
though you don’t need a crutch to do so. Clearly, you are on the
solid ground of reason and good judgment even though this
common sense eludes those writing hatmful scripts. The problem
is multifaceted…
First at the top, the wielding and destructive power of Big Pharm
and greed; a power that has infiltrated the entirety of westernized
medicine! Any and ALL studies of EVERY drug should only be
based on facts, end results, and IF… the ends justify the means!
They should and MUST be 110% VOID of any interest, gains or
coercion of those involved in the studies.
The real problem is that people want a quick fix to a lifestyle of
entrenched abuse in many cases; i.e., there is little self-
responsibility! Those who are willing to face what needs to be
done, often, I believe, represent the minority.
Our modern medical institution is flawed at its very outset.
Would you want an intern or resident removing a bullet from
your chest in the ER who had been up for near 36-48 hours
straight who could barely see straight let alone stay awake?
Just HOW medical schools and training of higher institution
have gotten away with this for all these years is absolutely
BEYOND me! WHERE is the “health” or common sense in
this? I can’t WAIT till someone with the means and power
takes this on and deals with the AMA.
So with a foundation of greed and near lack of common sense,
it is clear why such drugs are not just approved, but devised in
the first place. It’s just too bad we can feed some of these deadly
drugs to the very foundation of corruption and greed that prescribes
them. What was that line? Oh yes, “a taste of their own medicine!”
Respectfully,
Trisha, RN, BSN
Reading this argument between Dr.B and a so called Cardiology specialist was sad to say the least. Even though the Cardiologist was bombarded with facts , figures and examples as to why he is wrong, he continued to spout off useless data written by the drug companies and jaded studies written by jaded authors and showed his pathetic Allopathic, drug company sponsored medical training ( brain washing ).
Dr. B only amplifies here what the rest of us out here in the real world have to deal with when trying to find a competent DR. Out here, there ARE no Dr. B’s, only these drug company shills and legal drug pushers who addict millions of people everyday to these type poisions.
The people who need help the most don’t read sites like this, they just line up like Sheep ( Sheepeople ) and believe anything these idiots say. It’s sad to say the least.
Great job Dr.B. Please keep up your mission of hope and knowledge, it’s up to the rest of us out here to steer the Sheepeople to you and your work.
I wish you had given the name of the DR. So we would know who to avoid. Not in Ga is he???
ditto, what Karen said. People need to help themselves with better eating because that’s all we really have. Thanks Dr. B as always for the enlightenment.
So, basically, he ends by saying all he has is a hammer so he might as well use it? Is that what I’m getting? Might as well pound this down even though there’s over a 95% chance I’ll break what I’m hitting because it’s not a nail and an even greater chance of side effects of some kind even in that 5% who don’t break. This is what’s sad about medicine and the American diet. We (the public and the medical community won’t bring up nutrition) all wait until we’re near dead and helpless before we can get a prescription of better nutrition and supplements but by then, there’s little hope it can reverse the problem quick enough so we just drug people to death because we’re pretty much out of any better ideas. Yikes! It’s so desperate. Seems like a little consideration earlier on could go such a long way but doctors prescribing diet and nutrition before an aggressive issue has fully erupted? I think that’s illegal or something.
Hi, People can’t prove things by studies. Studies maybe bias and want the drug to work so manipulate data. Experience/patient experience may help. Statin drugs hurt my friend…red blotches. Statin drugs may lower cholesterol, but that helps the brain/hormones. Many people on Statin drugs may need thyroid medicine that lowers cholesterol, but instead they get a statin drug which block coenzyme Q10 production and hurts them. 97% of people that have thyroid issues maybe due to gluten. No gluten may help many heart disease issues.
2000mg of fish oil may thin blood. Blood vessels may get clogged and EDTA IV chelations may help. Saturated fat instantly clogs my blood vessels. Each person is different. I can’t take coconut oil which may help the brain/body. My dad died of 100% clogged blood vessels. He had statin drugs and eventually had heart failure. Pace maker could not help when blood vessels were 100% cody. logged. He had no energy at the end..very sad. He wanted 10 more years. I wanted him to go to Alternative doctors and get off the coumadin/statin drugs and more and onto more natural help and change his diet. I need the Celiac diet mostly due to my mom’s heritage…low sunlight, but my dad may have been helped by this diet also.
I have too many friends on Statin drugs…to me they maybe undiagnosed Celiac/low thyroid. The Celiac diet..no gluten/dairy/soy/sugar/GMO…vitamins/good oils, LDN, detoxing may help. The American diet hurts the brain/body.
Best wishes.
About all I can say is WOW and we sure have a long uphill slog with all the Dr. Cs passing out statins like candy.
Dr. B.-
Thank you for sharing this with us. Your continued investigative work into the world of Big Pharma benefits all of us. Thank you.
C typifies most doctors….they can’t overcome their inherent bias toward using drugs, even if there are serious statistically evident side effects and produce little positive results. Sounds like my doc at the VA….”just take some COQ10 with it”. It’ll probably take another 40 years before they get it.
Well done Dr David!!
YOU ROCK Dr. Brownstein. I am part of a healing and deliverance ministry in Clarkston, MI that would love you to come and speak. We want a resident doctor as part of our community. I so appreciate your approach and read all your posts. If you are interested, please call me or email me. Our leadership team would love to host you at a future event.
GOD BLESS YOU and your family for all that you do.
With most genuine appreciation and gratitude,
Judy Francis
248-930-4918 Mobile
JudyF07@comcast.net
GZblast.com