Good Morning!
Most of you know that I have strong opinions about statin drugs – not only the drugs themselves but the lack of education received by patients before being prescribed one of them.
Not to mention, in my experience with clients who have been prescribed a statin – their doctors have no plans of taking them off of them – no plan in place to resolve the root cause of the “high” cholesterol while using the drug as a supportive therapy, while healing what’s underlying – this, I could get behind. But, they simply become life-long drugs.
And because of this, it is my belief that they are over-prescribed and causing a downstream effect of other symptoms and ultimately, while they may starve the brain of cholesterol and therefore keep cholesterol numbers low – we HAVE to ask – is this really the most supportive way to achieve holistic health – lower cholesterol and otherwise. Aka, what other health ailments are we asking for by taking statins long term?
The research I am sharing today is a meta-analysis published recently that analyzed the effects of statin therapy on diagnoses of new-onset diabetes and worsening glycemia (glucose in the blood) in large scale randomized blind statin trials.
23 studies were included in the research with over 150,000 participants; 31,000 of which had diabetes at baseline. By evaluating these studies, researchers assessed the effects of statin therapy on two main outcomes: new-onset diabetes and worsening glycemia in those with pre-existing diabetes.
The results were eye-opening!!
The findings revealed that high-intensity statin therapy led to a 36% increase in new-onset diabetes. Meaning – people went on statins to “improve” their health, and ended up with diabetes as a downstream effect of the drug.
As with all studies – there are some limitations.
For example, the frequency of HbA1C (3 month snapshot of glucose in the blood) measurements could have influenced an apparent increase in diabetes risk in clinical trials.
Either way, the findings should be heavily weighed.
Some researchers argue that the benefits of taking a statin in reducing cholesterol would outweigh the risks of developing diabetes. But I would argue – when we start looking at a drug that we’re taking to “improve” our health – why should we have to choose between the supposed “lesser” of 2 evils: high cholesterol or diabetes?
I argue that we treat the WHOLE body and ask WHY the body is showing up the way it is – in this case – instead of putting someone on a statin, ask WHY cholesterol is high in the first place and begin to resolve that why.
You can read the research via the link below – approx. 3-5 min read.
https://shorturl.at/rtuy1
As always, I’m here for questions!
Take 5 minutes today to set your intentions for how you will care for and show up for yourself this week!
xoxo
Alix