Lately, we have had a lot of bad news about friends suffering from serious health issues. People younger than I am fighting for their lives from deadly disease. Thank goodness for modern medicine, but please don't put all your faith in that. Start filling your body with as much healthy food as possible and drop those things killing you like a hot potato. I can't say enough about how the book Eat to Live has positively influenced my life. If you are fighting for your life, please read this book. What do you have to lose? It's time to give up those sugars, fats, dairy, and over processed foods and eat food that will feed and heal your body. It is possible to turn your health around. Don't give up.
My husband got his latest blood work back. He has been on cholesterol medicine for a very long time. He stopped taking it about 6 months ago. His numbers are as follows:
On Medication Off Medication eating better (most of the time)
Cholesterol 239 195
Triglycerides 159 158
HDL 45 41
LDL 162 122
Non HDL Chol 194 154
Some numbers still need improvement but th wonderful results and he no longer takes a drug that has horrible side effects. He also is taking half the blood pressure medicine he used to take. Unfortunately he may have to continue to take this because of this high stress job and me. :)
Food for Thought:
Safety Alerts Cite Cholesterol Drugs’ Side Effects
By GARDINER HARRIS
Federal health officials on Tuesday added new safety alerts to the prescribing information for statins, the cholesterol-reducing medications that are among the most widely prescribed drugs in the world, citing rare risks of memory loss, diabetes and muscle pain.
It is the first time that the Food and Drug Administration has officially linked statin use with cognitive problems like forgetfulness and confusion, although some patients have reported such problems for years. Among the drugs affected are huge sellers like Lipitor, Zocor, Crestor and Vytorin.
But federal officials and some medical experts said the new alerts
should not scare people away from statins. “The value of statins in
preventing heart disease has been clearly established,” said Dr. Amy G.
Egan, deputy director for safety in the F.D.A.’s division of metabolism
and endocrinology products. “Their benefit is indisputable, but they
need to be taken with care and knowledge of their side effects.”
Diabetes patients and even those who develop diabetes while taking
statins should continue taking the medicines, said Dr. Steven Nissen,
chairman of cardiovascular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic, who has
studied the medicines extensively.
“These are not major issues, and they really do not alter the
decision-making process with regard to statins,” Dr. Nissen said.
Last year, nearly 21 million patients in the United States were
prescribed statins. Whether that number of users is too high or too low
has been debated for years. While advice on whether to take statins
involves a complex mix of factors like age, family history and blood pressure, some experts have suggested that those with total cholesterol
levels around 200 would benefit from treatment. Others have argued that
treatment should not start until a cholesterol level of 240 or higher,
all other factors being equal.
Dr. Sidney M. Wolfe, director of Public Citizen’s health research group,
is among those who contend statins are overused. He said the new alerts
about risks provided more reasons that otherwise healthy people with
cholesterol levels less than 240 “should not be taking these drugs.”
The F.D.A. said that routine monitoring of liver enzymes in the blood,
once considered standard procedure for statin users, was no longer
needed because the liver injury associated with statin therapy was so
rare.
Reports about memory loss, forgetfulness and confusion span all statin
drugs and all age groups of patients, the F.D.A. said. Dozens of
well-controlled trials of statins have offered few hints that the drugs
cause any kind of cognitive impairment, Dr. Egan said. Still, the F.D.A.
has received many reports over the years that some patients felt
unfocused or “fuzzy” in their thinking after taking the medicines.
Officials in the F.D.A. debated whether such reports were truly
worrisome, Dr. Egan said. But in recent years, the F.D.A. — criticized
for waiting too long to issue some safety alerts — has become more
willing to be public about possible drug risks, even when the evidence
is uncertain
“We are trying to be as transparent as possible with our alerts and
labeling,” Dr. Egan said, even though the alert on the possibility of
fuzzy thinking “is not overly helpful.”
Statins seem to increase blood sugar levels
in some patients by small amounts, and when millions are treated, that
change leads to a diagnosis of diabetes for more people.
The F.D.A. had already placed an alert about diabetes risks on the label of Crestor, a big-selling statin made by AstraZeneca,
because a Crestor trial showed an increased risk. The agency decided to
extend that alert to all drugs in the class with the exception of
Pravachol, an older medicine manufactured by Bristol-Myers Squibb.
A well-controlled trial of Pravachol previously showed that it reduced
the risks of developing diabetes by 30 percent, but other trials have
found Pravachol less effective in reducing cardiac risks.
Dr. Egan suggested that doctors check the blood sugar levels of patients after starting them on statin therapy.
That statins can cause muscle pain, particularly at high doses, has long
been known, but in its new alert the F.D.A. reminded doctors that some
other medications increase the likelihood that statins linger in the
body longer than normal and increase the risk of muscle pain. Among the
drugs that conflict with statins are hepatitis C protease inhibitors like telaprevir and boceprevir and the antibiotics erythromycin and clarithromycin.
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:Correction: March 1, 2012
An article on Wednesday about potential side effects of the widely prescribed cholesterol-reducing medications known as statins, using information from the Food and Drug Administration, misidentified the viral infection that is treated with protease inhibitors like telaprevir and boceprevir, which can conflict with statins. It is hepatitis C, not H.I.V.
My thoughts: Of course they are going to tell you to keep the taking the drugs when they should be telling you to change your lifestyle and do it without drugs!
Another link with good information: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/07/20/the-truth-about-statin-drugs-revealed.aspx
The fact that statin drugs cause side effects is well established—there are now 900 studies proving their adverse effects, which run the gamut from muscle problems to increased cancer risk. For starters, reported side effects include:
| Muscle problems, polyneuropathy (nerve damage in the hands and feet), and rhabdomyolysis (a serious degenerative muscle tissue condition) | Anemia |
| Acidosis | Sexual dysfunction |
| Immune depression |
Cataracts |
| Pancreas or liver dysfunction, including a potential increase in liver enzymes | Memory loss |
Muscle problems are the best known of statin drugs' adverse side effects, but cognitive problems and memory loss are also widely reported. A spectrum of other problems, ranging from blood glucose elevations to tendon problems, can also occur. There is evidence that taking statins may even increase your risk for Lou Gehrig's disease, diabetes and even cancer.
Recipe of the day: Spaghetti Squash
Spaghetti Squash is so much fun to cook. I love taking the fork and making the spaghetti. Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds then put 1/4 cup of water in one side and put the other side on top. Place in a bowl in the microwave and cook for about 8 minutes. Using a fork, gently pull the strands of squash away from the peel and place the squash strands into a bowl. Heat a skillet with a little vegetable broth and add the garlic, onion, tomato, and spices and saute until onions are tender. Toss in spaghetti squash and serve. Yum Yum. Going to fix some now. You can use a little healthy oil if you prefer instead of vegetable broth.
1 spaghetti squash
1/2 small sweet onion chopped
1 cup Cherry tomatoes cut in half. As many as you like for your taste
3 cloves of crushed garlic
1 Tablespoon of Italian spices or spices of your choosing
1/2 cup Vegetable broth
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