Mayo Clinic DEAD Wrong on Diabetic Recommendations
STATINS SUCK! THEY KILL!

Researchers from North Carolina State University and the Mayo Clinic have
developed a computer model that is intended to determine the best time to
begin using statin therapy in diabetes patients to help prevent heart
disease and stroke.

According to the lead author, "The research is significant because patients
with diabetes are at high risk for cardiovascular disease and statins are
the single most commonly used treatment for patients at risk of heart
disease and/or stroke."

The new model incorporates patient-specific data. An established risk model
calculates each patient's probability of heart attack and stroke based on
risk factors, such as their cholesterol, blood pressure, etc. This overall
risk "score" is used to weigh the medical advantages of beginning statin
therapy against the financial cost of the statins.

Sources:

Science Daily July 26, 2009

Medical Decision Making May 2009; 29 (3): 351-367

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

Statins, which are a class of drugs used to lower your cholesterol, are
among the most commonly prescribed medications in the world, and I believe,
one of the most unnecessary drugs there are.

This is one class of drugs that I am dedicated to sound the alarm about.
We are actually in the process of seeking to replicate a campaign similar to
what was done to raise awareness of the dangers of smoking, to inform the
public about the dangers and combat the media fraud, deception and
manipulation that causes people to believe otherwise.

They could have saved loads of time and money here by reading this
website, because the answer to the question, "When should you begin taking a
statin?" is "never." No computer models required.

Why?

Because it's safe to say that a drug intended to prevent heart disease
which actually causes heart failure is not the right treatment for most
people. Statin drugs offer a "cure" that is far worse than the disease.

Why It's Highly Unlikely You'll Ever Need a Statin Drug

At least 12 million Americans are already taking statins, and based on new
expert recommendations another 23 million "should" be taking them.

Now, there are a small group of people with genetic enzyme defects that
have cholesterols levels above 325-350 who seem to benefit from statins.
However, in my clinical experience over more than two decades and tens of
thousands of patients, there have been a grand total of three patients that
required statins to control this relatively uncommon genetic problem.

What This Computer Model Will NOT Tell You

It's the emergence of these kinds of dangerous diagnostic strategies that
make it so important to remain educated on this issue and not simply go
along with what the media and professionals claim.. Especially since statin
drugs are linked to many, many dangerous side effects. And I can guarantee
you this computer model will not evaluate your risk of being harmed by the
drug, even though there are over 900 studies showing statin drugs to be
dangerous.

For example, Bayer's statin, Baycol, was pulled from the market in 2001
after 31 people died from rhabdomyolysis, a condition in which muscle tissue
breaks down resulting in kidney failure.

Other serious and potentially life threatening side effects include, but
are not limited to:

a.. Polyneuropathy, also known as peripheral neuropathy, which is
characterized by weakness, tingling and pain in the hands and feet, as well
as difficulty walking

b.. Heart failure

c.. An increase in cancer risk

d.. Immune system suppression

e.. Potential increase in liver enzymes, so patients must be monitored
for normal liver function

Another example is Zetia, a cholesterol-lowering drug prescribed to about
1 million people each week. It was not only found to have no medical
benefits, but the trial also discovered that arterial plaque growth
increased, growing nearly twice as fast in patients taking Vytorin, a drug
that combines Zetia with Zocor (another statin drug).

Despite these disturbing facts, Zetia and Vytorin account for about 20
percent of the cholesterol drugs on the U.S. market.

What You Need to Know About Cholesterol in Order to Understand the Dangers
of Statins

Statin drugs work by preventing the formation of cholesterol, and reduce
LDL cholesterol, which is considered the "bad" cholesterol.

There is no argument that these drugs do work very well at lowering your
cholesterol levels. However, was has not been proven is that they
significantly lower your risk of dying from heart disease. In no way, shape
or form, do they treat the cause of your problem. They are nothing more than
a toxic band-aid.

So just what makes statins so dangerous, and why are they not the answer
for managing your cholesterol levels?

First you need to understand the biological workings of cholesterol.

In fact, there is no such thing as "good" or "bad" cholesterol. Both HDL
and LDL cholesterol perform vital functions in your body, which is why it's
actually dangerous to bring your LDL levels down too low.

HDL (high density lipoprotein) and LDL (low density lipoprotein) are
actually proteins that transport the cholesterol to and from your tissues.

Cholesterol in turn is a precursor to steroid hormones. For example, you
can't make testosterone or estrogen, cortisol, DHEA or pregnenolone, or a
multitude of other steroid hormones that are necessary for health, without
cholesterol.

Even more importantly, your cells cannot regenerate their membranes
without it. The reason you have LDL to begin with is to transport the
cholesterol to the tissues in order to make new cells and repair damaged
ones.

However, there are different sizes of LDL particles and it's the LDL
particle size that is relevant, and statins do not modulate the size of the
particles. Unfortunately, most people don't know about that part, and very
rarely, if ever, get tested for particle size.

The particles are sticky, so very small LDL's can easily get stuck in
different areas, and the build-up eventually causes inflammation and damage.

The only way to make sure your LDL particles are large enough to not cause
damage is through your diet. In fact, it's one of the major functions of
insulin.

Conveniently enough, a healthy diet is also the answer for type 2
diabetes, so by focusing on what you eat, you're treating both your diabetes
and your cholesterol levels, and reducing your associated risk of heart
disease.

If you eat properly, which is really the only known good way to regulate
LDL particle size, then it does the right thing; it takes the cholesterol to
your tissues, the HDL takes it back to your liver, and no plaque is formed.

The second thing you need to know is that statins work by reducing the
enzyme that causes your liver to make cholesterol when it is stimulated by
high insulin levels.

Again, you can achieve the same, or better, result by simply reducing your
insulin levels by eliminating sugar and most grains, which is also what you
need to do to successfully address type 2 diabetes.

What Most Doctors Fail to Tell You When Prescribing Statins

Another important aspect that most doctors fail to tell you about is that
statins are non-specific inhibitors of not just one, but a number of very
important liver enzymes, one of of the most important being Coenzyme Q10.

CoQ10 is a vital enzyme that your body needs for energy and cardiovascular
health.

It is widely recommended to repair heart damage, boost the function of the
heart and acts as a protectant against heart attacks and valve damage.
Additionally, CoQ10 has been shown to be beneficial in heart and lung
cancer, as well as maintain cognitive function.

Thus, when you take statins your production of this enzyme is dramatically
depleted and you do not reap the health benefits associated with it.
Unfortunately, few patients are ever told about this fact and their health
suffers accordingly.

How to Normalize Your Cholesterol Without Dangerous Drugs

Just about every person, other than thesmall minority with the genetic
enzyme defects mentioned above, can normalize their cholesterol levels with
the Total Health Program, which includes modifying your eating habits based
on your body's unique nutritional type.

If you truly want to normalize your cholesterol levels, following these
simple lifestyle changes can get you there:

1.. Normalize your insulin levels by eliminating sugar and grains.

2.. Take a high-quality animal-based omega-3 fat like krill oil or fish
oil

3.. Most men, and women who is in menopause, should check your iron
levels as elevated levels of iron can cause major oxidative damage in the
blood vessels, heart and other organs. Excess iron is also one of the major
contributing factors of cancer risk

4.. Regular exercise is another important tool that can help

5.. Energy Psychology methods such as meridian tapping techniques can
also be helpful for cholesterol. Read this press release for the
possibilities.

As I stated earlier this week, one of our top priority goals is to spread
the message that statin drugs are clearly not the weapon of choice for high
cholesterol. I urge you to share this information as well, by forwarding
this article to your friends and family.

Related Links:

The Truth About Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs (Statins), Cholesterol and
Health

The Dangers of Statin Drugs: What You Haven't Been Told About
Cholesterol-Lowering Medications

Cholesterol Drugs Actually Cause Heart Disease

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/08/15/Mayo-Clinic-DEAD-Wrong-on-Diabetic-Recommendations.aspx

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The Australian ABC TV show, Catalyst, did a show on statin drugs
-- pointing out that they are not only unnecessary
(cholesterol is NOT the enemy) but that they may be harmful --
and they appear to constitute high-profit organized crime.

If you are concerned about your cholesterol, or if you're afraid
of "saturated fat", you need to watch this well-documented,
two part video on Australian TV by Maryanne Demasi.

Each segment is 30 minutes.

Part One - http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/3876219.htm

Part Two - http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/3881441.htm