Statin Drugs Deplete CoQ10

Massive sales of statin drugs are at the economic heart of the false cholesterol-heart hypothesis, which is why many doctors don’t dare to do other than prescribe statins to every patient with a high LDL number— or even a high total cholesterol number. Even women, even senior citizens, even black people— even though research only shows health benefits (fewer cardiac events) in middle-aged white males.

In this blog post I’m not going to question the wisdom of that— you can research it yourself if you are interested— but I am going to stick to one topic— the fact that statin drugs are known to deplete your body’s supply of CoQ10. This is so well known a Big Pharma company patented a statin drug combined with a CoQ10 supplement, but never manufactured it, lest it draw attention to a problem that was at the time relatively unknown. 

What is CoQ10? It is a vitamin-like substance found in every cell in your body. Our bodies need CoQ10 to function! Statin drugs, which block your body’s production of cholesterol— both good and bad cholesterol— also blocks the production of CoQ10. This blockage is bad for your heart as well as for your skeletal muscles. 

Even some doctors that loudly warn against the use of statins may use statins in a small patient group, not because it lowers cholesterol, but because it lowers inflammation, the real cause of heart disease. In male, middle-aged patients who have had heart attacks, especially if they won’t quit smoking and adopt a low-carb lifestyle, some statin-skeptic doctors do prescribe statins. But CoQ10 supplementation is necessary!

I’ve recently gone shopping for CoQ10 supplements both for myself and my 91-year-old mother. My mother went on statins about 20 years ago, and promptly developed full-blown diabetes. That made me a statin-skeptic, but not my mom. Now, she is having a hard time walking, and falls sometimes. I couldn’t get her to stop the statin as her nurse-practitioner is a true believer (or has to pretend to be.) So I got some CoQ10 for my mom. It was pricey! 

In my own case, I would worry about going on a statin because of the CoQ10 and its cost. Medicaid will pay for my prescription drugs, but not for the CoQ10 I would need because of them! I have a hard enough time, on my Medicaid and SSI disability, to pay for my low-carb diet foods, not to mention my home heating (propane) costs! 

As a believer in natural/nutritional remedies instead of going on drugs, I wish that Medicaid would have to pay for our supplements— at least those the doctor or physician’s assistant recommends! My PA recommended I take fish oil supplements years ago, but I stopped due to cost, and due to the fact I wanted a GOOD fish oil product and not the cheapest generic. Since reading The Great Cholesterol Myth, I’ve restarted a good fish oil as well as CoQ10— in part because both help with high blood pressure and I don’t want to go on drugs over that if I can help it. 

Reading List on Cholesterol & Statins

If you are concerned about cholesterol and statin drugs, read these books— all have medical doctors as authors or co-authors, except for Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taube, who is a bestselling and well-respected author on scientific topics. I have read all of these and learned a lot.

The Great Cholesterol Myth: Why lowering your cholesterol won’t prevent heart disease— and the statin-free plan that will. 

Cholesterol Clarity

The Cure for Heart Disease — Truth that will Save a Nation

The Dark Side of Statins: Plus: The Wonder of Cholesterol

Good Calories, Bad Calories

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Should anyone take statin drugs? (Lipitor)

Recently I submitted to some blood tests because I wanted my A1C number. I did not know I was

going to get a cholesterol test as well, nor did I want one. But I got one anyway, and since the clinic office could not get ahold of me by phone, I got a letter, insisting that I become willing to take Lipitor. She even told me the dose and how many refills I would get.

I did not rush out to get my statin (Lipitor) prescription filled. I know my mother was prescribed a statin and very shortly after became diabetic--- which is a possible side effect of statins. Since I am already diabetic, I don't want any more high blood sugars!

What I did do was buy the book Cholesterol Clarity by Jimmy Moore and Dr. Eric Westman. I thought I already knew the case against statins, but this book really alarmed me. The evidence that artificially lowering your cholesterol numbers is a good thing is not really in existence--- though Big Pharma makes billions pretending that it does. 

The book contains interviews with a lot of doctors who don't follow the statin-cholesterol cult, and many say what they do in their practice. The few that said they'd ever use statins would only use it with male patients who wouldn't change their diets, or with male patients who already had a heart attack and wouldn't stop smoking.

I am a female patient who never smoked and who is willing to change my diet--- that's what this blog is all about. So I'm not in the category of exceptions! 

I learned a lot of awful side effects from statins--- to the point I talked to my mother about quitting hers. At her age (91) she does not need a drug to give her aches and pains, and memory loss! Most alarming in my own case is that it can make protein in the urine worse. Since that is one of my diabetes complications, it really alarms me that my doctor-substitute (physician's assistant) doesn't know that a statin might be really bad for my health!

Another alarming thing I've heard is that doctors and doctor-substitutes who know better may be obliged to prescribe statins anyway. It's now part of 'standard care' and failure to suggest it may get a physician in trouble. Since my own doctor-substitute works for a major medical clinic-chain, I'd imagine if she knew how bad statins are she would still have to prescribe them or risk losing her job.

I'd recommend reading Cholesterol Clarity before making the decision to take a statin drug. Really, I'd recommend a doctor who is up-to-date enough that he would not recommend statins, or even one who would prescribe a ketogenic diet instead! But still, don't make crooked Big Pharma companies richer and your own health poor by taking statins without even checking out the facts on these drugs.

Get Cholesterol Clarity!