Twenty-five
percent of Americans over forty-five years old now use prescription
statin drugs (Lipitor, Crestor, Zocor, etc) to reduce their cholesterol.
Cholesterol is a natural fat that's essential for human life. It's
a building block for cell membranes and many essential hormones. Cholesterol
is manufactured in the liver and available in our diet. Typically,
if we eat more cholesterol, our liver produces less to maintain balance.
In the last several decades, cholesterol has been blamed for causing
heart attacks.
If
you believe their manufacturers' statments, side effects from statins
are rare. But a recent study published in the Annals of Internal
Medicine tells a different story. In the real world, 17 percent
of patients taking these pills reported side effects, including muscle
pain, nausea, liver problems and nervous system issues, including
peripheral neuropathy. The list and severity of acknowledged side
effects keeps growing. Increased risk of diabetes has just been added.
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