Statins do lower cholesterol. But their high price and serious side effects make them a poor choice over natural alternatives that you should know about. There is a measure that you don't hear about in the news but is known in medical circles as NNT which stands for Number Needed to Treat.
It refers to the number of patients that would need to be treated in order to prevent one bad result. Any NNT over 50 is considered to be "worse than a lottery ticket". The H-pylori virus, the main cause of stomach upset has an NNT of 1.1.1. In other words 10 out of 11 people who take it get free from the virus.
Not so with statin drugs. Most of them have NNTs between 250, 500 or higher. Lipidor, for example, has an NNT of 100 which simply means that 100 people have to be treated in order to prevent one from suffering a heart attack. The other 99 receive no benefit! Cholesterol alone is simply not as important as C-Reactive protein and your homocysteine levels which are better markers for predicting future heart attacks. But if you are fixated on lowering your cholesterol at any cost and do it safely and inexpensively you should try the following natural, more safer methods: --Fish Oil and Flax seed: Fish oil and flaxseed are rich is omega-3 oils and improve blood flow and prevents blood clotting.
Consuming less than one ounce of fish daily has been shown to reduce glucose intolerance. Fish oil helps to normalize heart rhythm and reduce the risk of sudden cardiac arrest. You should take 2 to 8 grams of fish oil daily.
--Folic Acid: Combined with B-6 and B-12 it will help lower homocysteine levels and clean out artery plaque. Homocysteine can damage artery walls as has been shown in tests on baboons. It's this damage that allows cholesterol to stick to the artery walls. 800 to 1200 mcg is the recommended daily dose.
--Magnesium: It relaxes artery walls making them more flexible so blood flow is greatly improved. It helps lower blood pressure. Most magnesium comes from seeds, nuts, legumes, tofu and green leafy vegetables.
Magnesium is severely lacking in our diets. Take between 300 to 600 mg. --Vitamin C and E both work to prevent free radical damage that contributes to cardiovascular disease.
Vitamin C helps in maintaining the elasticity and function of the blood vessels and helps maintain proper blood pressure control. Vitamin E prevents free radical damage from LDL (bad) cholesterol and the damage to vascular linings. 1000 to 5000mg of vitamin C and 400 to 800 IU of vitamin E are the recommended doses. --CoQ10: If you are taking a statin, supplementing with CoQ10 is a must.
Statins rob your heart of this important enzyme and can lead to a heart attack. It helps to increase the efficiency of the heart muscle. It is a powerful antioxidant and has the ability to trigger beta-cell function in the pancreas that helps to produce more insulin leading to better sugar control in diabetics. Take between 100 to 400 mg daily.
--Niacin: It's a B-3 vitamin that helps reduce fats in the blood and has been shown to reduce cholesterol levels by 18%, triglycerides by 26% and increase the good HDL cholesterol by 30% when 1800 to 3000mg is used daily. Statins are generally worthless. The above natural alternatives are far better at controlling cholesterol without the serious side effects that statins present.
Antioxidants are lacking in most everyone's diet. They can help fight free radical damage and keep us youthful. This formula can help slow down the aging process: http://click-here-4.info/?i=145763
