I have been reporting on the many dangers associated with cholesterol-lowering statin drugs for some time.
Statins impair skeletal muscles, as well as critical muscle functions in the heart and blood vessels.
Furthermore, taking statins appears to lead to weight gain, which is a real risk factor for heart disease. Experts in the field now call it the statin “gluttony” effect. Not surprisingly, other research confirms the drugs also cause Type II diabetes.
And to make matters even worse, cholesterol-lowering statin drugs (along with many other common substances) are a major cause of mitochondrial damage. I will explain why this is so important in just a moment.
But first, let’s take a closer look at one of the most shocking discoveries made recently about statins.
Statins actually CAUSE heart disease
Yes, statin drugs do lower cholesterol. But lowering cholesterol to reduce heart disease risk is a flawed strategy. In fact, over the long-term, these toxic drugs don’t lower heart disease death rates in the population.
Plus, we now know big pharma manipulated clinical trial data to make the drugs appear safer and more effective than they really are. (And they didn’t appear so great as it was.)
In fact, in one recent study, researchers found statin drugs actually stimulate atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) and cause heart failure. This finding shows the drugs actually cause what they are supposed to prevent! The finding also stands in stark contrast to the current myth that cholesterol reduction with statins somehow decreases atherosclerosis and calcification.
Of course, doctors couldn’t just accept this finding. They wanted to know the drug’s “mechanism of action.” In other words, they want to know why the statin drugs caused atherosclerosis and heart failure.
Fortunately, this study did uncover the pharmacological mechanisms by which the drugs cause their toxic effects. In short, these drugs do function as “metabolic poisons” as I have long warned. And this new research demonstrated what a metabolic poison looks like, up close and personal, at the cellular and molecular levels.
Statins block essential vitamins and minerals
They found statins inhibit synthesis of vitamin K2, the key nutrient that protects arteries from calcification. And it could be worse than we even suspect, since science is just beginning to understand the importance of vitamin K, as I discussed last month.
They also found statins inhibit the biosynthesis of proteins that contain the essential mineral selenium. One of the selenium-containing proteins affected is glutathione peroxidase (GSH), which many experts consider the most important enzyme for keeping cell membranes healthy by preventing oxidation. In this regard, statins may lead directly to disease of the heart muscle itself (cardiomyopathy).
In China, I studied Ke-Shan Disease in areas where the soil is so poor, people are deficient in selenium. In Ke-Shan Disease, the heart muscle becomes abnormal, weak and dilated — leading to congestive heart failure. We see this same reaction in people on long-term statin therapy. And, unfortunately, it’s not enough to simply supplement with selenium. As long as you are still taking statins, they will continue to block selenium’s beneficial effects on the heart muscle.
The authors of the new study suggest pervasive statin use might make the epidemic of heart disease that plagues the modern world even worse. And I wholeheartedly agree.
Statins poison your cells’ energy factories
In another study, researchers point out statin drugs can cause pervasive damage to critical cellular mitochondria. You may have learned about mitochondria in your high school biology class. But few people truly understand their importance. Every cell in your body has mitochondria. They are your cells’ energy and hydration factories. They also help you maintain your muscles. Including the heart muscle.
But when something damages your mitochondria, it doesn’t just affect your heart. It actually speeds aging.
In fact, mitochondrial damage plays a role in a wide array of common diseases, including chronic fatigue, dementia, diabetes, liver disease, Parkinson’s, and heart disease.
And another way statins function as “metabolic poisons” is by impairing your body’s energy production. Statins deplete the body of CoQ10 and “heme A,” thereby impairing generation of ATP (the energy biochemical “battery” produced by your mitochondria).
Big pharma is well aware that statins deplete CoQ10. One manufacturer took out a patent on a statin-CoQ10 combo. But they never marketed the combo and refused to comment on why.
And in addition to statins, many other common substances also seem to disrupt mitochondrial function.
Beyond statins: Even more “everyday” items put your mitochondria in peril
At a recent medical conference, one researcher commented he found evidence that 72 different drugs cause mitochondrial damage. Including Lipitor, Zoloft, and analgesics (such as acetaminophen/Tylenol). But he can’t get these findings published in the medical literature. And no wonder — these same journals contain pages and pages of advertisements for Lipitor and Zoloft.
And it’s not just drugs.
Research shows injectable, toxic aluminum adjuvants disrupt mitochondria in brain cells. But big pharma has added this toxic metal to virtually every vaccine produced over the past 70 years.
Of course, they also added mercury — in the form of Thimerosal — to most vaccines for several generations. They only removed it from some (but not all) vaccines due to the concern about rapidly rising rates of autism spectrum disorder.
Mercury is the second-most toxic metal known to man after plutonium. And more than 100 peer-reviewed studies warn about mercury toxicity to the mitochondria of the brain as well to the muscle, nerve and other cells in the body.
In every medical study ever conducted on aluminum and mercury, researchers found these metals to be highly toxic. They also found that all-important “mechanisms of action” for how they cause the toxicity. Yet, magically, when placed in vaccines these heavy metals are somehow not supposed to be toxic anymore.
Unfortunately, mitochondrial damage is not limited to drugs and vaccines. Environmental chemicals, metals, and pesticides can also damage mitochondria.
The mitochondria have become “collateral damage” of modern food and medical technology. How ironic.
But here in the Daily Dispatch and in my monthly Insiders’ Cures newsletter, I will continue to tell you how to avoid the toxic drugs and vaccines you don’t need, as well as which natural approaches can replace them.
But in the meantime, if you or anyone you know is currently taking a statin drug — or has ever taken one — I encourage you to read my special report The Insider’s Guide for a Heart-Healthy and Statin-Free Life. It details the safe, drug-free ways to halt and reverse statin poisoning, while offering you a natural, easy-to-follow plan to address the true causes of heart disease.
Sources:
- “Thimerosal-Derived Ethylmercury Is a Mitochondrial Toxin in Human Astrocytes,” J Toxicol 2012: 373678
- “Medication-induced mitochondrial damage and disease,” Mol Nutr Food Res 2008 Jul; 52(7):780-8
- “Aluminum-induced defective mitochondrial metabolism perturbs cytoskeletal dynamics in human astrocytoma cells,” Journal of Neuroscience Research 2009; 87: 1474-1483