I’ll get right to the point.  I recently spoke to someone who told me about a visit they had with their cardiologist.  The recommendation was made to start on Lipitor, one of several statin drugs being prescribed for high cholesterol.  The patient questioned the doctor as they were surprised that their cholesterol was too high.  It wasn’t.  Cholesterol drugs are now being prescribed as a preventative! 

Millions of people take statin drugs like Lipitor and Crestor every day.  They are #1 sellers here in Canada.  The reason they are #1 on the list of prescribed drugs is because we are too lazy to take responsibility for our own health, change our diets or add a fibre supplement!  That’s it.  It is that simple to lower our cholesterol.  Now that I know that doctors are prescribing these drugs “just in case”, I am wondering how many people out there actually do need them.

Somebody is making an awful lot of money off of our stupidity and laziness.

You’ve seen all the commercials on TV for these drugs.  A well-trained actor is extolling the virtues of such a wonderful drug and how it has changed his life.  Towards the end of the 30-second slot, he begins to give you the long list of side effects that you may experience.  Listen carefully as he either goes really fast so that you don’t catch them or very slowly so that you can be lulled into thinking that these side effects are no big deal.

“Contact your doctor if you experience any liver problems, muscle pain, nausea, diarrhea, abdominal pain, skin rash or headaches.”

Those are the ones that they tell you about.  There is no mention of the ones that they don’t want you to know about – memory problems, kidney damage, permanent damage to the liver, muscles and nervous system.

Here are the rest:  irritability and short tempers, hostility, homicidal impulses, rapid loss of mental clarity, amnesia, kidney failure, muscle aches or weakness, tingling or cramping in the legs, inability to walk, problems sleeping, constipation, impaired muscle formation, erectile dysfunction (are you listening guys??), temperature regulation problems, nerve damage, mental confusion, neuropathy (eyes) and destruction of CoQ10 (required for good heart functioning).

For those of you not looking for the easy way out, here are the alternatives.  It is what I do and also recommend.  Get enough fibre in your diet.  This includes fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans and legumes that are beneficial for your blood type.  You can also take 1 tablespoon of a good quality psyllium or flax fibre product every morning and this will keep you very regular plus it will sweep the cholesterol crystals out. 

I have first-hand experience with this so I know that it works.  Years ago, when I was just getting interested in natural health, I too had a cholesterol problem.  Those were my party days when I ate and drank whatever I wanted.  When I went for my yearly physical, I had just come off a cruise to the Bahamas.  Of course my cholesterol would be high.  That is not exactly true but I just never knew that I had a system that creates more cholesterol on its own and doesn’t need any help from food or alcohol.

When my blood work came back showing my cholesterol to be too high, I decided to try something that I had heard about.  There was no Lipitor or Crestor back in the 90′s but I never liked drugs anyway.

Every morning, I would put a tablespoon of fibre into my juice and drink that.  It wasn’t my favourite activity but I immediately realized the benefits to my digestive system and I had challenges in that area.  I continued on this path until the next time that I had more bloodwork done.  When the results came back this time, my doctor had written across the page “Keep up the good work!”  She had no idea what I had done to lower my cholesterol but it was that simple.

You too can make your doctor happy but do it the natural way and don’t accept a prescription when you don’t need it!  You’ll be sorry.

Janet Woods is a Doctor of Natural Medicine practising in Peterborough and the Kawarthas.