This post was inspired by a fascinating article I read this morning (many thanks to Libby for the link!) written by a vascular surgeon and published in The Telegraph just a few days ago: http://goo.gl/Es1XXS Please have a look…It’s a very good read.

Personal story: my Dad has always had high cholesterol and took statins for a while, many many many years ago, on the advice of his doctor. Dad’s follow-up blood test results did show a decrease in his “bad” (= LDL) cholesterol, but his “good” (HDL) cholesterol had decreased, too. This meant that his actual risk of developing heart disease went up, not down. And so, with his doctor’s approval, he stopped taking statins immediately. So far, so good…knock on wood!

I have inherited this familial high cholesterol loveliness, but I have never taken statins. And then, some time after I began taking curcumin (= more than eight years ago, yippeeee!), I noticed a decrease in my cholesterol AND an even more significant decrease in my triglycerides. My cholesterol is currently much lower than it was in the pre-curcumin period, and that, coupled with my decreased triglycerides, has taken my heart disease risk down to zilch, practically–one of the many beneficial side effects of curcumin. Incidentally, the same has happened to my Dad–once he began taking curcumin, his cholesterol went down. And it has stayed down.

So WHY aren’t doctors prescribing curcumin instead of statins, which come with a host of side effects (increased risk of developing diabetes, among other, er, pleasant things)…side effects that curcumin definitely doesn’t have, by the way…

Well, I think we can all figure out the answer to that question…! (See also the Telegraph article for more on this.)

And now, under new guidelines, it looks as though a lot more people in the U.S.A. will be “eligible” to take these drugs (I’m sure big pharma is celebrating big time!). Unbelievable. See: http://goo.gl/q7N7Xg

No, of course I’m not saying that nobody at all should be on statins. Perhaps they do help some folks (= the big pharma CEO bank accounts, in particular! 😉 ). I’m just saying that I personally would never ever take them. And I’m very glad my Dad isn’t taking them anymore (and my sister, too, btw).

The Telegraph article gives us a lot of food for thought–the surgeon’s dietary changes (sugar), the fact that statins decrease CRP (= C-reactive protein), which is also a marker for myeloma…but then, curcumin decreases CRP, too…and, again, without all the potentially very nasty side effects…

And here is more food for thought: “In my view, high total blood cholesterol or high LDL levels no more cause heart attacks than paramedics cause car crashes, even though they are present at the scene. Just lowering cholesterol with drugs without sorting out the dietary and lifestyle factors that actually cause heart disease is nonsensical.” Interesting, huh?

The article also discusses the results of a Norwegian cholesterol study that followed 52,000 men and women with no pre-existing heart disease, for a period of ten years: “The results for women were crystal clear. The lower a woman’s total cholesterol, the greater her risk of dying, either of heart disease or anything else, including cancer. This reflects findings in previous studies.” Wow.

Okay, that definitely did it for me. I’m keeping my still high-ish but not-as-high-as-before cholesterol!