Dr. B, Do I really need to be on statins?

September 14, 2021

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Written by Arash Bereliani, M.D, M.S., F.A.C.C

Dr. B, Do I really need to be on statins?

September 14, 2021

·

Written by Arash Bereliani, M.D, M.S., F.A.C.C

At the present moment, a war is raging between the conventional medical community and the naturopathic/holistic community in regards to the use of statins. The naturopathic community views stains as priests view evil and hold a cross to ward off the evil. The word statin is prohibited in many “alternative and holistic” clinics and all the world problems and disasters are attributed to these medications, whereas in conventional medical and cardiology clinics, statins are the holy grail for prevention and treatment of most heart diseases (coronary heart disease). The solution here again lies in the adoption of an integrative approach, what we call the B100 method. Let me explain.

In understanding the solution, first you have to understand that the practice of Medicine involves balancing the risks vs. the benefits. I have to balance the risk vs. the benefit of each and every treatment for every single patient of mine on a daily basis, and make sure that:

this is the best treatment possible
that the benefit outweighs the risk and
that the risk is not substantial

So when it comes to deciding if a patient really needs to be on a statin, the same decision-making algorithm applies: Statins have only shown to provide benefit in the following group of patients:

Patients with a prior history of a heart attack, or a history of coronary angioplasty/stent or a history of CABG surgery.
A very strong family (first-degree family) history of premature coronary artery disease (younger than 55 in men and 65 in women).
History of stroke.
A history of long-established diabetes.
Very high levels of bad cholesterol (LDL > 190) which is deemed to be familial (Familial hypercholesterolemia).
Elevated calcium score on CT coronary calcium scan.

Therefore, if you don’t fit into any of the above categories, you do not need and should not be on statins. So then, does it mean if you don’t have any of the above conditions you don’t have to worry about your cholesterol levels? Well, you still do. The problem is that most practitioners are not educated or knowledgable on how to reduce cholesterol levels naturally. Medical schools don’t teach you natural remedies and don’t talk much about supplements. I remember in my entire medical school training, only one very small chapter (a few pages) was dedicated to natural supplements or vitamins! So faced with the challenge of lowering their patient’s cholesterol levels (after the patient fails diet and exercise and weight loss, these doctors either prescribe the only thing they know, or just choose to ignore the high cholesterol levels. There are, however, many natural and effective remedies to lower the cholesterol, such as:

Bergamot: Recent human studies 1,000 mg of bergamot extract daily for one month, enabling them to cut their statin dose in half. Bergamot also has been shown to raise HDL (“good”) cholesterol. Click here to purchase.
Niacin: The most studied and documented nutrients for support of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels. Click here to purchase.
Red Yeast Rice - The Natural Statin! Click here to purchase.