Just Ask Terry

Terry is happy to provide his opinion on diet and nutrition, supplements and lifestyle choices. This information is for educational purposes only. It is not meant to replace the advice of your physician and is not to be considered medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Should you have any concerns please contact your physician directly.

Q. Terry, “I just read an article that makes me believe that the drug companies want everyone on statin drugs to reduce heart disease. Do you believe this is a good preventative measure?” Dan K., New York City, NY A. Dear Dan, “Are you kidding me? This is one of the biggest scams in medical science. Statin drugs cause all kinds of troubling side effects, including vague aches and pains, neuropathy, neuritis, and loss of memory which are then being treated by a physician using other drugs. I really feel sad for America. This is the most over-medicated country in the world. No other country consumes the quantity of drugs that we do here in the U.S. We represent 5% of the world’s population but consume 50% of the world’s production of drugs. The drug companies have led us to believe that every disorder should be treated with a drug. Ethical scientists have stated that 80% of our diseases are caused by a nutritional deficiency, environment, or lifestyle choice. Do you realize how deficient we are in vitamins and minerals due to the refining and processing of foods, replacing of nutritional foods with junk food, and fast food from thousands of fast food restaurants? Our diet today does not even resemble the diet of our great grandparents or grandparents. And if you want to talk about heart health and prevention using statin drugs to lower cholesterol, you might want to note that more than HALF of all heart attack victims have normal cholesterol. So what does this say about relying on cholesterol lowering to prevent heart attacks? The quality of studies that have supported the use of statin drugs are deplorable, and if similar studies would be used to support natural supplements, the medical giants would find them unacceptable. There is a lot more to heart health than abnormally lowering cholesterol. Cholesterol is important, and your body needs this vital substance or else it wouldn’t make it. A big problem in heart health is abnormally low HDL (“good”) cholesterol. People should focus on increasing this heart-protective cholesterol. The best way to balance cholesterol without causing side effects would be to use niacin (vitamin B3), which has just been shown to be as effective as the prescription drug Zetia. Niacin will cause flushing of the skin but no other serious side effects. You can also use a non-flushing form of niacin which is called inositol hexaniacinate. Niacin is one of the few substances that can increase your HDL cholesterol, which is much more protective than abnormally lowering the LDL. Another natural plant that has been significantly studied for balancing total cholesterol, including LDL, while raising the HDL, and lowering triglycerides more significantly than statin drugs, is Indian gooseberry. This is the third most used plant medicine in India. In Ayurvedic medicine, it is called “Amla.” These two natural medicines are extraordinarily good for protecting your heart.”