Why statins will destroy your brain
You may know that cholesterol is needed for your body to produce vitamin D,
steroid and sex-hormone production, and for healthy cell membranes. You also may
know that statins can lower your cholesterol so far that your body can't make
these vital nutrients. But did you know that statins will also impair your
cognitive function as you age?
It's true! Your liver isn't the only organ in your body that produces
cholesterol. Your brain makes it as well. Cholesterol makes up a large portion
of the membranes in your neurons. Since neurons are mostly membranes, a lack of
cholesterol might impair their function. I predicted years ago that research
would eventually connect low cholesterol to poor memory and overall brain
function. And now we have the proof.
Researchers recently performed a study on 1,181 subjects over the age of 64.
They found that low levels of cholesterol significantly lower general cognitive
abilities. They also found that low cholesterol reduces your brain's processing
speed. The authors agreed that lower total cholesterol is a strong marker for
predicting lower cognitive function in those over 64.
This should be on the front page of every newspaper in the country. But with
Pharma owning the health news that spoon-feeds most Americans, it's buried. But
Second Opinion readers know better. You won't let them bamboozle
you into dropping your total cholesterol below 170 with drugs.
In fact, unless you have a hereditary disorder of really high cholesterol (over
270), I would be wary about any statin use altogether. The doctors want to cut
off the enzyme in your liver that makes cholesterol. With the same enzyme making
essential cholesterol in your brain, you might trade "doctor happy" ultra-low
cholesterol for a "personally sad" case of cognitive decline.
I've shown you many ways to safely lower your cholesterol without any commercial
statin. You can read these on my website. In the next health alert, I'm going to
show you another safe way to lower your cholesterol that most doctors never
consider.
Yours for better health and medical freedom,
Robert Jay Rowen, MD
Neurobiology of Aging, 2007 Sept 19