ExRx.net

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lance ... 5/abstract

Teaser: "Reduction of LDL cholesterol with a statin reduced the risk of major vascular events ... largely irrespective of age, sex, baseline LDL cholesterol or previous vascular disease, and of vascular and all-cause mortality."

The research was not funded by drug companies.

You don't think there is connection between these organizations and drug companies?

Also, this study doesn't tell you why the statins appear to be protective, or whether other, non-drug interventions might work better. For example, statins reduce inflamation. So does fish oil. Inflamation has a proven connection to cardiac events. Just saying.

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Let thy food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be thy food.~Hippocrates
Strength is the adaptation that leads to all other adaptations that you really care about - Charles Staley
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Thanks TimD

I'm sure everything is connected to everything else, as Dirk Gently taught me so many years ago. If we go by "connection" we can eliminate every research ever done. However, the research was not funded by said companies so we do not face a clear and direct case of (conflict of) interests .
There is always the possibility of some unknown hidden variable, but in order for your alternative explanation to hold, you have to assume statins takers are also high on Omegs-3, which is not a given. But I don't want to sound like statins salesperson, so everyone is welcome to draw their own conclusions. Me - I keep on taking mine (and Aspirin too).

I'm just saying, keep an open mind. Research groups have an agenda.

Omega 3 reduces inflamation, statins reduce inflamation through a different mechanism. No assumption is required.

Here are some other views on statins:

http://www.reddit.com/r/Health/search?q ... rict_sr=on

(Reddit is an interesting site since readers vote up and down posts they think are relevant. This tends to concentrate the most important posts at the top. )

_________________
Let thy food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be thy food.~Hippocrates
Strength is the adaptation that leads to all other adaptations that you really care about - Charles Staley
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Thanks TimD

SCIAM take on the issue: http://www.scientificamerican.com/artic ... -take-them seems to me to be a good summary of the controversy.

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Thanks TimD.

Good summary Kenny. I'd like to add that low HDL can be corrected by exercise and eating more eggs. High triglycerides can be corrected by cutting carbs and eating more eggs.

There is no such thing as a Statin deficiency.

_________________
Let thy food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be thy food.~Hippocrates
Strength is the adaptation that leads to all other adaptations that you really care about - Charles Staley
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Thanks TimD

Can I just say about statins. the JUPITER study which is the golden light for statin overprescription is inherently biased. If you actualy look at the study the lead researcher actually references alot of his OWN work. Whether it was or not funded by drug companies, it was always going to come to 1 result which was suited to the lead researcher.
Personally I believe like many drugs, they are just masking an underlying problem and not forcing the patient to reassess their habits and lifestyle. The evidence about reduced mortality is also not as strong as we are lead to believe due to the researchers not accounting for all variables. Particularly longitudinally.
Rant over