The Dangers of Statins, By Mrs Abigail Knight (Florida)

No medical/health advice is offered here. That disclaimer out of the way, why are statins considered dangerous by some doctors? Let us review the article from The Midwestern Doctor, titled "Why Are Statins So Dangerous?" which challenges the prevailing narrative around statins and high cholesterol.

https://www.midwesterndoctor.com/p/why-are-statins-so-dangerous

Authored by a pseudonymous physician, it argues that statins—drugs prescribed to lower cholesterol and prevent heart disease—are not only overhyped in their benefits but also pose significant risks that are downplayed by the medical establishment. The piece is part of a broader series questioning cholesterol's role in heart disease and the pharmaceutical industry's influence.

The article claims statins cause widespread harm, citing muscle damage (myopathy), cognitive decline, diabetes, and mitochondrial dysfunction as common side effects. It suggests these risks stem from statins inhibiting the mevalonate pathway, which not only reduces cholesterol but also disrupts production of vital compounds like CoQ10, essential for cellular energy. It asserts that high cholesterol isn't the primary driver of heart disease, pointing to historical data and studies showing many heart attack victims have normal or low cholesterol. It frames cholesterol as a repair molecule, not a villain, and argues the focus on LDL (low-density lipoprotein) is a red herring.

The piece accuses Big Pharma of pushing statins—used by over 45 million Americans—through skewed research and marketing, despite weak evidence of life extension in primary prevention (those without prior heart disease). It highlights Japan's stricter safety stance as a contrast. The author urges scepticism toward the cholesterol-heart disease link and advocates for addressing root causes like inflammation or diet over relying on statins.

The idea that statins are a miracle cure and high cholesterol is a death sentence is starting to look like a house of cards—and it's about time we knocked it down. The Midwestern Doctor piece isn't just a rant; it's a spotlight on a shaky narrative we've been fed for decades. Here's the case that statins and the high cholesterol obsession are myths overdue for debunking:

Statins are pitched as heart saviours—lower your LDL, live longer. But dig into the reality, and the shine fades fast. These drugs don't just trim cholesterol; they kneecap the mevalonate pathway, a biochemical highway that churns out CoQ10—your cells' power fuel. Strip that away, and you're asking for trouble: muscle pain that turns people into couch potatoes, brain fog that mimics dementia, even a diabetes bump that's hard to ignore. Studies like Golomb's 2012 work on statin side effects show up to 20 percent of users report muscle issues, and a 2011 meta-analysis in JAMA tied statins to a 9 percent higher diabetes risk. For every life they might save, how many are they quietly wrecking?

And the benefits? Overblown. For folks with no heart disease history—primary prevention—the numbers are laughable. The 2013 Cochrane review found statins cut all-cause mortality by just 0.4 percent over five years. That's a rounding error, not a lifeline. Meanwhile, Japan, where regulators pulled certain vaccines over far less, treats statins with kid gloves only for the sickest patients—why aren't we asking why? The Midwestern Doctor nails it: this isn't about health; it's about a $20 billion industry keeping the gravy train rolling.

Now, cholesterol itself—why are we so scared of it? The story goes that high LDL clogs arteries, but the plot's thin. Look at the Framingham Study, the granddaddy of heart research: after age 50, higher cholesterol often meant longer life, not shorter. Heart attack victims? Half have "normal" cholesterol—under 200 mg/dL—per a 2009 UCLA review of 136,000 cases. If LDL's the killer, why's it missing from so many crime scenes?

Cholesterol's not a poison; it's a fixer. Your body makes 80 percent of it—liver humming away—because it's glue for cell walls, a hormone precursor, a brain nutrient. The Midwestern Doctor argues it patches artery damage from inflammation or sugar spikes, not the other way around. Blaming it for heart disease is like blaming bandages for a stab wound. Studies like Ravnskov's 2016 book The Cholesterol Myths show societies with higher cholesterol—like the French or Swiss—often dodge heart disease bullets. So why the witch hunt?

The real heart killers? Inflammation, oxidative stress, junk diets—stuff statins don't touch. Look at C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of inflammation: it predicts heart attacks better than LDL ever could, per a 2004 New England Journal of Medicine study. Yet we're obsessed with a number—LDL—that's more correlation than causation, propped up by drug ads and cherry-picked trials. The Midwestern Doctor calls out the 1980s cholesterol scare as a Pharma coup—Ancel Keys' shaky diet-heart hypothesis got us here, and statins sealed the deal.

Against this, the establishment digs in: the American Heart Association swears by statins, citing trials like JUPITER showing a 44 percent drop in cardiac events. But those trials? Often funded by the same companies selling the pills—Pfizer, Merck—and they skew toward sicker patients, not the average Joe popping Lipitor "just in case." For primary prevention, the benefit's razor-thin, and the risks—like those Japanese kids dying post-vaccine—remind us: no drug's a free lunch.

This isn't just academic. We're medicating millions—45 million in the U.S. alone—on a myth that high cholesterol's a ticking bomb and statins are the defuser. The Midwestern Doctor isn't wrong to ask: who's this helping? Not the guy with aching legs or the grandma forgetting names—side effects brushed off as "rare" when they're not. Not the healthy folks swallowing pills for a disease they don't have. Maybe it's time to ditch the cholesterol bogeyman and the statin crutch, look at what's really breaking our hearts, and stop treating a symptom like the sin. The myth's cracking—how long till it collapses?