The unhealthy interest in cholesterol
According to the Dutch investigative program Radar, the pharmaceutical industry does not take our health very seriously. For a good insight, watch the broadcast of Radar Extra. Presenter Antoinette Hertsenberg delved into the world of cholesterol-lowering drugs for this two-part series. The evidence that statins reduce cardiovascular diseases is flimsy, the risks of cholesterol are overstated, and perhaps you will get much further with a healthy, perhaps adjusted lifestyle.
We are being manipulated on an assembly line, bombarded with huge marketing and advertising campaigns, and the illusion is created that we must comply with guidelines that were partly brought into existence by the industry itself, according to Radar. All to drive profits even higher and sell more pills. Meanwhile, more than two million Dutch people use statins, or another cholesterol-lowering drug.
Side Effects? That's What Run-in Periods Are For!
Hertsenberg speaks in the broadcast with both specialists and patients, each of whom have their experiences and questions about the current mechanism at work within the pharmaceutical industry, science, and healthcare. From an excerpt of a conversation with physician-epidemiologist Dick Bijl:
"People say they have side effects from statines, has enough research been done on that?" Dick Bijl: "In many of these studies, so-called 'run-in periods' are conducted. During these 'run-in periods', people receive a statin for a few weeks. If they then get many complaints, such as muscle complaints, they are not allowed to participate in the study.
So that is THE way to ensure that side effects are underreported in a study."
Hertsenberg: "So the people who get it in the first four weeks are precisely removed. And then with the other group that has no complaints, they go on to investigate the side effects. Why is that? That is completely illogical." Bijl: "Yes, much research in medicine is put together illogically like that. They come up with all kinds of tricks to present the drug as nicely as possible."
Hertsenberg: "But this is incredible, isn't it? Because you're removing the vulnerable group precisely. You don't count them." Dick Bijl: "Yes, what is happening here is completely ridiculous. In many of these studies, so-called run-in periods are conducted. During these run-in periods, people receive a statin for a few weeks, usually 4 weeks. If they then get many complaints, for example many muscle complaints, they are not allowed to participate in the study. That is THE way to ensure that side effects are simply underreported."
"They come up with all kinds of tricks to present the drug as nicely as possible."
Because no thorough – independent – research is done on the side effects of statins, it is unclear how many people actually have complaints.... And that is just the beginning. In the newest guideline for general practitioners, the target value for patients who already have a cardiovascular disease and are under 70 years old has been lowered to 1.8. According to General Practitioner Tamara de Weijer, this is very low. 'An LDL under 1.8, I actually rarely see, not in healthy people either," says De Weijer.
Perhaps the pharmaceutical industry would prefer that we are all vaccinated against that pernicious cholesterol. While in America, the cardiology professional organizations already distanced themselves from LDL cholesterol lowering in 2013.
What Then?
Never stop taking statins on your own. But with healthy food and a portion of daily exercise, you improve the condition of your vessels and reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Definitely stop smoking and learn to relax: nothing is better for your heart and vessels.
Finally: Sleep! Deep, long, and well...... And definitely don't forget to watch the second broadcast of May 20, 2019.
Watch the broadcast of May 13, 2019 (Dutch):