Cholesterol (hypercholesterolemia)
Does Red Yeast Rice for Lowering Cholesterol Hav…
Has your doctor told you that your blood pressure is rising or your cholesterol is too high? Many people prefer to treat such conditions naturally if possible. But just because a treatment is natural …
Psyllium Fiber Is Versatile Remedy
Psyllium fiber has become a household name, especially in the brand name formulations where it is found: Konsyl, Metamucil, Nature's Way Psyllium, and dozens more. From the 1930s to the 1960s a produc…
Repatha to Lower LDL Cholesterol: Uses, Abuses, …
There are powerful cholesterol-lowering medicines making waves. Many health professionals are convinced that there is no such thing as too low a golf score or a cholesterol level. They are right about…
How Safe and Effective Are Your Medicines? You M…
When your doctor writes you a new prescription, you assume that she is knowledgeable about its benefits and risk. In theory, physicians should know exactly how safe and effective the drugs they prescr…
Can You Control Cholesterol Naturally?
Let's not arm wrestle about the cholesterol theory of heart disease. Most cardiologists believe LDL cholesterol is the culprit behind clogged coronary arteries. That's why they are very quick to presc…
Why Didn’t Statins Protect Dad from Clogge…
Most cardiologists take it as absolute fact that cholesterol is a bad actor in the heart disease saga. They believe that LDL cholesterol in particular is responsible for causing clogged coronary arter…
Should Pharmacists Be Able to Prescribe Behind t…
Many countries give pharmacists the authority to prescribe a substantial number of medications. The pharmaceuticals they can offer patients are labeled BTC for “behind the counter” drugs. They inc…
Natural Ways to Get Your Cholesterol Down
Cholesterol is only one of numerous risk factors for heart disease. However, physicians can't do much about some of your other risk factors, such as your family history. They can prescribe medications…
Dairy Fat and Olive Oil Are Friends, Not Foes
Do you remember your high school biology class? You learned that there are three building blocks of nutrition: proteins, carbohydrates and fats. For decades you have been told that fat is the enemy. I…
Is a Loved One Taking Too Many Medicines?
Do you know someone who swallows a handful of pills with breakfast? A parent perhaps, or a good friend? Maybe you worry that you are taking too many medicines. Have you ever bothered to actually count…
Getting Cholesterol Too Low May Put Older Woman …
Q. Dear Joe & Terry Graedon, Thank you for all the information you make available to the public about alternatives to many pharmaceuticals. You are providing a needed service to the public. I look…
Are You An Activated Patient? Engage Now!
For far too long the health care system has been out of balance. Physicians have been at the top of the pyramid. Patients were relegated to the bottom. It is time we changed the paradigm! Engaged and …
New Analysis Disputes Dogma that All Seniors Nee…
The American Heart Association (AHA) and the American College of Cardiology (ACC) created a risk calculator that tells physicians and patients when someone should take a statin-type cholesterol-loweri…
Have You Lost Confidence in the FDA?
We used to tremendous confidence in the FDA. When we started writing about pharmaceuticals nearly 50 years ago, the agency was highly respected. It had mostly protected American children from the thal…
Zetia May Cause Muscle Problems
With so many drugs available to lower cholesterol, people naturally would like to know about the benefits and risks of each. We have written quite a bit about the side effects of statins such as atorv…
Do Statins Affect Memory or Scramble Your Brain?
The top four statin-type cholesterol-lowering medications are atorvastatin, simvastatin, pravastatin and rosuvastatin. Our back of the envelope calculations suggest that over 210 million prescriptions…
Why Do Statins Remain Controversial?
When the first statin drug was approved, we were cautiously optimistic. Lovastatin (Mevacor) was introduced in 1987. Four years later, we published a book titled Graedons’ Best Medicine (Bantam © 1…
People with Cardiovascular Disease Do Better Eat…
Cardiovascular disease remains the number one killer throughout the world. People at high risk are often prescribed a number of medications to control cholesterol, lower blood pressure and prevent blo…
Can Good HDL Cholesterol Go Too High?
We have been told for decades that if we want to avoid clogged coronary arteries and a heart attack we must keep "bad" LDL cholesterol down and increase "good" HDL cholesterol. If we do those two thin…
Are Statin Side Effects Fake Medical News?
Doctors dislike drug side effects. After all, physicians prescribe medications to help people, not to hurt them. And yet every medicine has the potential to cause adverse reactions. This leaves physic…
Why Would Anyone Want to Raise Cholesterol Level…
Can your cholesterol go too low? That is a question that we have been asked on many occasions. It seems ludicrous. It's a bit like asking if you could be too rich or too thin? The truth is that you co…
Statins for Older People | A New Study is Wildly…
The headlines this week have been emphatic: “Study: Proof Statins Help Older People.” Then there was this one: “Cholesterol Lowering Drugs Giving Older Adults Better Heart Health.” We were int…
Is It Risky to Have Low Cholesterol Naturally?
You’ve probably heard the expression that “you can’t be too rich or too thin.” We would disagree with the idea that you can’t be too thin. Just ask health professionals who treat people with…
Helping Your Heart Means Boosting Your Brain
We have long suspected that taking care of your heart health with exercise, a diet rich in vegetables, fruits and whole grains, stress management and social interaction could also benefit your brain. …
When Is High LDL Cholesterol a Problem?
You have probably heard that high LDL cholesterol is a risk factor for heart disease. That is the reason doctors prescribe medication to lower cholesterol. Most people imagine this is most important f…
Can Statins Cause Myositis? | Irreversible Muscl…
The FDA has listed myositis as a potential side effect of some statins. We suspect that if you asked many physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and pharmacists what myositis is, they w…
Do Statins Cause Myositis? A Devastating Muscle …
For years we have been receiving tragic stories from readers of our syndicated newspaper column and visitors to our website. They reported a debilitating myositis muscle condition after taking statins…
Old Data Behind Statin Guidelines Led to Serious…
In 2013 the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the American Heart Association (AHA) issued new statin guidelines for physicians. The recommendations were based on the Heart Risk Calculator. Doct…
No Study Support for Fish Oil Soothing Dry Eyes
Fish oil is one of the best sources of omega-3 fatty acids. These compounds have anti-inflammatory activity, and doctors have hoped that fish oil supplements would prove useful against a wide range of…
Can Atorvastatin Cause Erectile Dysfunction?
Tens of millions of American men take a statin every day: atorvastatin, lovastatin, pravastatin, simvastatin and rosuvastatin, to name just a few. Do drugs like atorvastatin cause erectile dysfunction…
Atorvastatin Side Effects — Is Psoriasis O…
Atorvastatin (Lipitor) is one of the most prescribed drugs in the world. At last count, over 100 million prescriptions were dispensed annually in the U.S. (Quintiles IMS, May, 2017, now IQVIA Instit…
Blackseed Oil Saved Knee and Lowered Cholesterol…
Have you ever heard of blackseed oil? We didn't think so. It has not gotten the attention that turmeric has. The first we became aware of this dietary supplement was from an integrative oncologist, Dr…
Can You Combine Red Yeast Rice with Atorvastat…
Some people believe in what we call the "lottle" principal. If a little is good then a "lottle" must be better. This is especially true when it comes to "natural" remedies. Red yeast rice (RYR) has be…
Can Crestor AKA Rosuvastatin Cause Cataracts?
Statins like atorvastatin, rosuvastatin and simvastatin are prescribed in huge quantities. We estimate that over 34 million Americans are taking such cholesterol-lowering drugs every day. Many health …
What Should Patients Do When Doctors Fight?
When doctors disagree in public, it drive patients crazy. Most people assume that their health professionals know what the best treatment is for any given ailment. But on some matters there is surpris…
Will Stopping Statins Kill People?
Statin-type cholesterol-lowering drugs have been controversial for decades. Atorvastatin (Lipitor), lovastatin (Mevacor), rosuvastatin (Crestor), simvastatin (Zocor) and similar meds have made tens of…
Should a Flip Flop on Saturated Fat Freak You Ou…
We've been told for decades that saturated fat clogs coronary arteries. Butter, cheese and ice cream are supposed to be the enemies of a heart-healthy diet. But three cardiologists challenge the conve…
Can You Afford Repatha to Crush Your Cholesterol…
Two years ago, the FDA approved a new type of cholesterol-lowering medicine. It sends "bad" LDL cholesterol into the basement, lowering it even more than potent statin drugs. But at the time, the FDA …
How to Use Cinnamon to Lower Your Cholesterol
Most people who don't have diabetes don't worry about keeping their blood sugar under control, at least not until the doctor points out that it's been creeping up into the range of pre-diabetes. Chole…
Does the New Cholesterol Drug Repatha Save Lives…
The results are finally in on an eagerly anticipated trial of a new cholesterol-lowering medicine. Many cardiologists are happy with the results, calling the drug a breakthrough. But others are disapp…