High Cholesterol
Do Statins Lower CoQ10 Levels? Can Supplements C…
Doctors prescribe the cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins as an essential step in treating heart disease. Many physicians also prescribe them for prevention. While many people take these medicin…
How Does Red Yeast Rice Compare to Statins?
Tens of millions of people take statin-type cholesterol-lowering drugs. Many physicians believe such drugs are dramatically effective against heart disease. We will not deal with that controversial to…
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 …
What Is the Risk of Red Yeast Rice?
One of the pillars of heart disease prevention is keeping blood fats, especially cholesterol, under control. But doctors don't always agree on the best way to achieve this goal. Most recommend a healt…
Are Some People More Aggressive on Statins?
Most people are aware that statin-type cholesterol-lowering drugs can cause muscle pain and weakness. Similar statin side effects include muscle cramping and soreness. In the worst case scenario, some…
Is It Safe to Take Red Yeast Rice for High Chole…
Statisticians have shown that people with elevated levels of LDL cholesterol are more likely to develop clogged arteries and coronary artery disease (Heart, Lung & Circulation, March 2018). If sen…
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…
Will You Lower Your Cholesterol With Milk Thistl…
Is your cholesterol high? If you have a family history of high cholesterol, particularly if you had parents or siblings who died of heart disease, your doctor will do as much as possible to help you c…
Should Everyone Over 65 Take a Statin to Prevent…
Do statins help older people live longer? That is a question that has been controversial for decades. Tens of millions of people are currently taking a statin-type cholesterol-lowering drug every day.…
The Statin Bandwagon Rolls On!
Last year, the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) published its latest statin guidelines in JAMA (Aug. 23/30, 2022). The statin bandwagon has gathered speed, but the data leave a lo…
Does It Make Sense to Order Your Own Laboratory …
At one time, only physicians could order laboratory tests such as thyroid-stimulating hormone or cholesterol. Now, however, many companies offer lab tests direct to consumers using the internet. Does …
Shocking Conflicts of Interest in Nonprofit Pati…
Americans are big boosters of patient advocacy organizations (PAOs). They contribute hundreds of millions of dollars to nonprofits like the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society and …
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…
Does CRP Inflammation Trump LDL-C for Heart Dise…
Ask most physicians to name the most important risk factor for heart disease, and the chances are good they will name LDL cholesterol as the baddest of bad actors. Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol …
How to Improve Cholesterol and Triglycerides wit…
After several decades of striving to avoid fat in general, Americans have finally gotten the memo: some fat is good for us! Scientists have been studying omega-3 fatty acids for decades. Now many folk…
Statins and Muscle Pain: What Else Can He Do To …
One cornerstone of preventive cardiology is controlling LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol levels. Doctors use statin drugs as their primary tools in this effort. Many people respond well to th…
How Well Do CAC Scores Predict Heart Attack Risk…
Do you have plaque in your coronary arteries? Unless you have had symptoms that sent you to a coronary cath lab, you might not know. Over the last decade or two, though, doctors have used CT scans to …
What Do You Know About the New Cholesterol Drug …
Some people with high cholesterol need to lower it with medications. By far the most common drugs doctors prescribe for this purpose are statins such as atorvastatin, rosuvastatin or lovastatin. Howev…
Is It Unhealthy to Drink Unfiltered Coffee?
The health consequences of drinking coffee have stirred quite a bit of controversy over the years. According to legend, a goatherd noticed that his goats were extra frisky after eating coffee berries,…
Is It Safe to Take Alli for a Long Time?
We love the idea of losing weight with less effort. Perhaps that is why people seem to embrace new diet drugs when they become trendy. Although all the attention these last several months has been on …
Will Nexletol (Bempedoic Acid) Replace Statins?
There’s a new drug in the cholesterol-control sandbox. It’s called Nexletol. The generic name for this medication is bempedoic acid. In truth, the drug is not new. The FDA approved Nexletol in Feb…
Is it Risky to Take Atorvastatin with Grapefruit…
Physicians and pharmacists are super busy these days. Some pharmacists have confided to us that they feel like they are in an I love Lucy skit like this one where Lucy and Ethel wrap chocolates. Patie…
Is Coffee Really Bad for You?
Health professionals just can’t seem to make up their minds about coffee. Is it good or really bad for you? They have been arguing about the pros and cons of coffee drinking for at least half a cent…
Can You Lower Your Cholesterol with Bergamot?
How do you control your cholesterol? Many people take a statin medication such as atorvastatin or simvastatin to keep their blood fats within normal range. On the other hand, you might prefer a more…
Are You Wasting Money On Supplements Against Hea…
Doctors appear to hate dietary supplements. That is the conclusion I draw from their reaction to a new study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (Nov. 6, 2022). We have he…
Why Do Doctors Hate Stories of Statin Side Effec…
We understand why some doctors dislike hearing complaints from patients about drug side effects. After all, they have promised to “first, do no harm.” That was purportedly the message from the anc…
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…
Show 1301: What Are Forever Chemicals Doing in F…
In our nationally syndicated radio show this week, our guests discuss “forever chemicals” (PFAS) used in a wide range of products. How do they affect our health? What Are PFAS, or Forever Chemical…
What Is the Best Diet to Lower Cholesterol?
Have you ever wondered what you should be eating to optimize your health? Nutrition scientists have been arguing that the entire dietary pattern matters more than a handful of individual foods reputed…
Doctors and Patients Confused About Statins and …
Tens of millions of people take statins such as atorvastatin, lovastatin, pravastatin, rosuvastatin and simvastatin. Most physicians acknowledge that they have patients who complain about muscle pain …
What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About the Stat…
Statins such as atorvastatin or simvastatin are extremely effective at lowering circulating levels of cholesterol. Doctors prescribe them to reduce the chance that a patient will have a heart attack o…
Do Glucosamine and Chondroitin Increase Your Cho…
What happens if you take something for a presumed benefit only to discover that it has a downside? This happens pretty frequently with pharmaceuticals; everyone is familiar with the idea of side effec…
If Statins Cause Diabetes, Why Should ALL Diabet…
The guidelines from the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology are crystal clear. Middle-aged people with diabetes (both type 1 and type 2) should be on a statin-type choles…
Which Is Better for Blood Lipids–Low-Carb or L…
There’s a new entry in the ongoing dispute between low-carb and low-fat diets. In the study, researchers recruited 164 overweight or obese individuals (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Sept. …
How to Make Your Blood Fats Healthier
Total cholesterol has probably been overemphasized as a single risk factor for heart disease. On the other hand, the fats that circulate in our blood vessels do have an impact on our heart health. Whi…
Is There a Link Between Statin Drugs and Gingivi…
Doctors have been prescribing statin drugs to lower cholesterol for more than 30 years. Drugs such as simvastatin and rosuvastatin lower cholesterol very effectively. Consequently, millions of people …
Tai Chi Can Help Control Waist Size
Expanding waistlines are not attractive, but they're not just a cosmetic problem. Big bellies, also known as “central obesity” or "abdominal adiposity," are often linked with high blood pressure, …
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…
What Is the Best Breakfast to Lower Cholesterol?
When you see your doctor for a routine checkup, do you have blood drawn? Lab tests often include measurements of total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) and HDL cholesterol (HDL-C). These blood lip…
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…