Lipitor has been running a series of ads in which a kindly "doctor," Robert Jarvik, inventor of the artificial heart, tells viewers about the benefits of the cholesterol-lowering medication Lipitor. These ads, and their use of celebrity endorsers such as Jarvik, are now being investigated by Congress for potentially misleading viewers.
In the ads, Dr. Jarvik appears to be giving medical advice, but he has never obtained a license to practice or prescribe medicine.
Critics of the drug industry claim that such ads emotionally manipulate viewers and underemphasize the potential side effects of drugs.
The congressional probe focuses on the Lipitor ads, but will likely examine others, such as actress Sally Field's endorsement of the osteoporosis drug Boniva.
This isn’t the first time Pfizer is in trouble over their fraudulent claims of what Lipitor can do for you. In 2005 they were sued by healthcare advocates for lying to women and seniors when they claimed Lipitor would reduce their risk of having a heart attack.
The group argued that the drug not only did not work, but that women who took Lipitor ran a 10 percent higher risk of heart attacks than those taking a placebo.
I don’t know the conclusion of that case, but it surely didn’t stop Pfizer from plowing forward with even more absurd claims, which the FDA bought hook line and sinker.
In 2005 Pfizer sold almost $11 billion worth of Lipitor, but after the FDA approved it for reducing stroke and heart attacks risks among diabetics their sales rose to $13 billion in 2006.
This is an unbelievable “oversight” by the FDA, in light of the fact that Lipitor can double the risk of a deadly stroke for diabetics!
Why Statins are Your WORST Option
Statins such as Lipitor are a particularly bad choice for diabetics, but they are a poor treatment even if your only worry is your heart health.
Now, statins do lower LDL (bad) cholesterol very well. The problem is they lower it too well, because cholesterol is still a necessary and natural chemical that your body needs. Cholesterol:
Waterproofs your cell walls
Helps repair cells
Is vital for digesting fats, regulating hormone levels, and neurological function
Despite cholesterol's infamous reputation, having too little of it in your body is as dangerous, if not more so, than too much. Therefore, the result of taking statin drugs can be numerous dangerous side effects, including:
Muscle pain and weakness (most likely due to the depletion of Co-Q10)
Dizziness and cognitive impairment,
Depression
Pancreatitis
Increased cancer risk
Heart failure
The last one is rather counter to the whole supposed point of cholesterol-lowering drugs, don't you think?
And there is this additional evidence that it more than doubles your risk of stroke if you are diabetic, in return for no benefits whatsoever -- unless you enjoy anything on this list; these are the possible consequences of taking statins in strong doses or for a lengthy period of time:
Depression of mental acuity
Anemia
Acidosis
Frequent fevers
Cataracts
What is Your Underlying Problem, and How Can You Treat THAT?
Make no mistake, Lipitor completely fails to treat the underlying problems causing your high levels of cholesterol. Statins are non-specific inhibitors of a number of very important liver enzymes, including the enzyme that causes your liver to make cholesterol when it is stimulated by high insulin levels.
A far more sensible treatment therefore, is to simply shut down the enzyme that makes cholesterol by reducing your insulin and leptin levels, which is the underlying cause of your high cholesterol.
By eliminating sugar and most grains, you won’t cause this important enzyme to be blocked, and you also will not block other vital coenzymes such as CoQ10.
This is also exactly what you should be doing if you are diabetic.
To normalize your cholesterol level naturally, and keep your diabetes under control at the same time, these three primary strategies work well 99 percent of the time if properly implemented:
Exercise daily
Eat a low grain, low sugar diet
Take a high quality omega-3 supplement
The omega-3 fats in krill oil or fish oil will influence your HDL cholesterol levels far more safely and effectively than taking a pill -- and for a small fraction of the cost.
I must say I really got a kick out of Robert Jarvik’s public statement where he says in closing:
“I am a medical scientist specializing in advanced technology to treat heart failure who understands that no one in his or her right mind would want an artificial heart if it could be avoided with preventive medicine.”
I didn’t say it was a good kick.
To infer that statin drugs are somehow related to preventive medicine is again a grossly misleading statement. There is nothing preventive about these drugs; they do not fix any underlying health issues that might cause problems in the future. Instead they raise your risks of other serious health complications that might cost you your life far sooner than your high cholesterol might have.
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