Documentary Cholesterol: The Great Bluff

[Shnookie]

I watched this documentary on TVO last night. Generally what it says is that high cholesterol doesn't cause heart disease and that statin drugs given to people who have high cholesterol can cause symptoms of dementia or Alzheimer's. You can watch it online at TVO.org. I think it was discussed a bit on The Agenda, but I didn't watch that.

[Ontario Chick]

Saw that!
Got a prescription for statin (Lipitor) after a small heart attack , assured that it will prevent further "events", was so sick after 4 weeks on the drug, that a heart attack would have been light comical relief.
Got off, my cholesterol is still high, turns out it's exactly what used to be considered normal, until the drug companies got hold of it.
Will have to watch it again, I am sure there will be repeats, missed a lot because of the white subtitles on light background.

[Killerbunny]

We had the same problem with the subtitles, good job we have some French! Interestingly I had a nurse at the Drs office want me to go on statins. Like what? but my cholesterol is low (I'm below low normal) and the response was "it can never be too low" Makes you wonder about folks who don't talk back.

[Ontario Chick]

Starting to think that the medical profesion might be tad worried about the Baby boomers coming down the pipes, we seem to have the disconcerting habit of asking questions.

[Killerbunny]

It's also interesting that in places like Europe the salt recommendations have changed back to what they were previously - much higher than N.America. Apparently people had cut their salt and especially seniors were having falls and dizziness from imbalances in sodium and potassium. This wasn't recognised until about 5 years ago.

[windwalkingwolf]

"cholesterol can never be too low" ??? Cholesterol is vital to brain health. I guess that gets glossed over in anatomy and physiology classes these days?

[Killerbunny]

Duh!!!!

[Cuttlefish]

If only "big fiber" had the influence that "big pharma" does....

[Shnookie]

"Cholesterol is vital to brain health." Maybe this is why people are getting dementia symptoms when they take cholesterol lowering drugs. Wouldn't it be interesting if most of the dementia and Alzheimer's cases were caused by statins. There'd be an instant cure for some people. I plant to resist taking any cholesterol drugs. Some people I know who have had heart attacks are on statins to lower their cholesterol. I wonder if heart medications work differently because of the statins.

I read in a book on menopause that hormone imbalances can cause elevated blood pressure and cholesterol levels. As people age hormone changes occur naturally. I wonder if the doctors are using drugs to treat symptoms that could be fixed by hormone balancing (in men and women).

[baronrenfrew]

And that the cholesterol you consume "eat" has nothing to do with the cholesterol in your bloodstream. The cholesterol in your blood is a result of sugar consumption.

Nobody talks about the kickbacks for doctors from drug companies for putting prescriptions on people.