Statins Ruined My Nutrition
My LDL cholesterol in October 2021, was 151, higher than the 80–100 normal range. Five months later, in March 2022, I’d brought this down to 117. The next month, April 2022, I got my first arterial plaque scan, at age 60. My score was 216. No good but not in the 400+ danger zone. I found a cardiologist and she prescribed Rosuvastatin 20 mg. I went on a plant-based diet.
The Mayo Clinic recommended statins only if your cholesterol is above 190. Mine was 117 and dropping.
My brother is a doctor of pharmacology. He said that statins should be in the water supply. They make everyone live longer with no side effects to speak of.
My next lipid panel was in January, 2023. 63! Wow, that’s low cholesterol. Uh, why is Alanine Aminotransferase high, at 58 (normal range is under 50)? This is a liver enzyme that indicates liver disease and is associated with too-low cholesterol. My cardiologist told me to ignore this warning. I cut the statin tablets in half.
My next lipid panel was two months later, in March 2023. My cholesterol was 72, still lower than the 80–100 normal range, but the liver enzyme had returned to normal.
Also in March 2022 I got a Spectracell micronutrient panel. This found that I was low on Coenzyme Q10 (83) and Glutathione (42). I was borderline in vitamin B12, Panthothenate (another B vitamin); and the amino acids serine, choline, and oleic acid. My nutritionist recommended some supplements.
My next micronutrient panel was in January, 2023. Now I was low on alpha lipoic acid (an antioxidant) and (again) the amino acid serine. I was now borderline in vitamins B1, B3, and B6, despite megadosing B1 for stuttering. I was borderline in the amino acid glutamine, and vitamin A, maganese, zinc (I was taking a zinc supplement), chromium, and (again) coenzyme Q10, despite taking two coenzyme Q10 supplements.
That’s eleven nutrients that were low or borderline.
I was getting minor running injuries that wouldn’t go away. Massage therapists and a physical therapist said that there was nothing injured in my legs but I’d have regular pain and soreness in certain muscles that prevented me from training hard.
In March, 2023 I watched the video series Reversing Heart Disease Naturally Summit, hosted by Joel Kahn, MD, FACC, on the Dr Talks website. What I heard challenged the conventional wisdom: arterial plaque is caused not by high blood cholesterol but by high blood suger, and statins are bad for you.
I stopped taking the statin. My running injuries stopped.
My next lipid panel was two months later, in May, 2023. My cholesterol was 108. I got another arterial plaque scan. The score was 255! In a year I’d gone from 216 to 255. The statin and vegan diet hadn’t stopped arterial plaque.
My next micronutrient panel was in July, 2023. I was slightly low on B6 and borderline on B12 and panththenate. That’s it. B vitamin deficiencies are the most common nutritional problem, and easily treated with a B-complex supplement.
How did I go from eleven nutrients low or borderline, to three? From nutrients I’d never heard of to the most common, normal nutritional deficiencies? From deficiencies in nutrients that I was megadosing to no deficiencies in these nutrients, after stopping taking the supplements?
Statins block the Mevalonate pathway. This pathway
make isoprenoids, a diverse class of over 30,000 biomolecules such as cholesterol, vitamin K, coenzyme Q10, and all steroid hormones.
Statins block your body from making cholesterol and 29,999 other biomolecules, including vitamins and coenzyme Q10.
Your liver makes cholesterol. Cells all over your body use cholesterol. Your liver makes big bundles of cholesterol, which are low density (LDL) or bad cholesterol. Your cells grab these bundles, use what they need and send the rest back into your blood stream. When these bundles go back through your heart they’re smaller and higher density (HDL) or good cholesterol.
Elevated blood sugar coats these bundles with sugar (glucose). Your cells then can’t access the cholesterol in the bundles. You have big bundles of LDL cholesterol circulating through your heart, while your cells are starved for cholesterol.
My plant-based diet started each morning with a big bowl of oatmeal with raisins and 2% milk. Oatmeal is fairly high on the glycemic index and raisins are sugar bombs. Heart-healthy oatmeal? I don’t think so!
At 11am I’d reward myself with a raw foods, plant-based chocolate bar, or a Justin’s peanut butter cup, or brownies.
At 1pm I’d make a protein shake with soy milk, which is sweetened, plant-based protein powder, psyllium, flax, and chia seeds, and enough chocolate syrup to cancel out any health benefits.
Dinner was always beans and brown rice. These are moderate on the glycemic index.
I drank lots of tea, always with a half-teaspoon of sugar.
My plant-based diet would have been better characterized as sugar-based. My cardiologist never told me to cut sweets.
I’ve now cut out sugar, white rice, and white flour. It’ll be nine months until I can get another arterial heart scan. We’ll see if a low glycemic index diet stops the progression of heart disease.
I have no doubt that the statin wrecked my nutrition. Now that I’m five months off the statin my running is injury free, I feel healthier, happier, and younger.