According to a recent post on Dr. Joel Fuhrman's blog DiseaseProof,
there is a strong link between the use of statin drugs and kidney
disease. Below is an except from this post. For the full article
follow
this link.
"Those who began taking high potency statins had a 34% increased
risk of being hospitalized for acute kidney injury within the first
six months of statin therapy compared to those on lower doses.
Although this study did not evaluate the risk associated with
low-potency statin use vs. no statin use, the data does establish that
statin drugs may have harmful effects on the kidney.
"
"Now,
new data has confirmed the connection between statin use and acute
kidney injury. Acute kidney injury is a sudden loss of the kidneys’
filtering capability; the normal functions of removing waste products
from the blood and balancing fluid and electrolytes cannot be carried
out. Acute kidney injury is a serious condition that can lead to
permanent damage or loss of kidney function or even death. In the
current study, high-potency vs. low-potency statin doses were compared
(high potency was defined as minimum 10 mg rosuvastatin, 20 mg
atorvastatin, or 40 mg simvastatin). The study examined Canadian
healthcare records to investigate a total of 2 million patients who had
been newly prescribed a statin, and the incidence of hospitalization
for acute kidney injury during early statin use."
The
main message in Dr. Fuhrman's post is that we have a choice when facing
elevated cholesterol, we can either take a medication such as statin
drugs, which not only increase the risk of kidney damage, but also make us more vulnerable to liver and muscle damage, or we can make lifestyle changes that are also effective at lowering cholesterol but with zero side effect. Switching to a whole foods plant-based diet, and getting regular moderate to vigorous exercise are extremely effective at lowering the risk of heart disease. So which will it be -- drugs or lifestyle changes. To me, the choice is obvious.
No comments:
Post a Comment