The authors of the study looked at all of the various studies published between 2000 and 2013 that considered an association between statin medications and new cases of diabetes. Sure enough, the evidence is there. Men and women with "concomitant risk factors for diabetes" are at risk for developing diabetes when they take statin drugs.

So what's a risk factor for diabetes? Amazingly enough, one is high cholesterol and/or high triglycerides. Another is being overweight. Another one is high blood pressure. And another one is a family history of diabetes. But wait a second. These are the exact same people who are often prescribed statins. Have we been manufacturing the diabetes epidemic these past two-plus decades by dishing out statins to high risk people? The authors think it might be a problem.

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They say that the "current, available clinical data suggests a possible association between statin use and incident diabetes in patients with underlying diabetes risk factors." And they go on to say that, doctors "should vigilantly monitor" their patients on statin drugs and check repeatedly to see if they are getting diabetes from it. So if you are on a statin, your doctor is now supposed to regularly check you to see if it is giving you diabetes as a side benefit. But I have a better idea. How about forgetting about cholesterol levels in the first place and avoiding the statins?

Cholesterol doesn't cause heart disease anyway. Oxidized LDL cholesterol causes heart disease. We've known this for only 30 years. If your cholesterol levels are high, but your oxidized LDL levels are low, you don't have a problem. Conversely, if your cholesterol levels are low, but your oxidized cholesterol is high, you do have a problem. I have written in detail about this in the past. And you can access that article on my website. But what if your oxidized LDL cholesterol is high? Don't you need a statin drug then?

No, you don't! And that's a really big problem for Big Pharma. The authors of this review of all the literature on this topic say that, "Patients with a low risk of cardiovascular disease and high risk of diabetes should reconsider statin use and focus on lifestyle management." Once again, I can make this a lot easier. Just measure your oxidized LDL. If it's low, you don't have a problem no matter how high your LDL or cholesterol levels are. If it is high, I’ll show you how to lower it in an upcoming email. It’s really quite easy. Stay tuned.

Yours for better health,

Frank Shallenberger, MD

REF:

Park ZH, Juska A, Dyakov D, et al. Statin-associated incident diabetes: a literature review. Consult Pharm. 2014 May;29(5):317-34.