Statins are one of the most widely prescribed medications in the United States.
However, they can cause disease and accelerated aging.
Now, evidence is emerging that they can cause diabetes. But what exactly is the risk? How often does it happen?
In 2019, researchers looked at these questions and published their findings. The results should concern every physician who prescribes these drugs to people who have only elevated cholesterol levels without any history or indication of cardiovascular disease.
To do the study, doctors looked at 7,064 men and women with elevated cholesterol, but no signs of diabetes. Some of them had been prescribed a statin drug, and the others were statin-free. They found that after being on the drug, the statin users, even though they did not have diabetes when they started the drug, developed higher A1c levels. A1c levels are used to both diagnose and monitor diabetes. But that’s not all.
Additionally, of the men and women who developed diabetes during the study period, the statin users were more than two times more likely to develop the disease. Those taking the drugs for two years or longer were at the greatest risk of developing diabetes – three times more likely! That’s a dose-responsive effect and proves that the diabetes was caused by the drugs and not some other factor.
Now, some doubters and strong statin advocates may attribute this finding to some other factor than the drugs. But the researchers ruled this out by accounting for sex, ethnicity, education, cholesterol and triglyceride levels, obesity, waist circumference, and how many times the participants visited their doctors. No, this was not an accidental finding. The data clearly showed that the drugs cause diabetes. According to the lead author of the study, “The fact that increased duration of statin use was associated with an increased risk of diabetes – something we call a dose-dependent relationship – makes us think that this is likely a causal relationship.”
The only legitimate reason for anyone taking a statin drug is if they have an established history of cardiovascular disease. Simply taking a harmful drug like a statin because your cholesterol level is high is risky. And this is especially true if you’re over 60.
As I’ve told you in the past, men and women over the age of 60 with the highest cholesterol and LDL cholesterol levels are the ones who live the longest. In that age group, lowering cholesterol levels will statistically shorten your life.
If you have high cholesterol but no evidence of cardiovascular disease, don’t take a statin. There are so many better ways to go. Instead, live longer naturally, and simply follow the instructions in my book, Bursting With Energy. Do that, and you will never have to worry about cardiovascular disease.