Prescription Alternatives Read online

  Other Tips on These Drugs. Because of the real threat of muscle destruction, contact your physician immediately if you notice muscle pain, tenderness, or weakness, particularly if a fever accompanies these symptoms.

  In addition, your physician should monitor your liver and kidney functions regularly when you are taking these drugs (few physicians actually do this).

  Ezetimibe (Zetia)

  What Does It Do in the Body? Reduces cholesterol levels by reducing the intestinal absorption of cholesterol.

  What Is It Prescribed For? Lowering cholesterol levels.

  What Are the Possible Side Effects? Liver damage, abdominal pain, diarrhea, muscle pain, back pain, joint pain, chest pain, cough, hoarseness, sinusitis, fatigue, dizziness, headache, viral infection, depression, mood changes, and memory impairment.

  CAUTION!

  Think Twice About Taking This Drug If . . .

  Please think twice about taking this drug, period, whether alone or combined with another drug (e.g., Vytorin). This is a relatively new drug, it’s a potent drug, and there’s no evidence that it benefits patients with heart disease. Furthermore, there is evidence that Vytorin (Zetia and Zocor) may increase the risk of cancer.

  Dextrothyroxine sodium (Choloxin)

  What Does It Do in the Body? Reduces cholesterol levels by stimulating the liver to excrete it faster.

  What Is It Prescribed For? Lowering cholesterol levels.

  What Are the Possible Side Effects? This drug stresses the heart tremendously. It can cause heart attacks and increase the size of the heart.

  This drug can also cause nausea, vomiting, constipation, diarrhea, gallstones, jaundice, hair loss, rashes, itching, menstrual irregularities, water retention, muscle pain, tremors, nervousness, and dizziness.

  CAUTION!

  Think Twice About Taking This Drug If . . .

  • You are scheduled for surgery in the next two weeks. Avoid it.

  • You have liver or kidney disease.

  • You have asthma.

  • You have a heart condition.

  • You are severely overweight.

  Please think twice about taking this drug, period. It’s too hard on the heart, the liver, and the kidneys, and there are too many other, relatively safer alternatives available. In also interacts dangerously with many other drugs.

  Clofibrate (Atromid-S)

  What Does It Do in the Body? Lowers triglyc-erides and very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) cholesterol levels. It does not predictably lower LDL levels.

  What Is It Prescribed For? Lowering high triglyceride levels.

  What Are the Possible Side Effects? This drug can cause anemia, liver and kidney dysfunction, gallbladder problems, peptic ulcers, abnormal heartbeat, and flulike symptoms.

  Liver cancer is also a possible side effect of this drug. It produced tumors in the livers of rodents and humans in published research. A World Health Organization (WHO) study found that clofibrate may increase the risk of cancer, liver disease, and pancreatitis.

  CAUTION!

  Think Twice About Taking This Drug If . . .

  • You have a peptic ulcer.

  • You have liver or kidney disease.

  • You have a gallbladder obstruction.

  • You haven’t tried diet and exercise changes first. There are too many serious side effects, and it is a poorly studied drug.

  What Nutrients Does It Deplete or Throw out of Balance? Minerals, carotenes, fats, iron, sugars, and vitamins A, B12, D, E, and K.

  What Else to Take with This Drug. Supplements that replenish the preceding vitamins, minerals, and nutrients.

  Gemfibrozil (Lopid)

  What Does It Do in the Body? Its major effect is to lower triglycerides and VLDL (very low-density lipoprotein), but it may also lower LDL levels, and it may raise HDL levels.

  What Is It Prescribed For? Reducing triglycerides.

  What Are the Possible Side Effects? As is true with most of the other cholesterol-lowering drugs, this drug is essentially toxic and therefore stresses your liver and kidneys. As a result, liver dysfunction, hyperglycemia, and kidney failure are possible side effects of this drug. It may also increase the risk of cancer.

  Other side effects include hypokalemia (excessively low sodium), muscle pain, eczema, fatigue, drowsiness, vertigo, convulsions, appendicitis, gall-bladder disease, abdominal pain, upset stomach, taste perversion, water retention, lupuslike syndrome, jaundice, pancreatitis, anemia, impotence, vitamin deficiencies, and irregular heartbeat.

  Liver cancer and cataracts occurred in rats tested with this drug.

  CAUTION!

  Think Twice About Taking This Drug If . . .

  • You have an underactive thyroid or diabetes.

  • You have liver, kidney or gallbladder disease.

  • You have poor liver or kidney function.

  What Are the Interactions with Food? Absorption of nutrients from food is reduced.

  What Nutrients Does It Deplete or Throw out of Balance? Vitamins A, B12, D, E, K, calcium, iron, magnesium, and potassium.

  What Else to Take While Taking This Drug. Vitamins A, B12, D, E, and K; calcium; iron; magnesium; and potassium.

  Other Tips on This Drug. Be especially cautious when driving or doing any activity that requires alertness, coordination, or physical dexterity. This drug can make it difficult to focus and concentrate.

  Fenofibrate (TriCor)

  What Does It Do in the Body? Increases the body’s breakdown of triglycerides in the bloodstream by inhibiting specific enzymes. It also alters cholesterol particles in the bloodstream, causing them to be broken down and excreted more rapidly.

  What Is It Prescribed For? Reducing total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides. It also slightly increases HDL.

  What Are the Possible Side Effects? Diarrhea, nausea, constipation, abnormal liver function tests, respiratory disorders, runny nose, back pain, headache, gallstones, pancreatic inflammation, kidney failure, and rhabdomyolysis (the same dangerous muscle disorder that can strike people who use statin drugs). Studies on animals found that dosages within the limits used on humans caused cancer.

  Eight Steps You Can Take to Lower Your Cholesterol Naturally

  1. Eat more fiber. Studies show that fiber has a direct and dramatic cholesterol-lowering effect. You can get plenty of fiber by eating fresh, whole, unprocessed foods and a plant-based diet. Pectin, a soluble form of fiber found in apples, blueberries, and grapefruit, particularly helps reduce cholesterol. If you want to add more fiber, take 1 teaspoon a day of psyllium with 8 ounces of water or juice. Psyllium is the active ingredient in Metamucil, but the latter also has sugar, preservatives, and food colorings. Stick to the plain psyllium found in your health food store—it’s cheaper, too. Whole oat cereal manufacturers are FDA-approved to claim that their product reduces cholesterol levels. True, and so do the other sources of fiber.

  2. Make olive oil and fish oil your predominant dietary fats. They both can actually lower LDL cholesterol. However, don’t entirely neglect the other fats: keep your nutrition in balance.

  3. Add garlic to your diet. Garlic is a powerful cholesterol-lowering substance. It also lowers blood pressure and makes the blood less sticky. Add it liberally to your diet.

  4. Have a glass of red wine with dinner, or take a bioflavonoid supplement such as grapeseed extract or green tea daily. Both are known to have a cholesterol-lowering effect. However, too much alcohol (more than two drinks per day) will raise cholesterol levels.

  5. Take niacin, in the form of inositol hexanicotinate.

  6. Take your cholesterol-busting supplements.

  7. Eat your cholesterol-busting foods.

  8. Exercise, which will directly raise HDL cholesterol. It’s a must for healthy arteries.

  CAUTION!

  Think Twice About Taking This Drug If . . .

  You have any type of kidney or liver impairment.

  Natural Alternatives to Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs />
  It is so easy for nearly everyone to significantly lower LDL cholesterol and raise HDL levels with diet, exercise, and supplements that it seems extreme for physicians to prescribe cholesterol-lowering drugs before other, simpler measures have been taken and failed. The exception to this would be if you are in imminent danger of having a heart attack and need to take extreme measures.

  Niacin Is a Potent Cholesterol Buster

  Taking niacin (vitamin B3) is one of the safest and most effective ways to lower LDL or “bad” cholesterol and raise HDL or “good” cholesterol. It also effectively lowers triglycerides. It’s at least as effective as the cholesterol-lowering drugs and much less expensive. However, there are some downsides to niacin.

  Niacin is a vasodilator, meaning it expands the blood vessels, bringing more blood into the upper part of the body. In large doses, it can cause a “niacin flush” around the head, neck, and shoulders. The skin becomes flushed and red, and this is accompanied by a burning or tingling sensation, which most people find uncomfortable and annoying. While a niacin flush is harmless, in high doses niacin can cause stomach cramps, diarrhea, and nausea, and high doses taken for an extended period of time may adversely affect the liver. People with ischemic heart disease should be cautious with niacin. For these people, niacin can cause abnormal heartbeats.

  The key to taking niacin successfully to lower cholesterol levels is to start with a small amount, 50 mg twice a day, and gradually work up to 400 mg three times a day over a period of two to three months. It’s also important to take a “no-flush” niacin formula that delivers all of the benefits of niacin without the unpleasant side effects. These formulas are made with inositol hexanicotinate. If your doctor prescribes nicotinic acid, tell him or her about inositol hexanicotinate. It’s the same thing in a safer form. If you stick to a healthy lifestyle, you shouldn’t have to take the niacin for more than a year at the most. Please remember to taper it off gradually.

  If your physician has you on cholesterol-lowering drugs, don’t stop taking them without supervision.

  Estrogen Lowers Cholesterol: Fact or Fiction?

  That hormone replacement therapy (HRT) protects against heart disease was an accepted “fact” in conventional medicine until the Women’s Health Initiative and European research finally showed this “fact” to be fiction. Now women are being told not to take HRT to prevent heart attack. HRT with estrogens and progestins (synthetic progesterone) actually increases the risk of heart attack and stroke, and its effects on bone health are minimal. Natural hormones, however, may be a safe option for some women. Natural estrogens, when used wisely, can help maintain healthy blood vessels. You’ll read more about this in Chapter 19. If you’re over the age of 50 and contemplating HRT, we’d like to recommend that you read one of the books that Virginia Hopkins coauthored with Dr. John R. Lee, What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause, or if you’re between the ages of 35 and 50, What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Premenopause.

  Do Fish Oil Supplements Really Lower Cholesterol?

  Fish oil is excellent not only for reducing overall cholesterol, but also for increasing your HDL or “good” cholesterol. The best source of fish oil is fish eaten during your daily meals. There has been a lot of speculation that taking a fish oil supplement can give you the same benefits as eating fish, but the data published from several studies indicate that it just isn’t true. In fact, taking a supplement of fish oils may make your cholesterol worse! It’s possible that fish oil supplements are rancid by the time they get to our refrigerators. Some studies done with fish oil preserved with vitamin E are encouraging, but your best bet is to eat fish (and not deep fried!) at least twice a week.

  Cholesterol-Busting Supplements

  If your cholesterol is over 300, you’ll want to consider taking the following vitamins and minerals in addition to those suggested in the Six Core Principles for Optimal Health. Most of these essential nutrients are antioxidants that help lower your LDL or “bad” cholesterol levels:

  • Vitamin C. 1,000 mg three times daily. If this high a dose gives you diarrhea, reduce the dose until it goes away.

  • Magnesium. 300 mg daily.

  • Calcium. 200 mg daily.

  • Vitamin E (mixed tocopherols). 400 IU twice a day (total 800 IU daily). In one study, ingesting this amount daily caused a 26 percent reduction in LDL or “bad” cholesterol production.

  • Psyllium (fiber). 1 to 2 teaspoons a day. Be sure to drink plenty of water.

  • N-acetyl cysteine (NAC). 500 mg three times a day. This will help raise your glutathione levels, which will support your liver so it can more efficiently excrete cholesterol.

  • Green tea. The active beneficial ingredients in green tea are called polyphenols, substances that act as antioxidants, neutralize harmful fats and oils, strengthen the liver, and lower LDL cholesterol, while increasing HDL levels. You can either drink green tea or take it in a concentrated form as a supplement.

  • PCOs or proanthocyanidins. PCOs (e.g., grapeseed extract) work specifically to stop “bad” cholesterol from forming and sticking to artery walls.

  • Cayenne. This spice lowers cholesterol. Take a daily supplement of cayenne in capsules, or use it liberally on your food.

  • Curry. Another spice that lowers cholesterol.

  • Guggul. Taking guggul is a new but old way to lower cholesterol. Ayurvedic medicine is an ancient form of healing from India that relies largely on dividing people into body and personality types and then prescribing a variety of treatments that include plant medicines. Lately we’ve been learning more about the large number of safe, effective medicines Ayurveda has in its pharmacy, and scientific research is following. One of the best known Ayurvedic medicines is called guggul, a plant traditionally used mainly to treat arthritis and obesity. Studies have shown that guggul significantly reduces cholesterol levels without side effects. One study used an active component of guggul called guggulipid, which participants took for 12 weeks. In 80 percent of the patients, serum cholesterol was lowered by an average of 24 percent and serum triglycerides were lowered by an average of 23 percent, which is comparable to the prescription drugs. Of these, 60 percent showed an increase in their HDL (good) cholesterol. When guggulipid was compared to the drug clofibrate (Atromid-S), it came out about the same, without the side effects.

  • Red yeast rice. This is actually an ancient Chinese medicine and condiment made from specially fermented rice and red wine. The reaction between the rice, wine, and yeasts used for fermentation yields natural statin substances. Red yeast rice has been used safely to strengthen circulation and help digestion in Chinese medicine for hundreds of years. In two studies presented at the American Heart Association’s conference in 1999, red yeast rice—sold under the brand name Cholestin—was found to lower blood cholesterol levels. In another study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, red yeast rice was found to lower total cholesterol, LDL, and triglycerides (another type of blood fat that has been linked with heart disease).

  When the company that makes Cholestin put their product through rigorous scientific testing to prove its efficacy and safety, do you think the FDA, an organization that constantly harasses supplement makers because of a so-called lack of such research, applauded or supported their efforts? Of course, they didn’t. Instead, they tried to call Cholestin a drug and ban supplement

  Top Cholesterol-Busting Foods

  Alfalfa sprouts

  Berries, especially blueberries and raspberries

  Brewer’s yeast

  Carrots (raw)

  Eggplant

  Fenugreek (an herb)

  Fish, especially salmon, mackerel, herring, sardines, cod, tuna, and trout

  Garlic

  Grapefruit

  Legumes

  Oat bran

  Olive oil

  Onions

  Prunes

  Soy products such as miso, tempeh, and tofu

  Whole grains, including rice, b
arley, millet, oats, wheat, and rye

  Yogurt

  manufacturers from selling it at all. Afraid of competition against expensive, bestselling cholesterol drugs, the FDA told federal judges that allowing Cholestin to be sold would reduce the incentive of the pharmaceutical industry to develop new medicines—reasoning that seems outrageous to anyone who believes that the FDA is supposed to be watching out for consumers, not big drug companies. Fortunately, the judges ruled in favor of the supplement makers, and red yeast rice is now a safe, effective, inexpensive, and widely available alternative to statin drugs for which no prescription is needed.

  • Policosanol. Supplements containing this substance have been found to work well to balance cholesterol counts. Biochemically speaking, policosanol is made up of a series of what’s known as fatty alcohols. If you want to know what these fatty alcohols naturally look and feel like, scrape a little bit of the waxy film off the leaves of a tree or the peel of a citrus fruit. Commercially sold policosanol supplements are usually made from either sugarcane or beeswax. Citrus peels, wheat germ, and caviar are other rich sources of policosanol.

  Policosanol has been shown to lower LDL cholesterol levels by up to 20 percent, and it raises HDL by an average of 10 percent—without the side effects caused by statins. As a matter of fact, in a study of nearly 28,000 people who used policosanol for two to four years, less than half of 1 percent of the subjects experienced notable adverse effects from their daily dose.

  In one study, published in the journal Gynecological Endocrinology, researchers enlisted 244 menopausal women for whom six weeks on a conventional cholesterol-lowering diet did no good. The women were given either a placebo pill or 5 mg of policosanol each day for 12 weeks. The women given policosanol were then given 10 mg for 12 more weeks. By the end of the study, the policosanol users had some amazing changes in their cholesterol levels: their LDL fell by 25.2 percent, their total cholesterol fell by 16.7 percent, and their ratio of total cholesterol to HDL fell by 27.2 percent. This is big news because the statins do not raise good HDL cholesterol and may even slightly lower it.