Next generation of cholesterol meds could be the worst yet
Move over statins -- you're yesterday's news. With the patents on all but one of the top-selling cholesterol meds now expired, Big Pharma is on the prowl for a new trophy wife.
He may have found her, too, in the form of a frightening new generation of cholesterol meds called PCSK9 inhibitors.
Instead of a daily pill, these drugs are injected every few weeks or even just once a month -- and the early word is they cause cholesterol levels to plunge even faster and further than statins ever did.
Sounds great, right? Wrong -- because your problem isn't high cholesterol in the first place. Despite what you've been told, your levels are almost certainly TOO LOW -- and I'll tell you more about what's at stake in a moment.
First, those PCSK9 inhibitors.
If you haven't heard of them, you just haven't heard of them YET. They're such a Big Honkin' Deal that the drug company giants...Regeneron, Sanofi, Amgen, Merck, Novartis, and Pfizer...are all racing to be first to market with one.
Lipitor alone did $13 billion a year at its peak, so you can see why they're practically drooling over this new stuff.
One of the new drugs, code-named REGN727, cut LDL cholesterol by as much as 65 percent compared to a placebo and even slashed levels in patients who were already taking a statin.
Another, code-named AMG 145, cut LDL levels by an average of 63 percent in eight weeks -- and slashed those levels by 66 percent in patients already taking statins.
In both cases, the researchers claimed there were no serious adverse events -- which is a real hoot when you consider they made the same claim about statins.
Some researchers said statins were so safe and effective they should be handed out with hamburgers and even dumped into the water supply.
Now, those same "safe" meds carry a warning list a mile long -- with reported side effects linking them to severe muscle pain, liver and kidney damage, memory loss, cataracts, sexual dysfunction, and more.
The FDA has even warned that these drugs can CAUSE diabetes!
But even if the drugs were safe -- and they're not -- low cholesterol itself is UNsafe. It can actually cause the very heart attacks you're trying to avoid and even boost your risk of cancer.
More evidence that low cholesterol is deadly
Of all the bad advice being dished out daily by the mainstream, the notion that you need to lower your cholesterol is among the very worst.
Not only do you NOT need to lower it, but you might need to raise it -- and the latest research shows why: Low cholesterol levels can GIVE YOU CANCER!
Researchers compared the cholesterol levels of 201 cancer patients to those of 402 cancer-free people, and not just while the patients were sick. They dug through 20 years' worth of records, and found a consistent trend: The cancer patients had a long history of picture-perfect low cholesterol levels.
Of course, the researchers behind this study say don't panic -- keep lowering your cholesterol anyway, because it's good for your heart.
Baloney!
Cholesterol -- even LDL cholesterol -- isn't the "bad" guy it's been made out to be. Every part of your body needs it, starting with your heart, and low levels can actually cause the very cardiovascular problems you're trying to avoid.
Low cholesterol can also cause or worsen memory problems, weaken your muscles, and even ruin your sex life. Not surprisingly, these are also the major side effects of many cholesterol-lowering drugs.
One study out of Japan even found that people with low cholesterol have shorter lives.
And you still think you need to lower yours? NO WAY!
Forget the HDL vs LDL business and just look at your total cholesterol. If it falls below 200, fry up some steak and eggs -- you have some catching up to do.
And if you don't believe me, read this to learn more about subscribing to my no-holds barred newsletter, where I'll give you ALL the dirty details about mainstream medicine's cholesterol lies. You'll never look at your blood test the same way again!
William Campbell Douglass II, M.D.
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