You Can Undo the Ill Effects of Statin Drugs

by Dr. Stephen Sinatra 

Heart Health, Cholesterol 

Last Reviewed 05/22/2012

As many of you know, I firmly believe that the only people who should be taking cholesterol lowering statin drugs—such as Zocor, Lipitor, or the many others—are men over 50 who have coronary artery disease. For everyone else, statins may actually be raising the incidence of heart failure because they deplete the body of CoQ10, a biochemical that’s critical to heart health.

But that said, many doctors prescribe statins every day, and many people suffer their unwanted side-effects—including muscle pain and weakness, generalized soreness, memory loss, and peripheral neuropathy.

The good news is you can turn these ill effects around, here’s how:

1. Consider getting off your statin medication, unless you’re a middle-aged man with heart disease. For more of my information and guidance on cholesterol and statin drugs, you can visit my Cholesterol Health Center. But remember to always contact your physician before stopping your statin drugs.

2. Rebuild your muscles, and your heart with four nutrients I call the “awesome foursome.” You want to take 200 mg of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), 200-600 mg of magnesium, and 2-3 grams of broad spectrum carnitine daily. Plus, you want to take 5 grams of D-Ribose two to three times a day.

3. If you’re suffering from polyneuropathy, which is nerve damage that affects the feet and hands causing weakness, loss of sensation, or burning pain, I recommend taking 100-300 mg of alpha lipoic acid a day.

Finally, be very optimistic. I’ve seen this regimen work again and again over the years. Once you allow the statin drugs to clear from your system, and build up the mitochondrial function in your cells with the awesome foursome, you will not only feel better—you’ll thrive!

Pine bark extract plus CoQ10 shows benefits for heart failure patients

From Nutra Ingredients.com
By Stephen Daniells, 23-Jun-2011

A combination of coenzyme Q10 and an extract from French Maritime Pine bark may improve blood flow and general heart health in heart failure patients, indicates a new study from Italy.

According to findings published in Panminerva Medica, 12 weeks of daily supplementation with 350 milligrams of CoQ10 (Kaneka) and 105 milligrams of the branded pine bark extract Pycnogenol (Horphag) were associated with a improvements in blood pressure and heart rate, compared to a placebo group.
Furthermore, the combination ingredient – PycnoQ10 – increased the amount of blood pumped by the heart by 22 percent, reported researchers from Chieti-Pescara University, led by Dr Gianni Belcaro.
“Coenzyme Q10 has been extensively researched for its ability to strengthen the heart muscle, specifically in patients with heart failure. Preclinical trials have suggested that Pycnogenol strengthens heart chamber walls and dilates arteries,” said Dr Belcaro.
“These preliminary observations suggest that the respective contributions of Coenzyme Q10 and Pycnogenol in PycnoQ10 may significantly improve heart health.”

No cure, just management
According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, an estimated 400,000 people are diagnosed with heart failure in the US each year.
Heart failure is develops as a result of high blood pressure (hypertension), when with heart chamber walls wear out and heart muscle weaken. The disease can be costly, disabling and potentially deadly and is characterized by the heart’s inability to pump or eject sufficient amounts of blood to the organs.
“Many conditions that lead to heart failure cannot be reversed, but heart failure can often be medically managed with good results,” said Dr Belcaro.
“This study shows that a combination of Pycnogenol and CoQ10 offers an effective, natural solution as adjunct for heart health management.”

Success story
In a recent interview with NutraIngredients-USA , Horphag chief executive Victor Ferrari explained that the retail value of products containing the company’s Pycnogenol ingredient is estimated to top $500m.

“We have multiplied the business by six since 2002 and we’re still seeing double-digit growth,” said Ferrari.
However, the firm had only scratched the surface when it came to functional food and drink applications for Pycnogenol, which was water-soluble and heat-stable, making it suitable for a wide range of products from pasteurized dairy products to baked goods, he said.

Isotonix Co Q10

In addition to the potential in food and beverages, another area of potential growth is in combination products to target specific health condition categories such as joint health (with glucosamine/chondroitin or collagen hydrolysates), or eye health (with Indena’s Mirtoselect bilberry to give us Mirtogenol), or, as in this new study, heart health (with CoQ10).

(Please Note: Market America is the Exclusive provider of an Isotonic Form of  Pycnogenol in their Isotonix OPC-3 and Anti Aging Prime Joint Formula along with CoQ10.  This isotonic form will allow a person to absorb up to 95% of the product compared to the standard pill or capsule that will only offer up to a maximum of 30%.  You can also get a Custom Cocktail made specifically for you at www.CustomizeME.com)

Isotonix OPC-3 has Isotonic Pycnogenol

Study details
The Italian researchers recruited 53 heart failure patients aged between 54 and 68 were randomly assigned to receive either the PycnoQ10 supplement or placebo for 12 weeks.
Results showed that systolic and diastolic blood pressure decreased following the CoQ10-pine bark combination, from 139.2 to 133.2 mmHg and 82.3 to 77.3 mmHg, respectively. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure decreased from 140.3 to 139.5 mmHg and 83.4 to 81.2 mmHg, respectively, in the placebo group.
In addition to increases in the amount of blood pumped by the heart, the researchers also reported improvements in heart rate were also observed in the PycnoQ10 supplement group from 78.4 to 74.2 beats per minute, compared with a decrease from 79.1 to 78.4 in the placebo group.
“The association of Pycnogenol and CoQ10 may offer an important therapeutic option in the management and costs of heart failure, without side effects and with a very good tolerability,” stated the researchers.
“These initial observations warrant further investigation of the Pycnogenol CoQ10 combination with a much larger number of heart failure patients including a broader range of clinical pictures,” they concluded.
Source: Panminerva Medica
Volume 52, Supplement 1 to No 2, Pages 21-25
“Investigation of Pycnogenol in combination with coenzymeQ10 in heart failure patients (NYHA II/III)”
Authors: G. Belcaro, M.R. Cesarone, M. Dugall, M. Hosoi, E. Ippolito, P. Bavera, M.G. Grossi

Isotonix Prime Joint with Pycnogenol endorsed by Scottie Pippen of the Chicago Bulls

Fish oil gives statins a boost

The March 31, 2007 issue of The Lancet published the finding of the Japan EPA Lipid Intervention Study (JELIS) that the omega-3 fatty acid eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) found in fish oil could be used in addition to statin drugs to provide additional protection against coronary artery disease. The study is the first major long-term interventional trial to evaluate this effect.
Mitsuhiro Yokoyama of Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine and colleagues randomized 18,645 men and women with a total cholesterol of at least 6.5 micromoles per liter to receive 1800 milligrams EPA with a statin drug, or a statin drug only for a five year period during which major coronary events were noted. Serum cholesterol levels were measured at the beginning and conclusion of the trial.
At the end of an average 4.6 years of follow up, LDL cholesterol concentrations had decreased by an average of 25% in both groups. A 19 percent reduction in major coronary events occurred in the group that received EPA compared to those that received a statin only. Unstable angina and nonfatal events were similarly reduced.
“This study shows that EPA, at a dose of 1800 mg per day, is a very promising regimen for prevention of major coronary events, especially since EPA seems to act through several biological mechanisms," the authors conclude. "We need to investigate whether EPA is effective for prevention of major coronary events in hypercholesterolemic patients without or with coronary artery disease in other countries”.
“Compared with drugs, invasive procedures, and devices, modest dietary changes are low risk, inexpensive, and widely available," Dariush Mozaffarian of Harvard wrote in an accompanying commentary."The JELIS investigators should be commended, and their efforts should inspire additional clinical trials of the effects of fish oil and other dietary factors and habits on cardiovascular health”.
—D Dye