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Friday, July 28, 2006

Cholesterol lowering statins cause brain fog

Cholesterol isn't an evil substance, despite the observation that every second adult over the age of 50 seems to be on drugs to lower concentrations in their blood, lest they suffer a heart attack or stroke. You will die in a matter of days without it because every cell needs cholesterol. The brain can not function without it. Cholesterol is essential for health.
That's why statin drugs that prevent cholesterol production can cause all sorts of mental problems that I generally lump together as "Brain Fog". These problems can be: memory loss, mental confusion, wild mood swings, sleep disorders and even serious psychotic episodes.
There is already enough of a problem with ailments like dementia without prescribing things that make things even worse. Furthermore, if one is on statins the risk of mental confusion and more serious problems is increased hugely if one is doing other things that can reduce the availablity, manufacture or uptake of cholesterol, or impair mental function such as:
  • On a restrictive low fat diet that is low in fat
  • Taking mental stimulants including coffee and other sources of caffeine
  • Taking prescription medicines for depression, sleep problems and other brain-related conditions
  • Under excessive and chronic stress, including associated over-breathing
Statins can also cause muscle wasting, muscle weakness and severe muscle pain.
If you want to keep your brain functioning properly, the best thing to do is to stay away from statins. There are plenty of natural ways to control your cholesterol and to maintain a healthy heart and circulation.
For a start, you can follow the nutritional guidelines for heart health by Dr Griselda Blazey here and consider supplementing your diet with fish oil with vitamin E and flaxseed oil and a daily vitamin B supplement.
And do not forget to have an annual cholesterol blood test through your Dr so that you take out the guesswork and can accurately chart your progress using healthy natural therapies.

2 comments:

Wayne said...

my understanding is you don't need to consume any cholesterol provided you eat enough of the essential fatty acids in the right quality, I have major problems digesting animal fat, I take half a dozen grams of fish oil a day otherwise all my other fat comes from sunflower seeds. i don't function very well when i start eating other animal fat. If i neglect to take enough essential fatty acids Omega 3 from the fish oil and 6 from the sunflower seeds my health suffers. WIth my essential fats I can run a half marathon no problem, I'm 38. Body builders suffer serious physical weakness when they strip too much fat from their diets, since essential fatty acids are needed to generate energy and even burn body fat itself.

Wayne said...

oops that should ahve been essential fatty acids in the right combinsation, but the combination ratio varies according to different "experts" ratios ot 3 to four parts parts omega 6 to 1 part omega 3 fatty acids,