More about the statins-controversy on B.B.C. Breakfast this morning. I'm not sure putting perfectly healthy people on statins is such a good idea. I know I was put on them after I had my heart attack in 2006, which I take to prevent a further heart attack. But I'm not sure the health benefits are worth the risk. What with muscle pain, cramps in my legs and so on which are the side-effects of taking them are such a trade-off for those who have no family history of heart problems. Why not put people on more natural products such as food with stanols in, such as Benecol and non-branded health drinks and yoghurts and get people to eat more healthily, such as being on a low-fat diet, eat more fruit, vegetables, less red meat and foods which have high levels of fats and cholesterol in such as butter, cheese, eggs and so on. Of course the drug manufacturers would want us to take more tablets of all kinds, including statins, as it undoubtedly increases their profits. If any of the research is done independently of the manufacturers, all well and good, but I don't tend to agree with just handing out more and more medication.
This was posted on the BBC Breakfast Facebook page this morning.
'Plans to extend the use of statins should be scrapped, according to a group of leading doctors and academics. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) says the use of cholesterol-lowering drugs should be extended to save more lives.
But in a letter to NICE, the experts said the benefits of statins don't justify putting up to 5 million more people in England and Wales on the medication.'
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