I have touted the book Overdosed America by Dr. John Abramson over and over. It is shocking to me that so few people, especially doctors, know that high cholesterol and heart attacks are only correlated through the age of 40. Lowering weight, eating right, not smoking and exercising have more benefits and reduce heart attack risk more than statin drugs by far. Too low cholesterol increases the risk of other fatal diseases and over use of statin drugs does little but enrich the pharmaceutical industry.

On his blog site, Dr. Abramson has reviews of his book listed which are well worth reading. Here is one such review from the San Diego Union Tribune:

“Abramson, who has a background in statistics and health policy, took the time to read the full 284-page version of the panel’s 2001 report, rather than the 11-page summary that most doctors saw. The results of his careful analysis are enough to shock a healthy heart into failure. He notes that data from the venerable Framingham study – a large, long-term study of risk factors for heart disease – show that elevated total cholesterol levels correlate with an increased risk of death only through the age of 40. Even more astounding is the finding that the risk of death from causes other than coronary heart disease increases significantly with lower total cholesterol levels for both men and women after the age of 50. And that doesn’t even touch on the question of the long-term side effects – both known and unknown – of the statins themselves.”

Buy two copies of the book which is in paperback and give one to your doctor. Physicians need to know that prescribing statin drugs to all but a small percentage of individuals is bad medicine, morally wrong and just plain harmful. Statin drug prescriptions is an industry not true medicine.