Sadly, this isn't a joke:
“It could happen. As a public service, British researchers are proposing that fast-food eateries dole out complimentary cholesterol-lowering statin drugs to offset the hazardous glories of their fatty cuisines.
“When people engage in risky behaviors like driving or smoking, they're encouraged to take measures that minimize their risk, like wearing a seat belt or choosing cigarettes with filters. Taking a statin is a rational way of lowering some of the risks of eating a fatty meal,” said Dr. Darrel Francis, a cardiologist at the National Heart and Lung Institute at Imperial College London.”
Read the entire Washington Post article on statins with your fast food. (This is from a few months ago, I just found it buried in my drafts folder.)
What’s really scary is that this is over in Europe, where they have in the past been smarter than Americans when it comes to food.
Here are a couple examples of how they “get it” where we still don’t:
- The French have been much more reluctant to cut out the healthy and flavorful fats in their food.
- Throughout Europe it is required that GMOs be listed on food labels.
- Are there more examples I forgot?
So I'm not sure where this Lipitor nonsense came from and hopefully it's too dumb to ever be implemented anyway.
Also, notice the small print in that Washington Post article – you may have heard about this:
“Next year, the fast-food giants and other restaurant chains will have to supply calorie counts on menus and drive-through signs, thanks to a provision in President Obama's health care reform legislation that even affects vending-machine manufacturers.”
Oh, how this “a calorie is a calorie” mentality wears me down.
Can you imagine how many people could be WELL again if instead of listing calories on labels or how much saturated fat the food contains, they listed things like the dangers of artificial colors and flavors, HFCS, GMOs, MSG, vegetable oils, low-fat anything, or artificial sweeteners?
There is hope!
We do have good reasons to be hopeful, though. The other day on TV I saw an ad for a big yogurt company (they sell only low-fat yogurts, unfortunately), and they said, “Now made without high fructose corn syrup!” The fact that they're excitedly mentioning this fact made me giddy, because you know that other companies will likely be jumping on the bandwagon, and other nasty ingredients may soon go the same way that trans fats and high fructose corn syrup have gone. Why? Because you and I have let them know that we don't want all that crap in our food anymore, that we want our kids to be able to learn and behave again, and that we're sick of not feeling well! We've let them know with our calls to their companies, and by how we spend our food dollars; let's not stop!
Have you seen other signs of hope? Please share below. 🙂
- Confused about healthy fats and the cholesterol issue? Scroll down a little at this post on Healthy Fats and you’ll find all sorts of articles specifically about cholesterol.
Commenter via Facebook says
Try coconut oil to lower cholesterol: https://www.cheeseslave.com/2009/04/20/nutrition-news-roundup-coconut-oil-lowers-cholesterol-improves-thyroid-function/
Coconut oil helps the thyroid function better. Take your temperature and look for other symptoms of low thyroid. Low thyroid function goes hand in hand with high cholesterol.
You may want to try an elimination diet (GAPS) for 4 weeks to see how you do. If you are eating foods you are allergic to, that causes inflammation in the body which raises cholesterol. I have a friend who has Hashimoto’s and he was able to normalize his thyroid function in about 6 months by getting off gluten.
Commenter via Facebook says
https://www.doctor-natasha.com/what-should-my-blood-cholesterol-be.php
When I saw this question, I immediately thought of this article by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride. She says testing your cholesterol is a pointless (and dangerous) exercise, and tells you what tests to have instead if you really want to know your risk for heart disease. It’s very informative!
Commenter via Facebook says
The Schwarzbein Principle is another good book about cholesterol. It’s the rise in insulin causing most of our disease, also all the chemicals in foods, meds and elsewhere.
Commenter via Facebook says
(While still eating all those lovely saturated fats!)
Commenter via Facebook says
Maybe she could check out “Wheat Belly” and Dr. Davis’ findings…a lot of people on the Wheat Belly FB page have reported lower cholesterol levels after eliminating wheat and other grains…
Commenter via Facebook says
How about cutting out wheat for a month or 2 just to see if that helps.
Commenter via Facebook says
Does this person live a sedentary lifestyle? All her fats listed, while very good for body, do have some bad fats.Maybe he/she is taking in too much on a daily/weekly basis and isn’t eating enough other foods that help offset these bad fats (like oatmeal)?
Commenter via Facebook says
Help! I have read this, and your other posts on cholesterol. I have been on a real food diet for at least a year and a half, and my cholesterol has risen from 180 to 267 to now over 360, with LDL over 240. My doctor is going crazy and wants me on statins. (I dread this!) I take 1 tsp daily of Green Pastures fermented butter/cod liver oil and do not want to give up foods I love and believe in but I cannot explain my continual rise. Dr. wants me off of whole milk, butter, eggs and red meat! (I didn’t even tell him of my coconut oil and tallow!) Giving all those foods up is all wrong and yet my numbers…? Any help you can give would be appreciated more than you know. Thanks!
Jo Schoeneck says
Help! I have read this, and your other posts on cholesterol. I have been on a real food diet for at least a year and a half, and my cholesterol has risen from 180 to 267 to now over 360, with LDL over 240. My doctor is going crazy and wants me on statins. (I dread this!) I take 1 tsp daily of Green Pastures fermented butter/cod liver oil and do not want to give up foods I love and believe in but I cannot explain my continual rise. Dr. wants me off of whole milk, butter, eggs and red meat! (I didn’t even tell him of my coconut oil and tallow!) Giving all those foods up is all wrong and yet my numbers…? Any help you can give would be appreciated more than you know. Thanks!
KitchenKop says
Hi Jo,
First, let me be VERY clear: I am not a doctor, there is a LOT I don’t know. Having said that, there is NO way I’d go on a statin or eat anything but full fat REAL foods. High cholesterol means something else is going on and your body is responding to that. Also, remember that cholesterol numbers change throughout the day. Also, how do you FEEL? If you feel good, don’t let them make you into a patient when you’re not!
Here’s what I’d do right away if I were you. Find a good naturopath or other doctor who is up on the WAPF principles and get them on the case. They can help you look at the whole big picture.
I’ll also put this up on Facebook and you can learn from others, too.
Kelly
Emma says
Doesn’t high cholesterol mean a high functioning brain? If your cholesterol is too low, your brain function will be low, is the way I understand it. Doesn’t high cholesterol also mean that your body is trying to fight off infection and uses cholesterol as a helper?
Primal Toad says
We must all keep doing what we are doing. Us, not them. When it comes to money only, bad things happen.
When it comes to caring for people, good things happen. Its great that you saw that HFCS ad. But, I wonder what they replaced it with… corn syrup?
Auntie M says
Since I have to see about 4 doctors during this pregnancy, I provide a list of “medications” to them. I get confusion from telling them about my cod liver oil and omega 3 supllements, my D-mannose (to avoid another UTI), and NAC to protect my liver against the blood pressure meds I have to take. I have to bring or send my weekly blood sugar numbers to two doctors now, but thankfully none of them really ask or try to find out what I eat. My diet could be better, truthfully, but being stuck on bedrest with a husband who can only sort of cook limits me somewhat. I really have to watch the carbs or my blood sugars go nuts. Oh, and statins for pregnant women and for children are a HUGE no-no. Harmless? I think not!
I’m trying to convince my parents to both go off their cholesterol meds, but they have what Dave Ramsey calls “Powdered Butt Syndrome”. They powdered my butt when I was a baby, so they don’t take me too seriously and believe their doctor over me. My dad is having muscle pain, and went off the statins for “a couple of days” to see if it would help. When nothing happened, he went right back on them. My mother is almost scared to upset her doctor by having her cholesterol go up at all, even though there’s no benefit for women to take those stupid statins, and her total cholesterol is in the 100s. It’s an uphill battle, and I really worry about my parents. I hope the US wakes up, but I think I’ll be joining Colleen on her desert island.
MyraSaidIt says
A healthy diet to many people today means a half-way attempt to get a balance of fruits, veggies, meats, breads, and dairy.
People do not stop to consider what else they are getting from those cans and packages of “food”. They do not question the added chemicals; pesticides, hormones, genetically engineered organisms. Too many do not even know how to read a label.
Many people have become naive and believe that the USDA, or someone, is controlling the foodstuffs that we find in the grocery stores, to make sure that they are safe and healthy. Someone is in control, and that someone is the enemy of our health. Their aim is to have control of the food from seed to belly and make lots of money for as long as we can survive. The medical establishment makes money from all the created illnesses too!
It is a rare doctor who is knowledgeable enough to recognize that alopathic drugs are not the answer to all ills. Meds can never cure the cause of illness.
People say, “We are all going to die someday, anyway.” That is certainly true, but how will we “live” in the meantime, healthy as we can be, or miserable with some yet to be discovered disease?
Do not be all talk and no action!
Like Kelly, the kitchen cop, we must all Do Something. I say, “Your health is in your own hands. Handle with care.” MyraSaidIt
healthylivingtodayandtomorrow.blogspot.com
Candace says
My dad had a heart attack at the relatively young age of 42 and has been on multiple medications for 15 years. His new doctor just told him if he lost 20 more pounds, which would put him at a healthy weight, he could get off ALL medications. My mom and I love that a doctor is finally looking beyond pharmaceuticals (though I wish someone would have said that to him years ago!).
Cathy F says
Only the government can define what “healthy” means…don’t you know this yet??? Seriously, this country is in dire trouble with regard to – well, just about everything – but sticking to the topic, our health. The Fed decides through the FDA what is good for us and what is not. Unless people are driven to hunt down information (such as Kelly’s readers) about food, nutrition, and healthy eating, we are stuck with the government declarations about what is considered healthy. It’s no wonder we’re all sick! I just recently discovered the connection between carbohydrates and fat storage. The more I read, the more paranoid I’m getting about my food. I’m getting to the point that if the government (or it’s mouthpieces) tell me something is healthy (or better yet, there’s not enough poison in it to actually hurt me so long as I don’t eat too much), I turn and run the other way. Where are our honest doctors and nutritionists in this battle? That’s what I want to know. Those are the people who should know better and who should be trumpeting the truth. Kudos to people like Gary Taubes, author of GOOD CALORIES, BAD CALORIES. We need more people like him… and Ms. Kelly. Thank you, Kelly, for your wonderful, informative web site!
S. says
There was this dumb commercial I saw awhile back, the guy was saying something like this – it wasn’t verbatim though, it was the basic idea.
“I eat healthy. But my doctor told me that I have a high cholesterol, which can be the sign of heart disease.”
So many things wrong with this – where do I begin?
– first off, according to the so-called theories about health, eating healthy shouldn’t be resulting in a high cholesterol.
– if you eat healthy, why would you be at risk for heart disease anyway?
– if you eat healthy and you have high cholesterol anyway, what’s the point of eating healthy? and what does eating healthy MEAN? low fat, low cholesterol, margarine, skim milk, etc.? I am sick to death of the “healthy” obsession in this country. Their version of healthy is the complete opposite to my version of it!
Bonny says
I can barely watch tv sometimes because the commercials are all for junk food and medications and it makes me so frustrated and angry.
Erica says
Then throw an organic tomato at the tv 🙂
Emma says
Too funny!
Wendy says
“I told the doctor that I was not taking the prescription meds that I was taking herbs. The response was a silent stare!”
Two words about the doctor’s condition: Cognitive Dissidence
MyraSaidIt says
Too funny, Wendy, if it were not also true. I’ve not seen that docor again. My doctor following that, tells me to do what works and has never tried to prescribe something that he knows I will not not take. He understands my strong likelihood to have the bad side effects.
MyraSaidIt
https://www.mynsp.com/esuite/home/FirstChoiceHerbs
Simply the Best Herbs on the Planet
MyraSaidIt says
Several years ago, I was told that I had high cholesterol and needed to take meds. I decided that my “meds” would be in the herbal format. About one year later, I had a new blood test done and was told that I was doing great, to keep up with my meds. I told the doctor that I was not taking the prescription meds that I was taking herbs. The response was a silent stare!
MyraSaidIt
https://www.mynsp.com/esuite/home/FirstChoiceHerbs
Simply the Best Herbs on the Planet
Melissa @ Dyno-mom says
How reckless! Statins are known to cause liver damage! I was flipping through a magazine and read all the fine print in a stain ad, it is pretty scary. Because it is known the the FDA to cause liver damage, there are routine liver profiles done on those who take them. Furthermore, the specific ad said that while the drug was known to reduce overall cholestral is did not necessarily reduce the frequency of repeat heart attacks. I know it is all heresay because I don’t have a link but I will look for one. I just remember telling my husband that I worry for his father who takes them after two heart attacks.
Magda says
I think it’s Heinz ketchup that’s also made without HFCS now, too. But they have a new wave of HFCS adds on TV… this young woman says how she went and did her own research and found out HFCS was just like sugar (guess she went to the corn producers website, no?). Yeah, right….
This ‘drug for every ailment’ mentality is soo tiring. Did you see the latest? Prescription for ‘shift work disorder’. Yep, you guessed it: it’s for people who work nights or different shifts than standard. The list of side effects for this drug was longer than the add itself!!!
Erica says
“A Burger, Fries, and a Side of Lipitor, Please ”
According to the Weston A. Price Foundation, it would be a grass-fed burger on sourdough bread, french fries fried in tallow, and a side of sauerkraut, please 🙂
Wendy says
The merger of business interests with government power has made me think
Colleen says
Yikes! That is scary beyond words! A government entity making a decision for the betterment of society. Sounds a whole lot like communism. So, if we as a society choose to eat the garbage that the government has approved as food, the government is now going to “protect” our health with drugs to “combat the effects”. Anyone else want to run away and live on a deserted island?
It has been said that Americans are like a herd of cattle and we will follow the cow in front of us without thought even if that means going right off a cliff to our death. My whole life I have watched how people are swayed by “experts” – doctors, the media, CEOs, movie stars and even clergy. It’s like we can’t think for ourselves. Everyone else is doing it so it must be okay – it’s the American way! My favorite comeback to not eating HFCS/processed foods/MSG, etc. is “they” wouldn’t make it if it wasn’t safe or good for you, etc., etc., etc. Yeah!
Life is all about compromise and I have realized that as someone who works full-time outside of the home that it will be nearly impossible for my family to follow our new eating style 100% of the time. We have settled on 80%. Yes, we eat in a restaurant once in a while and at other people’s houses. We are learning to eat well when we can and improvise when we don’t have a choice – no condiments, no bread, etc. I feel good knowing that what I purchase and what I make is good for us without all the garbage that other people choose to eat.
It keeps me sane knowing that I am not alone in my battle. I appreciate knowing that others of you encounter the same obstacles and what you are doing to overcome them. Makes me want to move back to Michigan to be closer to my “Food Sisters”! Keep up the good work ladies!
Wendy says
Jenny, I can relate to everything you said. Whenever my husband or I try to discuss food chemicals or RX side-effects, we get a stare like we have three heads. The other day, I mentioned to a woman, whose family suffers from migraine headaches, that my husband has been migraine free since giving up diet colas and chewing gum (with aspartame) a few years back. Immediately, she said that her doctor said not to listen to the alarmists regarding aspartame, and that it is an effective tool against diabetes (whose payroll is this doctor on anyway?).
On another note, I found myself nodding in agreement to Kelly
Meagan says
AMEN – we DON”T want that crap in our food anymore!!
Sharon says
Be aware they have renamed hfcs. It goes by a different name now. It might be on the truth in labeling website.
Soli @ I Believe In Butter says
Do you mean something in addition to the “corn sugar” nonsense? I recall seeing something about that, just need to dig up the article.
(and maybe this will give me motivation to get my hfcs commercial rant done and posted.)
Sharon says
If I remember right it is now corn sugar. They are saying that there is no HFCS but instead it is corn sugar. I read about it on Dr. Mercola’s website.
Sharon says
I have heard a doctor tell me that statins should be in the water supply also. That they were perfectly safe. I went to a doctor in Houston (who does not take insurance so that shows you he does not let the insurance companys dictate what he prescribes) and he asked me if I wanted to be off all my meds. I was on metformin and a blood pressure medicine. I would not take statins. He put me on a diet of no grains(including rice and corn), no sugar (just stevia), and no starchy vegetables. In six month time I am off of all prescriptions except for the armour thyroid. I have lost almost 40-pounds. My tryglycerides went from 200 to 74. The doctor thinks cholestrol numbers are a big fraud and focuses on the tryglycerides. Yes, I dislike very much going into social situations with the family or church. I has been unbelievable what people have said to me. For church I have been eating before I go and just do not eat when there. When I cook something my whole family can eat it is gone before we can get to it. I have learned you cannot make people eat different. Hopefully by praying for them to eat healthy and giving them the correct info they will change. Although they do not want to hear any more info. My husband says not to say anything unless someone asks me. I am still trying to learn that.
Jenny says
I wonder how long it will really take for the medical community (our doctors) to figure it out. My father-in-law was and is on a statin. His previous one had him to the point that he literally was having a hard time walking. My mom-in-law had to help him out of bed. This is a man that is very active and really is pretty healthy. When my husband and I asked him what his cholesterol level was he didn’t know just said the doc said it was too high. We begged him to stop taking the pills, showed him some articles on CoQ10 and statins and the danger of those stupid pills. My sister-in-law, who is a RN, kept saying she wasn’t comfortable with him stopping without a docs permission. My husband and I both said “That’s who put him on those pills without CoQ10.” He did stop for awhile and his damage was not permanent, but I noticed recently that he has another prescription for statins, a different brand, on his kitchen table. This is along with a few other prescriptions now also. What is astonishing to me is my daughter, who is a personal trainer, has told her grandparents what to do to get off the prescriptions. They listen to her because she graduated from college with a degree in exercise science. She has told them to not eat certain things but their cupboards are still full of pop-tarts, velveeta, creamed condensed soups, doritos, chips, cereal (sugar full), diet and regular pop, cheese slices, margarine, crisco, etc. I do feel bad about it, but my mom-in-law doesn’t understand why we have a hard time eating her meals. I am gluten intolerant and my husband can’t have msg and is fighting excema. We just can’t eat processed foods anymore without getting sick. Does anyone else stuggle with this and how do you do it? Do we just keep doing what we can, eat what we can at their house and try to lead by example or do we try to keep talking about please not buying certain things for their sake as well as everyone else’s? By the way, my nephew (on husband’s side), I believe, has autistic tendencies. This past Sunday I watched and listened as he brought out a kool-aid drink (in the plastic bottles) and say he loves those but his favorite is a chocolate milk drink and out he came with a Yahoo. I literally had to keep myself in my seat. It was a true test of will. It literally made me sick to my stomach to watch him down those drinks, purchased my his grandparents, approved my his parents. How do we change it?
Sharon says
The last time we went to my in-laws we had to bring our own meal. They basically think we are crazy and do not believe us when I say that I cannot have gluten or the kids do not need food colorings. They are even questioning the kids over this. I have been trying to get my parents to stop drinking diet cokes and using splenda for years. Even pointing out to them that they have not lost weight but gained. Social situations are very sensitive sometimes and I am still trying to figure them out. My friend tells me to eat before I go. That is what I have been doing.
Emma says
Old people should not eat health food. They need all the preservatives they can get, to prolong their good life…
Soli @ I Believe In Butter says
It’s been a long time since I was in a fast food place, but as I recall they’re been listing calorie counts and the other basic nutrition guidelines (a la packaged food in the markets) for a very long time. Has that done anything to “cure” the obesity epidemic? or the chronic disease epidemic? Not so far as I can tell.
Ah people, it’s not that easy, but it could be…
Freebies says
As least in California they are listing the calories on all the menus now, right next to the food.
jenetta
Amy says
They are doing this in NYC, too, and from what I can tell no one pays attention. In fact, I use them the opposite way they’re intended and I bet other people do, too. For example, if I see a sandwich that’s 400 calories, I think, no way will that carry me over for lunch. Let me order the 600 calorie one instead. It’s better value for my money.
Amy says
In NYC it’s all restaurants with 10 or more locations, not just fast food.
Emma says
Ha, ha, ha. Your better value comment gave me an outburst of laughter. My best medicine for the day!
Lori @ Laurel of Leaves says
WHAT?!?! Good grief. . .
I heard talk a while back that some agency was proposing cholesterol lowering meds be added to the public water supply–as if the fluoride and chlorine weren’t bad enough.
Teresa says
My Dr. said that to me years ago but is changing his tune now since all his patients are having side effects from the Lipitor. I took it for years because I was told that my anti-rejection medsfrom kidney transplant) cause my blood to be sticky and I didn’t know any better. I also experienced side effects like muscle pain and heel pain so bad in 1 foot I could barely walk. I came off the meds when I went traditionally eating and no more muscle pain. The Drs are waking up to some of the drug companies lies.
Laura--The Sushi Snob says
Uggghhhhh