Why I Won’t Take Lipitor
Dear Dr. G,
I appreciate the efficiency with which you prescribed Lipitor and baby aspirin in reaction to my cholesterol numbers, and the streamlined system by which Kaiser encourages me to comply with your prescriptions. Believe me, I am quite disturbed by the numbers, total cholesterol 216 mg/dL and LDL 133 mg/dL. Let me tell you why, and what I plan to do about it.
I have been eating whole food, plant-based since November 2009. This means no animal foods of any kind, no meat, no milk, no cheese, no other dairy products, no fish, no chicken, no seafood. It also means minimal processed foods and no added oils. When I eat bread, it is whole grain bread. When I eat rice, it is brown rice if I can get it. I eat a variety of fruits, vegetables both leafy and root, whole grains and legumes every day. When I started, I followed the book Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease, by Caldwell Esselstyn, Jr, MD. It also disallows all nuts and seeds, including olives, avocado and coconut, because of their high fat content. I gave up coffee in 2010 [but now drink one cup a day].
Following this plan, I reduced my cholesterol from dangerous to safe. I also got my blood pressure under control and lost 50 pounds. Prior to seeing you for my back injury in March of 2015, my last previous cholesterol test was August 22, 2014. Then, my total cholesterol was 165 and my LDL was 93.
I don’t have a good way to account for the difference between the tests from last August and March. That is why I was so quick to blame the non-fasting test for the bad result. Now the fasting test confirms the bad news. My only thought is that the accumulation of little indulgences accounts for the worse numbers.
Now, these indulgences would not be given a second thought by most people. Some days, I eat between one and two ounces of nuts. I have an occasional few ounces of avocado. I eat about half an ounce of 84% cacao dark, vegan, organic, fair trade chocolate. (Yes, it is that politically correct!) I eat lunch out three days a week, but at places where I can get whole-food, plant-based meals. There could be a little oil in those meals, but I ate at the same places prior to my good August test. [This was pre-Covid-19. I now rarely eat restaurant food more than one meal per week.]
My plan is to go back to the strict diet, with no nuts, seeds, avocado, chocolate or coconut. I have eaten like that for years, so I know I can. I only started including those treats because I thought my cholesterol was under control. I look forward to a good test six weeks from now.
Regarding Lipitor, let me refer you to an article by my friend John Tanner, which you can find at Can Drugs Save Me from Heart Disease? Here is an excerpt:
- Statins don’t actually help those who haven’t had a heart attack.
- Statins are harmful.
First, a study (link below) was published in June 2010, but many doctors won’t even be aware of it.
This study concludes that although statins reduce the measured cholesterol levels in the blood, for patients who have not yet had a heart attack, these lower levels do not correlate with a reduction in death. Thus I’m sorry to say, that if you are taking statins and have not yet had a heart attack, the statin medicine is not helping you, but through better blood test numbers, it is fooling you into thinking it is helping.
Statins and All-Cause Mortality in High-Risk Primary Prevention
Second, this next study (link below) is an ongoing examination of the negative side effects of statins. The risk factors generally increase with age, dose, and duration. If you fix your heart disease through diet and get off statins soon, you can minimize the damage from the drugs. But don’t wait. (Please note that if you were on statins, it was because you were at risk for a heart attack. You still need to address this root problem, but must do so through a healthy diet – not through a dangerous and ineffective medication. Read on.)
Regarding aspirin, I don’t want to take it, because I don’t think I need it, and because it would preclude me from donating platelets, which I do about once a month.
Thank you for bearing with me and reading this long message. I encourage you to study the research for yourself. If you can’t show me the studies supporting your prescription of Lipitor for a man who has not yet had a heart attack, perhaps you will reconsider such prescriptions for other such patients. For me, please withdraw the prescription. I will not have it filled.
