Statins– The Anti-Inflammatory Connection

By Tucson Functional Medicine on June 6, 2022 • 0 Comments

Statin medications have been hauled the king of lowering total and LDL cholesterol.

The position of many in the medical arena support that lowering cholesterol will save us from a deadly cardiovascular incident.

Although I won’t deny that statins are well substantiated to decrease the incidence of cardiovascular mortality, the question we all must ask is how statins reduce this risk?

Is it by reducing cholesterol? Or is there another mechanism that has been underrated and maybe the “real” benefit of statins and the reduction of cardiovascular disease?

Before I take you are this new journey of statins, let’s look at some of the cons of consistent statin usage.

It is well documented that statins deplete the body of the powerful anti-oxidant, Co-Enzyme Q10 (CoQ10). CoQ10 plays a vital role in the proper functioning of mitochondria.

Here is what we all need to know. Mitochondria are cellular powerhouses and are highly dense in the heart and other muscles. Here is a big surprise. The health of the mitochondria plays a critical role in insulin sensitivity.

So can it possibly mean that by damaging the mitochondria, statins can lead to insulin resistance? It appears so!

So here is what we now know. Statin medications deplete the all-important Co-Enzyme Q10 leading to mitochondria dysfunction. This, in turn, may lead to heart failure and diabetes.

A review of my article on insulin resistance is a good review of the real villain in cardiovascular disease.

So with all of the above stated, let’s explore the possible real reason statins have been well supported to reduce cardiovascular mortality.

So what is it about statins that make them work so well?

The answer is their anti-inflammatory benefits. It is now well documented that cardiovascular disease is an inflammatory disease. Therefore, by reducing coronary inflammation and insulin resistance instead of focusing on lowering LDL cholesterol, we can surmise that atherosclerosis can be controlled.

We may ask, should one ditch the statins? The evidence is mounting in favor of reducing inflammation and insulin resistance. But I am afraid to say that it is unlikely that the majority of the medical establishment will soon stop prescribing statins.

The bottom line is statins do indeed reduce cardiovascular mortality by reducing inflammation but remember, at the cost of increasing insulin resistance.

You, the reader, should do everything to reduce and stop insulin resistance, thereby really getting to the root cause of cardiovascular disease.

It is crucial to firmly understand that insulin resistance is one of the major players in inflammation.

References

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3096178/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3097389/

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2019.00532/full

Statins and Insulin Resistance

https://academic.oup.com/jes/article/4/8/bvaa057/5837624

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3016087/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25655639/

Statin and Anti-Inflammation

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3394171/