SEARCH:
Sign in | Join | Help
search Mercola.com
 
FREE Subscription 
The World’s Most Popular Natural Health Newsletter
Now They Want to Treat Kids With Statins

The American Heart Association (AHA) now recommends the use of statin drugs for children with high-risk lipid abnormalities when diet and exercise fail to lower their cholesterol.

Several trials in recent years have shown that statin use by children with familial hypercholesterolemia is as safe and effective as in adults.

The AHA suggested that drug therapy be considered in children with an LDL of 190 mg/dL or higher, and also for children with an LDL of 160 mg/dL or higher and risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

Circulation March 21, 2007 Free Full-Text PDF

Yahoo News March 22, 2007

MedPage Today March 22, 2007


Dr. Mercola's Comment:

Apparently, the perversion of logic connected with the use of statin drugs for all kinds of crazy uses has reached a new low. The conservative American Heart Association now considers statins first-line drug therapy for some kids (for boys age 10 and older and young girls only after they begin the menstrual cycle).

I do not find it particularly heartening that these drugs are as safe for children as they are for adults, considering that they are highly dangerous for adults to begin with.

However, the good news here, unless doctors choose to ignore it, is that the optimal treatment for kids who are battling the epidemic of childhood obesity is still considered to be lifestyle changes, not a statin drug.

If you are one of the people who have been deceived into taking this unnecessary drug, please carefully evaluate the alternatives. Only a few people out of every thousand placed on this drug actually need it, because of a genetic problem, and they typically have cholesterol levels in the 350 range.

Nearly everyone else should stop these dangerous drugs ASAP!! High cholesterol is a symptom -- not a cause -- of disease and is typically related to high insulin levels. Lower your insulin levels by cutting out sugars and lowering your grain intake and increase your insulin sensor receptivity and your cholesterol will "magically" normalize.

Some additional lifestyle changes that your kids can make:

  • Now that the weather is getting warmer in the Northern Hemisphere, it's time to get your child off the couch and take him or her to the playground.
  • Replace those sugary drinks and sodas with clean water.
  • Limit your child's TV time and get it out of their bedroom today!

Also, taking a high-quality fish oil is also a non-toxic and more effective alternative for treating cholesterol than the very problematic Lipitor.

Related Articles:





 
 Do you find this article interesting?
Comment on This Article Community Comments (23)
 
 
Posted On Mar 23, 2007
Why are drugs always the first line of offense? It drives me crazy that people don't know or refuse to believe that anything other than drugs can do the job. Food is the most powerful drug I know!
Sometimes in an effort to be healthy, people do the worst thing possible. As in my own case when I switched to a low-fat, high fiber vegetarian diet. My cholesterol level soared 30 points. My naturopathic doctor was at a complete loss and his solution was to encourage me to take pills! Granted, they were not pharmaceutical, but still! He never once suggested that I start eating red meat and fat, which is what I eventually did and guess what? My cholesterol is now normal!


 
Bridestein
Savvy User Savvy User, Joined On 12/2006
Bridestein  
Replied

Russ Bianchi
Savvy User Savvy User Joined On 9/2006
Russ Bianchi  
 
Posted On Mar 25, 2007
Correction, natural botanical sources are the most powerful source of nutrients, antioxidants, essential amino acid formation, bio available minerals and vitamins, anti carcinogenic compounds, etc., NOT "Food" which would include contaminated beef, poultry, fish, dairy and processed brands.


Bridestein
Savvy User Savvy User Joined On 12/2006
Bridestein  
 
Posted On Mar 26, 2007
Okay, if you want to get technical about it ;)


Dr. David Spitz
Apprentice User Apprentice User Joined On 12/2006
Dr. David Spitz  
 
Posted On Apr 05, 2007
To understand why red meat (but it must be grass-fed) would help lower cholesterol visit: OrganicGrassFedBeefInfo.com a great site explaining health and environmental benefits of grass fed meats.

But know this. Our ancestors in the paleolithic era ate grass fed meats--deer, rabbit, buffalo, etc., drank only water, ate fruits, nuts, vegetables and berries. They didn't drink milk. And, guess what? No cholesterol problems.

The American lifestyle and dietary habits create a boom for the drug companies. Don't let them win. Eat like your ancestors from 10,000 years ago and be VERY healthy!


LaserX5
Apprentice User Apprentice User Joined On 1/2007
LaserX5  
 
Posted On Apr 05, 2007
 Just when I think the AMA and drug can't sink any lower, they just prove how corrupt they really are! giving cholesterol drugs to little kids? unbelieveable! is there no limit to thier evil? kids don't need statins, let alone adults, but oh no, drug companies are determined to show how thier 'wonderful' drug can make life better for us. BULLCRAP! its been shown again and again they are nothing but deadly poisons! all they do is relieve a symptom, that's not the point! the cause of the high cholesterol should be addressed, not the sympton due to it. sheesh, just makes me all the more determined I will NEVER take another drug or ever give my kids any unless it was the last resort and I mean LAST RESORT! you know, its funny ain't it? our police bust drug dealers, yet the biggest drug dealers are the pharmacuetical companies, but do you seem them getting busted? of course not, they have under the guise, oh this is helping the public. take a hint you drug pushers, you're just in it to make money, you don't care bout people's health, you just want to sell them an ineffective remedy. I hope people like Kevin Trudeau, mercola and many others expose you for the corrupt, greedy  and sadistic people you really are. you can't fool the public forever, they're gonna catch on to your schemes someday


seg
Savvy User Savvy User Joined On 11/2006
seg  
 
Posted On Apr 13, 2007
We need to ESSENTIALLY, EDUCATED, EXPOSE and ENLIGHTEN EVERYONE.
Not an easy thing to do because not everyone is fortunate enough to own a computer, TV, or  have access to these facilities.
We need the get  the word out to these people by word of mouth , phone, crusades, church, school, whatever and however, we need the message to be delivered by the "big guns" the mercolas, al sears, andrew weil, chopra, etc..via any means necessary, a good idea would be to do it live on talk shows like Larry King etc... this would ensure good publicity and the word would spread much , much ,more quickly.......
they will fall, but we got to keep pounding away ... sooner the better for our kids and the whole of mankind... 

 
 
 
Posted On Mar 23, 2007

High cholesterol is not a disease – it is a risk factor, and a very minor one at that. Lowering cholesterol with statins is like encasing your head in plastic to keep your hair dry. Your hair stays dry but you die from suffocation!

This has been on the cards for some time. Big Pharma is in trouble; the statins are going off-patent and they have no new blockbusters in the pipeline. It was the only thing they could do – find new unsuspecting customers. Not content with poisoning consenting adults, they now want to poison unconsenting, innocent children to keep them in Armani underpants and Gucci shoes.

Just don’t do it!


 
PPARGammaGirl
Savvy User Savvy User, Joined On 6/2006
PPARGammaGirl  
Replied

doosie2
Novice User Novice User Joined On 3/2007
doosie2  
 
Posted On Mar 26, 2007
CathyVm have enjoyed reading your comments, gets a tad lonely here in N.Z are you interested in communicating?. I share the same outlook as you do and am a health professional tah


garyc_3
Novice User Novice User Joined On 2/2007
garyc_3  
 
Posted On Apr 01, 2007
Having suffered the terrible effects of rhabdomyolosis after only 3 weeks on pravachol, I can only say that anyone who would prescribe these drugs for children should be indited for child abuse.

 
 
 
Posted On Mar 23, 2007
I used to be a Regional Faculty Member of the AHA, stopped a few years back, didn't like the direction they are going, and this adds to my conclusion.  Not so conservative are they.  Just look at the recent brands of cereal and instant cereals they are branding with their logo as good heart foods laced with natural flavors, modified sweeteners, soy protein, GM corn, etc.
And to the MD's who dish out these statin drugs on children, shame on you!  Where is the responsibility to improve the lifestyle, OF CHILDREN!  If there is one category of people to have a dramatic effect on, it would be, THE CHILDREN!  Scare them if you have to.  Send them to a dietician, a counselor, a life coach if needed, to educate and spend time with these kids on a better lifestyle, on health, because they are not getting it from the government institutions.  They are too preoccupied with teaching them how to say no to drugs in the first grade, and how to roll a condom on a banana and get a Gardasil vaccine in the fourth grade.
Here you go Johnny, now take your lipitor (don't have the guts to capitalize) before you start playing your Playstation and after you get some coco-pebbles in your stomach.  And just before you leave for school, don't forget your ritalin!

 
proatc
Apprentice User Apprentice User, Joined On 12/2006
proatc  
 
 
 
Posted On Mar 23, 2007
These children who are prescribed statins will face liver disease way before they have a heart attack or stroke.  What is a normal lipid profile for children anyways (there is not sufficient data because children are not routinely tested).  The buck stops here Big Pharma, we will formally protest this outrageous prescription for disaster.  Parents need to read the fine line regarding statins that they do not prevent stroke or heart attack.  Don't let scare tactics monger you into giving your children these dangerous chemicals.  Statins are the equivalent of weapons of mass destruction.  But, they are subtly prescribed everyday with massive kickbacks to the doctors who prescribe them.  So, parents who do you trust? 

 
LM36
Apprentice User Apprentice User, Joined On 12/2006
LM36  
 
 
 
Posted On Mar 23, 2007
Good Grief, how much did Pfizer and other Big PHARMA contrubited to the coffers of the AHA this year?  Why subject our children to medications when most of this can be prevented by eating right for your body.

mmc88121

 
mmc88121
Moderator User Moderator User, Joined On 11/2006
mmc88121  
 
 
 
 
© Copyright 2009 Dr. Joseph Mercola. All Rights Reserved. If you want to use this article on your site please click here. This content may be copied in full, with copyright, contact, creation and information intact, without specific permission, when used only in a not-for-profit format. If any other use is desired, permission in writing from Dr. Mercola is required.
* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. If you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition, consult your physician before using this product.