03/31/2026
Medical Rant Ahead regarding statins for “high cholesterol”.
I’m almost 60 years old. I have been engaged in sports and/or teaching group fitness, personal training, and physique/bodybuilding since 1984. I am also a 38 year tenured registered nurse who has cared for people cradle to grave starting out in emergency room pediatrics and then managing large healthcare systems in gerontology, rehab, and then insurance. It is a very complex system to understand and I am grateful for the experiential learning, but this isn’t about me, this is about YOU, and ensuring YOU understand what a healthcare professional is asking of you when they wish to perform any test or introduce any medication. ALL medication affects your metabolic and system balance, and some can create homeostasis where it did not exist before, or ameliorate pain for better quality of life. If you think for one second that your provider has all the answers and will be your Wikipedia to assist you in making an informed decision; think again.
Providers are hogtied by insurance companies to follow an algorithm, even if they know the next step or right answer. Insurance companies make them, and you, jump through hoops to get to where you need to be because their objective is not to ensure your well, but to save money and keep money in the system. If you’re well, you’re not a consumer of hospitals, pharmacological interventions, provider offices, and all things filled with DISease. The word disease means something is not in harmony and your body starts with symptoms to get your attention. Ignore those, and things progress, sometimes to a point of no return.
Decades ago the ‘normal’ range for total cholesterol was 250-300 depending on age. Now…. 200 or less. What does this mean? Maybe nothing, but if you don’t understand your numbers, your provider will have the ‘talk’ and start hitting keys to send off a script for a statin to reduce your cholesterol because the mantra is that fat is a precursor to heart disease. Numbers in isolation are never the sole predictor of heart disease. Do your research and make an informed choice.
The human brain is made up of approximately 60% fat. Your neurons are wrapped in myelin sheaths made up of…fat (think fatty seals whose blubber protects them from subzero water temps). Fat is ESSENTIAL for ATP production, your energy system and krebs cycle fuel converting fat and carbs to energy feeding your mitochondria to make you function optimally.
Stay with me.
Statins do not discern between good and bad fat. What if I said there is no such thing as bad fat? Mother Nature has perfectly designed everything you need to function optimally. Take away an essential fuel and you take away, energy, muscle function, brain function.
If you’re on a statin, are you getting muscle cramping? Brain fog? Train runs out of steam by 2pm?
Follow along here. IF your provider tells you you need a statin based solely on your blood numbers ask the following: Is there family history of stroke and heart disease. Were those affected leading sendintary lifestyles, did they smoke (anything), drink large amounts or regular amounts of alcohol, were they diabetic- with is also largely affected by lifestyle and diet, did they live in a smoke-filled environment? The results were not genetic, they were lifestyle. Then understand what your ‘good’ number value is in comparison. Do you lead a healthy lifestyle (movement, weights to maintain muscle mass, particularly after meno and manopause…. Yes, gents, you tank too! Just not as ugly as females; and rest- sleep and rest is your repair mode). And, AND….
If you are concerned about taking these drugs and knocking off your entire fat metabolizing system, ask for a CT scan of your heart. A non-invasive test that can see any plaques that may be of concern.
Wait for it…. often this is not covered by insurance. Why?!?! Why indeed…. Not to worry, on average these tests cost under $150.00.
Ok, help me make it make sense.
Patient A has ‘high’ ‘bad’ cholesterol, but the good guys are also high. The person is active, and by ‘old’ standards there is no concern. Patient A asks for the CT and pays out of pocket to create peace of mind and to actually see if these ‘bad’ guys have been wreaking any havoc in the absence of any symptoms that would dictate otherwise.
Results are 0.
ZERO!!!!
That means no evidence of coronary artery disease. Why then if patient A who has been living with horrible values based upon current standards want to take a medication to remove fat production from their body?!?!
Please know I am not anti-pharm, I am anti-HARM. Isn’t that the underpinnings of safe medical practicing, ‘First Do NO Harm?”
Be an advocate for yourself and don’t do everything you’re told simply because someone has a bunch of letters after their name. Have they earned them? No doubt. But, keep in mind not one size fits all and just because there’s an algorithm today that falls under the umbrella of standard of care, doesn’t mean they have it right. Remember when individuals suffered from mental illness they went through electroshock therapy and lobotomies. There’s a great pun there, but I’ll leave it to your own interpretation.
We are always learning and growing. Don’t be a lemming! Play it safe, and play it smart.
