• Chapter 39: Conclusion
• Chapter 40: Specific Daily Supplement Considerations

Chapter Excerpts

The best treatment to prevent heart disease and stroke is NOT to simply lower cholesterol with statin drugs as much as it is to PROTECT LDL cholesterol… NO MATTER the level… from OXIDATION (according to the opinion of Dr. Ladd McNamara). Even among people with higher levels of cholesterol, those whose LDL cholesterol is NOT oxidized, along with a LOW homocysteine level (less than 6.5), will have a lower risk of heart disease and stroke than those that simply have a “normal” LDL cholesterol level (which IS oxidized).

Shall we risk serious and permanent side effects, including disease and possible death from statin drugs, or shall we enjoy all the positive benefits of nutrition, including longer life, less disease and no harm from the use of vitamins and minerals? The choice is in our hands …literally!

Ladd McNamara, M.D.

• Chapter 34: "I’m on Antioxidants, But My Cholesterol is Still High!"
• Chapter 35: Age and Arterial Calcifications
• Chapter 36: Low Free Testosterone Levels in Men are Associated with an Increased Risk of Heart Disease

Chapter Excerpts

I knew it would be better if she had a lower LDL cholesterol level and took antioxidants, but I agreed with her about not going on the cholesterol-lowering drug.
…To her relief, her level of oxidized LDL cholesterol was much lower than what is considered normal. It was better than “good.” Her percentage of oxidized LDL cholesterol was so low it amazed even me. Brenda was set free from the Cholesterol Conspiracy.

Calcium and magnesium imbalances lead to osteoporosis and calcium deposits in the arteries.

In a recent study in men’s health, doctors measuring the degree of coronary artery disease, diagnosed with angioplasty, found that even more important than cholesterol, diabetes, smoking, high blood pressure, and obesity, the major predictors for the severity of atherosclerosis turned out to be age, low levels of HDL cholesterol, and low levels of free testosterone.

Ladd McNamara, M.D.

Chapter References

• 163: Chandalia M, Garg A, Lutjohann D, von Bergmann K, Grundy SM, Brinkley LJ. Beneficial effects of high dietary fiber intake in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. N Engl J Med. 2000 May;342(19):1392-8.
• 163: Lawrence F. Bielak, John A. Rumberger, Patrick F. Sheedy, II, Robert S. Schwartz, and Patricia A. Peyser. Probabilistic model for prediction of angiographically defined obstructive coronary artery disease using electron beam computed tomography calcium score strata. Circulation 2000 102: 380-385.
• 164: O’Rourke R, Brundage B, Froelicher V, et al. American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Expert Consensus Document on electron-beam computed tomography for the diagnosis and prognosis of coronary artery disease. J Amer Coll Cardiol 2000 36(1):326-340.
• 165: Howe A, Webster W. Warfarin exposure and calcification of the arterial system in the rat. Int J Exp Pathol 2000 Feb;81(1):51-56.
• 166: Vermeer C, Schurgers L. A comprehensive review of vitamin K and vitamin K antagonists. Hematol Oncol Clin North Am 2000 Apr;14(2):339-353.
• 167: Phillips GB, Pinkernell BH, Jing TY. Are major risk factors for myocardial infarction the major predictors of degree of coronary artery disease in men? Metabolism 2004 Mar;53(3):324-329.
• 168: Dobrizycki S, Serwatka W, Nadlewski S, et al. An assessment of correlation between endogenous sex hormone levels and the extensiveness of coronary heart disease and the ejection fraction of the left ventricle in males. J Med Invest. 2003 Aug;50(3-4):162-169.
• 169: Muller M, van den Beld AW, Bots ML, Grobbee DE, Lamberts SW, van der Schouw YT. Endogenous sex hormones and progression of carotid atherosclerosis in elderly men. Circulation 2004 May 4;109(17):2074-79.
• 170: Dzugan SA, Smith RA. Hypercholesterolemia treatment: a new hypothesis or just an accident? Med Hypothesis. 2002 Dec;59(6):751-6.
• 171: Dzugan SA, Smith RA. Broad spectrum restoration in natural steroid hormones as possible treatment for hypercholesterolemia. Bull Urg Rec Med. 2002;3(2):278-284.
• 172: Chen C, et al. Endogenous sex hormones and prostate cancer risk: a case-control study nested within the carotene and retinal efficacy trial. Cancer Epidimeiol Biomarkers Prev. 2003 Dec;12(12):1410-1416.
• 173: Stattin P, Lumme S, Tenkanen L, et al. High levels of circulating testosterone are not associated with increased prostate cancer risk: a pooled prospective study. Int J Cancer. 2004 Jan 20;108(3):418-424.
• 174: Rhoden EL, Morgentaler A. Testosterone replacement therapy in hypgonadal men at high risk for prostate cancer: results of 1 year of treatment in men with prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia. J Urol. 2003 Dec;170(6 Pt 1):2348-2351.
• 175: Raivio T, Santti H, Schatzl G, et al. Reduced circulating androgen bioactivity in patients with prostate cancer. Prostate. 2003 May 15;55(3):194-198.

Ladd McNamara, M.D.

• Chapter 25: Statin Drugs May Cause Depression and Possibly Suicide
• Chapter 26: Statin Drugs Impair Memory and the Ability to Think
• Chapter 27: Statin Drugs may Cause Cancer

Chapter Excerpts

Fifteen percent of those taking statin drugs develop some cognitive side effects.

The pharmaceutical industry denies that statin drugs can cause amnesia; yet in many of their own studies, memory loss was reported.

Over 5 years, of the approximately 250 women taking Lipitor®, there were 12 new cases of breast cancers, compared to one new case among the placebo group. Certainly not proof that statin drugs cause breast cancer, but a 1500% increase risk of breast cancer is enough"smoke" to be worried about a fire.

Because Co-Q10 levels are decreased by statin drugs, it is easy to predict an increased risk of prostate and breast cancer.

Chapter References

• 43: King D, Wilburn A, Wofford M, et al. Cognitive impairment associated with atorvastatin and simvastatin. Pharmacotherapy 2003 Dec; 23(12):1663-1667.
• 44: Muldoon M, Barger S, Ryan C, Flory J, et al. Effects of lovastatin on cognitive function and psychological well-being. Am J Med. 2000 May; 108(7):538-546.
• 45: Eleanor Laise. The Lipitor Dilemma, Smart Money: The Wall Street Journal Magazine of Personal Business, November 2003.
• 46: Duane Graveline, MD., Lipitor: Thief of Memory, 2004, www.buybooksontheweb.com.
• 47: Lopena O, Pharm D, Pfizer, Inc., written communication, 2002. Quoted in an email communication from Duane Graveline, spacedoc@webtv.net.
• 48: Leung, B, Sattar N, Crilly A, et al. A novel anti-inflammatory role for simvastatin in inflammatory arthritis. J Immunol 2003 170:1524-1530.
• 49: Palinski, W, et al. Immunomodulation: a new role for statins? Nature Medicine, 2000 Dec 6(12):1311-1312.
• 50: Newman T, Hulley S. Carcinogenicity of lipid-lowering drugs. JAMA 1996 Jan 3; 275(1):55-60.
• 51: Folkers K, et al. Activities of Vitamin Q10 in animal models and a serious deficiency in patients with cancer. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1997 234(2):296-299.
• 52: Lockwood K, Moesgaard S, Yamamoto T, Folkers K. Progress on therapy of breast cancer with vitamin Q10 and the regression of metastases. Biochem Biophys Res Commun, 1995 Jul 6; 212(1):172-7.
• 53: Sacks F, Pfeffer M, Moye L, et al. The effect of pravastatin on coronary events after myocardial infarction in patients with average cholesterol levels. Cholesterol and Recurrent Events Trial investigators. N Engl J Med. 1996 Oct 3; 335(14):1001-1009.
• 54: Boudreau D, Gardner J, Malone K, et al. The association between 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl co-enzyme A inhibitor use and breast carcinoma risk among postmenopausal women: a case-control study. Cancer 2004 Jun 1; 100(11):2308-2316.
• 55: Heart Protection Study Collaborative Group. MRC/BHF Heart Protection Study of cholesterol lowering with simvastatin in 20,536 high-risk individuals: a randomized placebo-controlled trial. Lancet 2002 Jul 6; 360(9326):7-22.