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What are Statins?

If you have been notified by your doctor that you have high cholesterol then you may be wondering, what are statins? It is a word that comes up often in reference to lowering LDL cholesterol and increasing HDL or good cholesterol, so you might consider educating yourself about statins. They can be quite helpful after all – but only in the right form. Cheer up; you are about to find out which is which.

What are statins?

Statins occur naturally in plants as a fibrous material that your body digests easily, and it occurs naturally in fruits and vegetables as sterols and stanols. Conversely, statins as referred to by the pharmaceutical industry as medications that are prescribed to lower cholesterol levels by inhibiting HMG-CoA reductase. This is a chemical in the liver that is responsible for production of cholesterol. The body makes two types, LDL or low-density lipoprotein and HDL or high-density lipoprotein, both being lipids that have important functions in the body. The problem is that when someone is genetically predisposed to have high LDL, or has a lifestyle which causes their body to have too much LDL, they suffer from heart disease, including heart attack, stroke and other very unpleasant, even fatal medical problems.

When asking, “what are statins?” statins are meant to inhibit the production of LDL cholesterol, or the bad cholesterol that can clog arteries, causing atherosclerosis. The problem with non-naturally occurring stains, i.e., pharmaceutical drugs like Crestor and Zocor, Lipitor and Lescol, is that they can do more harm than good. Recent studies are even arguing that pharmaceutical statins do very little to lower the morbidity levels (rate of death) of people with high cholesterol.

Conversely, statins that are derived from food sources, that is naturally occurring statins actually help to lower LDL and don’t cause headaches, memory loss, moodiness, lethargy, sleepless nights, constipation, loss of sex-drive, depression and a host of other physical and psychological side effects. Instead, you can eat beans, nuts and seeds. They contain trace statins. Rice bran oil, sesame oil and olive oil also contain statins.

Fruits (especially apples, peaches, pears and cherries) and vegetables (especially cauliflower, sweet potatoes, carrots and cabbage) also contain statins, as well as some fortified foods, like special margarines and butters. Overall, look to add at least 200 mg of statins to your daily intake and you should see a decrease in your LDL cholesterol without the horrible side effects (and price) of pharmaceutical statin medications. Now you know the answer to what are statins?

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