Devastating Potential Side Effects of Lipitor
The side effects of Lipitor and other cholesterol lowering medications (called statins) have been the subject of much controversy in recent years. For this reason, many people are now looking for natural alternatives to statins to avoid these potentially life-changing adverse reactions.
What is Lipitor and how does it lower cholesterol?
Lipitor and other statin medications are prescription drugs that lower LDL (bad) cholesterol levels. Some of the other more popular ones are Pravachol, Zocor, Crestor and Mevacor. Some doctors actually recommend statin drugs for patients who don't even have high cholesterol as a precaution.
These drugs work by blocking the enzyme that your liver needs to produce cholesterol. Although Lipitor has limited effect on HDL (good) cholesterol, it does succeed in lowering your LDL levels. However, this comes at a price because there are literally hundreds of potential adverse reactions to this medication...some of which can be quite serious.
What are the side effects of Lipitor?
In addition to those common to most prescription medications such as headaches, nausea and fever, other problems with Lipitor can be much more debilitating.
FACT: In early 2012 the FDA warned that patients taking Lipitor and similar statins have an increased risk of high blood pressure and diabetes, and that safety labels will be revised to include this warning. They also announced that patients have experienced memory loss and confusion as a result of taking statin drugs.
Two of the most troubling potential side effects include extreme muscle pain and muscle disease (statin induced myopathy), and serious liver problems.
Take a look at the following excerpts taken directly from the official Lipitor web site:
"Lipitor is not for everyone, including those with liver disease or possible liver problems". "Your doctor may do simple blood tests to monitor liver function before and during drug treatment."
"Tell your doctor about any unusual muscle pain or weakness. This could be a sign of serious side effects."
Other potential side effects of Lipitor:
In addition to serious muscle and liver problems much research has shown that sexual dysfunction and performance problems, as well as memory loss, personality changes and irritability, may result from taking this medication.
Other concerns regarding prescription cholesterol lowering drugs:
1) While cholesterol lowering drugs do lower LDL (bad) cholesterol, they have limited effect on HDL (good) cholesterol, and no effect on triglycerides (fats), an equally important heart disease risk indicator.
2) Statin medications decrease your body's supply of CoEnzyme Q10 (CoQ10), which is an essential nutrient for heart strength and function.
3) There are natural cholesterol lowering ingredients, some of which have been shown to outperform statins in lowering cholesterol, without the possible side effects. Take a look at these natural ingredients to the below.
A Look at Powerful Cholesterol Lowering Nutrients
Although Lipitor and other statin medications can lower cholesterol levels, there are natural alternatives which may be a better, safer option for you. There are natural nutrients that have been shown to not only lower LDL cholesterol, but also lower triglycerides (fats) and increase the good HDL cholesterol.
Take a look at some of these nutrients below:
Policosanol - a natural extract from sugar cane which has been shown to lower LDL (bad) cholesterol levels as well as raise HDL (good) cholesterol. More importantly policosanol has been proven to be free of side effects, unlike the statins.
Guggulipid Extract - an ancient herb from India recently shown to lower cholesterol levels and can also reduce triglyceride levels, another risk factor for heart disease.
Green Tea Extract -- green tea is widely used for many medicinal purposes, and has been shown to reduce triglycerides as well as LDL cholesterol, and increase HDL (good) cholesterol. Green tea also has antioxidants that can prevent heart disease, cancer and other illnesses.
Tumeric Extract - much evidence points to the fact that tumeric may lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels, in addition to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
http://www.healthy-heart-guide.com/side-effects-of-lipitor.html
