Why Your Doctor Is Wrong About Statins and Fat by Dr Paul Mason |  

I had been on Keto for a number of months and my regular clinician said I could quit taking my BP and statin meds since all my blood work looked really good and it probably wasn't necessary to be on them any more. When I went to the cardiologist, for another unrelated issue, he asked why I had stopped taking the meds and I told him that I had made changes to my diet in order to rid myself of having to deal with the heart meds (and other meds like Glipizide) because of their side effects. He said something like, "well that's all well and good, but you really need to be on a statin, regardless". Before the visit, I had done some research about statins, cholesterol etc, and asked him if a slightly elevated LDL level was necessarily a bad thing. He then cited some study (what's name I can't recall at the moment) that had really nothing to do with the efficacy of statins at all and he made it sound like that was definitive proof and reason that I should be back on the meds...case closed- end of discussion. I was a bit disappointed at that point, relented and let him write the script. I decided that I would go back on them temporarily and do a bit more research before the follow-up. Meanwhile, the new BP med he prescribed was making me dizzy, and I decided to stop taking it after 2 days. I also found a study online concerning the effects of statins on reducing CoQ10 which I learned was an essential enzyme for heart function. I printed it out and brought it with me for the follow up visit. The first thing he asked was if I was taking the meds he scripted. I said that the beta blocker was making me dizzy, so I ceased taking it and although I started back on the statin, had some serious reservations about continuing them and showed him the printout of the study I had found. He took a short glance at it, handed it back to me, dismissing it as something akin to media hype, restated his old talking points from our last visit and then re-emphasized that I needed to be back on a statin and beta blocker. I then restated that the damn beta blocker was making me dizzy. He snapped back, "Then just take half a tablet every day!" To finish it off I stated again my reservations about the statins. At this point, he took on a defensive tone, got rather "huffy", and said, "well if you don't want to take the meds, I'll just put in your record that you refused the meds...I'm a cardiologist and I take a statin!" In my own mind at that point, I decided that this guy was never going to be empathetic to the needs and concerns of his patient and let him write the scripts again. Only this time, I drove past the pharmacy, went home and threw the beta blocker and the statin in the trash and haven't looked back. Also, I had forgotten to mention that prior to doing Keto, I actually had a heart attack while I was on a statin.

I first came across Dr. Paul Mason in late December 2020, I watched one of his lectures and by March 2021 I had reversed by Type 2 Diabetes, come off my statins and Metformin that I had been taking for years, and reduced my daily fasting blood levels from 7.4 mmol to 4.2 mmol, as I type this in May 2021 I have now lost nearly 4 stone in weight (56 lbs / 25.4 kg) following a keto diet, and am fitter and healthier at 52 than I was in my 30 somethings, who knows what the future holds, but I owe the chance of a normal life again to Dr.Paul Mason and avidly watch everything this wonderful physician puts out into the public domain, I just hope GP's and the NHS here in the UK start to catch up with the science because a lot of lives could be saved and massive healthcare costs reduced.

Fortunately I have already had that conversation with my GP. You know the one that goes, "Your cholesterol is higher than we'd like. We need you to take statins." "I am not going to." "But you are at greater risk of dying". "I am sorry but I am not going to, and we all have to die. I believe the side effects are dreadful and I am not going to take them." "But they will prevent your dying before you might otherwise." "What are the numbers? Can you tell me it is going to give me years or just a few days?" "Well the numbers to treat are.......I can't find it just now." "If you can tell me that I will live years longer and without nasty side effects then I might consider it, but you cannot. The evidence for them being effective in post menopausal women is not there and I am not going to take them. I already have bad enough joint pain, so thanks, but no thanks. I am not going to take them."

Dr. Mason is a champion! God bless him for sifting through the mess of scientific confusion and presenting the truth clearly and boldly!

The Heart Foundation accepted $300,000 a year from McDonald's in return for its tick of approval says it all.

off statins and ON carnivore for a year and a half and haven't felt this good and been fitter since I was a child!

I'm a nurse in home care, very hard seeing all the elderly on statins with so much pain

I was put on statins some years ago. They dramatically affected my mental state. I would lose my temper for no reason and on one occasion wound up throwing furniture down the stairs. Also at my annual health MOT the blood test always came back as close to diabetic. Went to see another doctor and he looked at my cholesterol levels and said why the hell are you on statins you don't need them. Funnily enough since coming off statins I no longer show up in blood tests as near diabetic but the nurse who did the MOT pre covid would always say I should be on statins. It was like a mantra with no thought or reason. Needless to say I would never take statins again.

Brilliant as always. Thank you ( gp in U.K.)

EXCELLENT! CONCISE! This video should be a required course for all medical students as part of their dietary education! HOMERUN, PAUL! 🏆

A few days ago, a study from the U.K. made headlines around the world saying that vegetarians had healthier biomarkers than those who included meat in their diet. Curious, I read one of these articles on the study and found out that total cholesterol and LDL were lower (presumed to be a good thing), but HDL was also lower and triglycerides were higher. After seeing Dr. Mason's video on what what high LDL means in those who follow a keto or low carb diet, I thought: hmmm.... those biomarkers don't look so flash after all.

Eye-opening video. The part about the 40-year old studies being finally published is fascinating/hilarious/depressing. Keep rocking, Dr. Mason.

I blame being on Simvastatin and then Atorvastatin for years for giving me insulin resistance, obesity and diabetes. I have stopped all meds except Levothyroxine and Bisoprolol and I'm slowly losing weight on a ketogenic-fasting diet and my health is much improved.

Basic chemistry should tell you that poly un-saturated fat is unstable due to double covalent bond and prone to oxidation!. Clearly, poly-unsaturated fat is more than likely to increase oxidative stress in cells. Saturated fat has single covalent bond and therefore stable as it cannot undergo any chemical reaction. How is it possible for anyone to accept that poly-unsaturated fat is better than saturated fat?. This is beyond me.

My parents own a house for elderly care whose patients consist of dementia and amputees, and I would come back every year for a month (military leave) to help out. Initially there were six patients: two of whom were the amputees and the four had dementia; all of the four were prescribed statins by there doctors. I noticed while I was there one of the males on statins became increasingly aggressive and his temper was getting shorter by the day. He was 6'5 and 300lbs and since we were feeding him healthy foods the swelling in his legs went down and became increasingly mobile. Me and my brother had to watch him through the night to make sure he didn't hurt anyone. The other two couldn't form words anymore, and the last one had their teeth falling out and had the skin of a drug user. I departed after my leave ended and six months later I get a call from my mom and she tells me that three of the dementia patients had died and the one whose teeth were falling out is not long for this world. I talked to the two amputees on face time and they looked well.

Thanks again Paul

Thanks for the amazing pressntation!

My insurance company is starting to pressure me to take statins because they’re not seeing that I have prescriptions for them. I might eventually have to get my doctor to prescribe the cheapest statin available so I can buy and discard it...

Amazing, Dr. Paul Mason. xx

Thanks Dr Mason!

Good concise delivery. Totally understandable with plenty of evidence to back up every word. Thank you. This is going to be one I send to all my friends.

What a great man! Keep up the good fight!

Family and friends think I'm nuts for not listening to "experts".

Wow, such quality content from you Dr Mason, highly appreciated, keep up the great job you're doing. Im a doctor my self and generally I consider the docs population to be of a relatively low level of intelligence and/or the ability to question what they're taught, rather they need authority/guidelines they can follow, but hey if that's what they were taught in medical school by their professors and if that's THE science and the only true science why would they dig and try to contradict that, when they're busy people to begin with.

Brilliant presentation. Cheers

Dr Paul Mason is brave in speaking the truth. I do my best with weight training and eating meat, eggs, butter, milk, yoghurt and vegetables/fruit. I avoid processed foods, seed oils and the star rating which is a FKn joke!! 70-80% of my calories come from animal products and saturated fat. I am a healthy weight, have no medical conditions and take no medications, I am 58

Thank you Dr. Mason.

Great presentation by a great doctor!

Thank you for this information!!!

The peer review process is seriously flawed. Thank you again Paul, for your succinct coverage of this vexed topic

I love this short sharp and strong evidence based talk. Thanks Dr. Mason!

Have been on a keto diet lost stone and !/2 just been in for carotid artery surgery all successful main problem now blood pressure far to low 70/30 this after struggling for 15 years to get it down, GP has stoped my three blood pressure tablets for7 days and now constantly recording 140/60 i am amazed ,next thing to look at is statins,changing my diet was the best thing i have ever done I am 72 years old and feel like i am starting to come out from a long illness

I have taken statins for 35 years. Now have Coronary Artery Calcium score of 1543 yet cardiologist wants me to increase statins. Statins are in the rubbish bin along with Carmens Muesli.

Thank you Dr Mason for all your extremely scientific and medically sound advice 🇺🇸👍

Interesting and informative for a lay person. I’m 70, fit & healthy. Having lost 19lbs on a low carb/fasting diet, my LDL has risen. I have a high HDL and low TG but my GP is pushing me towards statins. I’m going to ask him to read the papers you’ve cited. Doctors rely on evidence-based medicine, so if he reads them, maybe it’ll change his mind.

Thanks so much!!!

Fascinating! As a retired RN, I wonder how statins, which appear to increase the risk of type 2 diabetes -which increases the risk of heart disease) could ever be championed!

Dr Paul Mason, providing information in an insane world of disinformation.

Unfortunately most doctors I talked to have recommended statins without being able to explain the context in an understandable way, mealy referring to "many very costly studies". On the other hand my liver has served me unbelievably well during my 63 years of life despite the fact that I during the first 55 of those years ate huge amounts of sugar and carbohydrates and in the process collected significant amount of excessive fat tissue. Now after loosing most of the excessive weight I have problems to accept these doctors claim that my liver suddenly wants to murder me through cholesterol-poisoning. I just don't buy it!

Thanks!

Experts in Positions of Authority ignoring / distorting Evidence-based Medicine? Follow the Money trail to Food industry + Pharma Statin Producers.

I will never take another statin never again in my life, I could care less what a Doctor tells me. When I use to complain about my joints, blood sugars, and all sorts of markers being out of whack, I would tell them this and they would look at me crazy so I now unfortunately look at them crazy. By the way my weight use to be 250 lbs borderline diabetic with normal cholesterol and I'm now a 175 lbs, insulin sensitive, low triglycerides, and high HDL. My high LDL though is the only marker that's seem to be the issue and they try to throw the kitchen sink at that problem

When someone, especially doctors, quote a study do your own research and find put who funded that study.....its likely to make it null and void.

References would greatly be appreciated down in your notes to back up all. Great talk!

Looks like I found a new interesting channel.

It's also a logical fallacy: 'appeal to authority'.

In 2020, at 57, I went keto and within 8 months lost 50 lbs, got off all meds, and my joint pain vanished. When I go for my annual physical, the doc says “I recommend a statin.” I politely decline and fret that my doc, like sooo many others, still believe the absolute shit “science” of the manufacturers. Then I do a hundred pushups in his office. He hates that.

PHC can take *THE NEXT STEP IN EFFECTIVENESS* by first adding foods rather than taking bad foods away✅. Like a pound of ground meat and enough salt. Then eliminating the bad foods becomes much easier for multiple reasons.

the last 2 references highlight the magnitude of diabetes on the cardiovascular mortality, which is very high The seven-year incidence rates of myocardial infarction in nondiabetic subjects with and without prior myocardial infarction at base line were 18.8 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively (P

The other thing that seems to have been forgotten is the statin that was withdrawn from the market because so many were literally dying within 48hrs of starting them. (They caused massive sudden protein breakdown which overwhelms the kidneys and causes them to fail).

Can you put links to the information used for this video? More eyes on something is better.

Please put a link to the cholesterol study my husband's doctor wants him on a statin

I was put on statins in 2018 & they rapidly reduced my cholesterol. However I came off them after 6 months due to side effects. My GP suggested a different type but I declined. Still statin use gets mentioned to me, but knowing what I know now I would never take them again in any circumstance. I also now learn that a higher LDL can actually be beneficial over age 60 which I am. Sadly it all seems to be about the bottom line & poorly informed healthcare professionals. I cut saturated fat right down but it made no difference to my cholesterol or weight so now I’m not going to stress about everything being low sat fat & ignore so called healthy eating guidelines. Low carb seems to be the way forward & cut out ultra processed food.

May the universes protect and support Dr Mason for standing up. Thank you forever!

Write to FDA if take/took statin and let them know. maybe write to who makes the Dr try to write statins(is that government or a Dr society ?) and say will sue for causing so much pain.

I need to see the original papers - where are they? Is there a list somewhere?

Ahhhhhh yes. the Graphs and especially the Conclusion are the most ignored parts of a study.

I am 82. I am active, currently a very low carb diet. I am active and about 15 pounds heavier that I would like. My doctor put me on statins. Over time my A1c went up to 5.7. I said I wanted to get off statins as my blood numbers are exceptionally good but my A1c worries me as my mom was diabetic. She sent me to the cardiologist who said I should stay on statins. Why, I asked? I have no prior heart attacks, no indicators of heart disease. He said my age is a risk factor that that is sufficient a risk factor to warrant statins. I am still debating with myself about whether to stop taking them.

It’s nearly impossible to get through my cardio and PCP doctors head that I know they read NOTHING and know NOTHING about nutrition. Sad but I’m keeping them in my healthcare ONLY for emergencies and NOT for maintenance. I’m off all 17 Rx because of Keto & intermittent fasting and they have expressed their negative attitudes. So be it. They openly show their will to be cognitive dissidents! So sad -all that education gone to waste and being OWNED by bug Harma. ( spelling intended)

Doctors, who are generalists, refer patients to various specialists when the doctor knows the specialist will know more about a condition. Doctors are not specialists in nutrition, so why don’t they refer patients to dieticians when a patient needs specialist dietary advice?

Its great you answered the question on trans-fats in those 1970s studies as I have had that put to me by vegans in the past and that their 'mendelian' studies prove saturated fat is bad otherwise. I would avoid using the term 'risk' for associational studies though, none of that research could definitely define risk of x outcome but only association. We do not want to fall into the same false dogma the vegan doctors use by throwing the laden word risk on everything we dislike.

Keto for seventeen years here..I got a call yesterday on my blood results with the only important bits being the high ldl. I told the caller twice one word;"No." They act like somehow the injections are different. She did not even mention my partial size results cause the only important thing is the ldl number. I got a calcium score done and it was 7 with less than a 10% chance of me having a corrinairy event..But I still should take a statin,doppler results,still need a statin. Why did I even bother to do all this stuff as both Dr's have already decided I need a statin. I'm never taking those horrible drugs again and look forward to the never ending statin lectures.🙄

What are statins supposed to do? Magically make fat you eat disappear? I eat fat, a lot of fat, it makes cholesterol so, what happens if I take the statins? This has yet to make sence. Cholesterol makes bile which is supposed to digest the fat I eat. So, what happens to the fat if I'm taking statins?

It’s not scientific bias, it’s plain old monetary bias...big money (funding for the scientific study) drives the “science”...

Oct 12, 2021 Statin Use Is Associated with Excess Risk for Diabetes Progression Paul S. Mueller, MD, MPH, FACP, reviewing Mansi IA et al. JAMA Intern Med 2021 Oct 4

Where are the places where people live longest ??? The Mediterranean, Japan and a few other places .... what do they they eat ?? Do the drug manufacturers have most to lose when you don't use their drugs?? How far will they go to keep market share? What effect does Money have on the advise we receive ? Think big tobacco, the Sugar industry, Oxycotin, HIV sufferers!

Oh man my wife has lost the weight she tried to lose for a decade without even trying just eating my high fat meat based keto food at night. She’s not in ketosis and still eats a fair amount of carbs during the day. She used to try so hard walking miles and eating almost nothing (but high carb low fat). She’s so mad that I was right lol. It’s all about insulin. Until you lower that your fat cells cannot release their contents.

Medicine is focused on fixing broken things. A massive effort needs to be put into preventive medicine so that nutrition health advice is much sharper and better disseminated. I note that my octogenarian mother has stopped eating apple skin, most sources of fiber and seeds because a doctor told her it would help her diviculitus. Reading what can be found on the web - be it the NHS or published papers - all reject this idea as not correlated with outcome by trials or other studies.

I’ve reviewed numerous studies showing fats, specifically saturated fats, saturating our cells causing insulin to be turned away from our cells, causing glucose to stay in our blood system. This begins a path towards diabetes two. The reason a Keto diet helps alleviate diabetes two, is because significantly reducing carbohydrates reduces the need for insulin to do its function. But this does not alleviate the problem. Because your cells are still loaded with fat. As soon as you eat carbohydrates you are back to your path toward diabetes two. The problem with most of all Keto diets is that they significantly reduce fiber, which the micro biome in your gut requires for true health.

The only problem is the RCT of LF vs LC. Very few of those are isocaloric, and even fewer have the same protein intake. If I recall correctly I only found 1. Everything else is ok

I just got my worst medical test result ever: 337 CAC score (which one med website claims gives my 61-yr old body the arteries of an 83-yr old). I have busted my butt for 40 yrs to be healthy (regular exercise and following recommended diets). In 1980, I drank the koolaide and became a vegan for 34 yrs. Two yrs ago, I had an epiphany and went keto/carnivore. Lost 30 lbs and never felt better/stronger. It brought me back to my football weight in 1977. My thinking/memory are much improved. Blood pressure has gone way down. My HDL/triglyceride ratio is excellent (0.68). But my LDL is 228 (2x what it was 2 yrs ago). My doc (who totally gets it regarding keto, dietary fat, cholesterol, etc.) has prescribed baby aspirin and Crestor statin after seeing my CAC score, and cautions against strenuous exercise. In addition, a keto friend advises I get off saturated fats & high cholesterol foods (meat, eggs). I am stumped. Do I resist taking Crestor statin? Do I get off carnivore and eggs and saturated fat to reduce cholesterol? Do I take magnesium, K2, D3, and IP-6 to fight arterial calcification? Do I assume I will always have a high CAC score and am fated to die soon from heart disease? I now believe - with great resentment - that vegetarian and low-fat crusaders sold me a bill of goods that I bought hook, line, and sinker. Forty years of working hard to be healthy has left me with 83-year old arteries because the extremely high carb/sugar load I was consuming for 34 years caused severe damage to my arteries. How ironic.

I am so saddened that the PHC has no collaboration with registered dietitians. Where is the dialogue between medics and dietitians, who are all able read the same research papers? I well remember my attempts at in Practice training for GPs and PNs when the evidence departed from the ‘party line’. Whatever happened to ‘evidence based medicine’. I,m long retired ( come from way back in the Yudkin era ) and now find there are enlightened medics claiming the field, but please please involve and collaborate with your dietetic colleagues. I,ve given up hoping that nutrition students and medics will study nutrition modules together. But why not??

0:00: 🩺 Doctors often give bad nutritional advice due to lack of training and pressure to follow dietary guidelines. 5:33: 🔍 The video highlights the issue of eminence-based medicine and the misinformation doctors receive, leading to misleading health guidelines and recommendations. 10:53: ✅ The orthodox view on dietary fat is being challenged, as studies show that increasing polyunsaturated fats and reducing saturated fats can increase the risk of death and that individuals with higher LDL levels tend to live longer. 16:32: 📚 This video discusses the findings of scientific studies on LDL levels, statin drugs, and high-fat diets, highlighting the importance of considering all available evidence. 21:57: 👩‍⚕ Doctors ignoring scientific evidence contributes to the obesity epidemic. Recap by Tammy AI

In the end, all this "new data" shows that our body is indead adapted to a lifestyle our ancestors lived for millions of years, which is is exactely what to expect. - low carb, probably with phases of ketosis 3/4 of the year. - low un-saturated fat - phases of fasting How could it possibly be different?

Big ears!

Another excellent chat. But there is a theory of heart disease called the myogenic theory. It states that the heart is the only thing that is both and organ and a muscle. It needs nutrients. There is a kind of nutrient that keeps your heart strong -- called a cardio tonic - well guess what, your body makes cardiotonics... from what? CHOLESTEROL. So it makes sense that cholesterol is protective. There is an epidemic of heart failure right now.. and they don't know why? I do.

The doctors give bad nutritional advice because they don't know any better. My doctor has been trying to get me on statins for years.

These are the reasons why I avoid doctors

Wish he’d go hardest after demonization of red meat

Quacks.

Want to hear the single most stupid and ignorant thing that I have ever heard a doctor say? When considering why athletes and long-distance runners sometimes dropped dead suddenly, he posited that, it was because fit people have higher overall cholesterol levels.

Dr Paul Mason looks a picture of health as do all the carnivore doctors. Compare those doctors to vegan doctors .. case closed.

Then explain why TC/HDL ratio worsens on a high fat diet. Lipid balance worsens.. artery disease progresses.

I find that eating lots of fresh vulva every day is much more effective than stating.

I respect everyones opinion, but please present the science objectively, don't just try to make a point

As much as I want to believe the diet data I see the opposite from Dr Michael greger. Vegan

This guy leaves out just as much information he accuses others of doing. Not a lot of honesty in the nutrition field.

Dr Mason does not seem to understand meta analysis A population based study in Denmark shows statins have a beneficial effect on mortality in type 2 diabetes. Swedish population study has similar results Interesting that sildenafil/tadalafil also had mortality benefits The fats data is evolving- most doctors are aware of clear benefits from olive oil for example Beware of anyone who tells you ‘I’m the one who has all the answers’ - science does not work that way