The above is the title of a film made by Justin Smith which describes the way in which science is being manipulated and corrupted in order to underpin the sales of statins which generate billions of dollars for the pharmaceutical industry every year.
For a short period this film can be viewed free of charge using the link below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZctVYxiW2w
Although it lasts for just over an hour I strongly recommend that as many people as possible take the time to view.
Here are just a few of the points which are dealt with in the film:
- The original work by Ancel Keyes which is the foundation of the Diet/Heart Theory is fundamentally flawed. Keys used data from 6 countries to show that there is a good relationship between the amount of fat in the diet, the cholesterol in the blood and the incidence of heart disease. If he had included data from 22 countries which were available then he would have found that such relationships simply did not exist.
- Information from the British Heart Foundation shows that in Great Britain for men aged 65-74 there has been a fall in the proportion with high cholesterol from 87% in 1994to 54% in 2006 yet the prevalence of heart disease has remained constant at 21%.
- In Great Britain, women in the lower socio-economic groups are 5 times more likely to die of coronary heart disease than those in the higher socio-economic groups but the blood cholesterol levels are virtually the same
- In a US study based on data from 136,095 patients admitted to 541 hospitals it was found that almost 50% of those with coronary artery disease had an LDL Cholesterol value less than 2.6mmol/L. Therefore it follows that well over half of the patients had an LDL C which was lower than the recommended level of 3.0mmol/L. It is difficult to understand what benefits are derived from have a relatively low LDL C value.
- The prime justification for prescribing statins is that they lower the blood cholesterol and as a consequence this will result in a reduction in the risks of developing heart disease. However the hard evidence which substantiates this is very limited. In fact it has never been shown that statins when used for primary prevention(ie to reduce the risks of developing heart disease in those who have not already had the disease)actually improve their life expectancy. Although there may be a slight reduction in heart disease, any benefit is nullified by increases in the incidences of other causes of death. For those who have suffered from heart disease there is a marginal improvement in life expectancy which on average is 15 days.
- Those who are on statin therapy may suffer from undesirable side-effects such as muscle pain and memory loss. There is good evidence which indicates that the incidence of side-effects is massively underreported.
- The film explains how the drug companies largely finance the relevant scientific research and control the results which are released for publication. In particular by focussing on relative rather than absolute changes in risk, the benefits of using a specific drug can be grossly misrepresented.
As a result of watching this film you will be in a much improved position to make an informed judgment if your GP suggests that you be prescribed statins. In addition I hope you will feel strongly enough to raise the issue with politicians and with any professional body which may be involved should the opportunity arise.