Statins

Part 5: Statins or sunshine?

Despite what I have written previously, there do seem to be some unexpected benefits to taking statins:

• Statins reduce the risk of some cancers
• Statins reduce the risk of diabetes
• Statins reduce the risk of transplant rejection
• Statins help in rheumatoid arthritis
• Statins help patients with multiple sclerosis
• Statins increase women's bone density
• Statins supposedly reduce heart attacks

These supposed benefits fit a curious pattern: Except for heart attacks, none of the supposed benefits of statins has much to do with lowering cholesterol. And in most cases, low cholesterol is a risk factor for the diseases. So what is going on? Why should a drug that lowers cholesterol have any benefit when low levels of cholesterol increases the risk? If you look at the various conditions, the answer is clear:

Statins are nothing more than analogues of vitamin D.

This means that going out regularly into the sun and sunbathing without a sunscreen gives you the same benefits as statins — but without statins' adverse side effects. That is not only a lot healthier for you, it is also a very great deal less expensive for the economy.

Statins are extremely poor substitutes for the real thing — vitamin D from sunlight. Go out in the sun more, and give up statins.