8 Year Olds on Cholesterol medications, are you kidding me?

I recently read an article on msn.com that was about high cholesterol and medications to control cholesterol levels in children as young as 8 years old, and thought to myself "Is this for real? You have got to be kidding." Nope people, it is true. The drug companies that control nearly all of the allopathic health care avenues in this country (allopathic health care refers to MD's, DO's, "traditional" medicine, all allopathic doctors will almost always write you a prescription every time you visit), are now trying to get the children hooked on their wares as well.
With "statin" and other like classes of drugs designed to control cholesterol levels now being prescribed to a large percentage of adults in this country, to continue expanding and gaining market share over their competitors, they must now branch out their ideal patient and the symptoms to control in that patient, so now they are going for your kids. Quite frankly the percentage of people taking statin drugs has grown exponentially over the last few years and is really frightening.
Frightening because as a society we keep growing more fat and obese everyday even though there is such a movement to eat healthier and make better choices, low fat, low sugar, and so on. What is frightening is that in this country we have become so accustomed to popping a pill for every ailment or perceived ailment that not even a second thought is had before downing the newest latest greatest pharmacological advancement. Does anyone stop and ask what the potential side effects are and the prevalence of each? How about when med A is combined with med B, or C, or even D? What are the risks now? Too many, that is for sure.
Now let me preface this by saying that I am overweight and was formerly considered obese, but I have lost about 60 pounds over the last 3 years by making better choices when I cook, go out, grab snacks, and grocery shop. I know that this sounds like a real pain to make all these "better choices", but it really is easy folks. More on that in another article if there is interest. There are very few people that are truly in "need" of a medication to control their cholesterol levels. These patients are mostly in good shape physically however their body does not control, produce and or metabolize cholesterol as efficiently as needed to maintain a "healthy individual".
A healthy lifestyle and a healthy individual are different, contrary to popular advertising by the drug companies. Many of these commercials now have nearly the same format. First, they pique viewer interest as any good commercial will do, then it comes time for the sell. This magic pill will cure everything that ails you they say in not as many words, and while you are now thinking briefly that "yeah, I probably need to get my cholesterol levels checked again", they throw the slider, now that you are distracted by thought, not the commercial, they very quickly and quietly run through a laundry list of symptoms and side effects related to the drug in particular. Really pay attention next time one of the popular drug commercials is playing and see what side effects it has, you WILL be blown away! I am not sure of the drug's name, but I think it was a once a day asthma medication, but it included the list of symptoms and side effects. Two of these reported side effects were LYMPHOMA and LEUKEMIA!! Are you kidding me? Is this really a better alternative? I don't know for sure and cannot say for anyone other than my family and myself. I sincerely hope that every person on prescription drugs are acutely aware of the known and possible side effects of each prescription they are on and how those side effects can change when paired with other prescription or over the counter drugs and often food. Now as adults, we need to be intelligent enough to ask questions about side effects and alternative treatments available.
Cholesterol drugs are in my opinion over-prescribed 95+% of the time. If your cholesterol is high, your allopathic doctor will right you a prescription and tell you to watch your fat intakes. See me again in 6 months and we will check your levels again and adjust the medication if needed. I would have told the patient that his cholesterol levels were higher that normally considered appropriate for maintaining a healthy individual. My recommended treatment plan would be:
dietary modifications to include fruits, vegetable, lean meats and very low fat content
AND
lifestyle modifications to include more exercise, both cardiovascular and anaerobic workouts
FOLLOWED BY
re-testing cholesterol levels in 12-15 weeks to determine if the changes made were sufficient or if more drastic changes are needed, or to determine if the patient actually does need a prescription medication.

Teaching must be a part of every practitioner's daily goals. If I cannot teach my patients something new, am truly serving that patient to the best of my ability? I don't feel that I am. But it can be hard to break the news to patients that contrary to what they might have believe before coming to me office, the majority of their health problems can be attributed to one of a very short list of suspects.

Themselves - because the only person responsible for your health is you and you alone. Are you overweight like me? Then I guarantee you that unless you are one of the very few people that actually has an endocrine disorder that causes you to be heavy, that you do not eat correctly and you do not get enough physical activity (exercise) each and every day. It really is very simple, to lose weight you must burn more calories than you consume each day to create a negative calorie load for the day. Sounds tough right? Not really, small increases in physical activity levels coupled with better choices including more nutritious foods and smaller portions can make a huge difference. It really easy to learn and once implemented, becomes nearly second nature. How fast depends on you, your goals and how big of dietary and lifestyle changes you make. For me, a complete overhaul of my dietary habits and a very minor increase in exercise resulted in abuot 60 pounds over the last 3 years.

Their spouse/partner - because not only are you making good or poor dietary choices, you are making the same choices for your spouse/partner when you purchase or prepared different items.

Their upbringing and family life - Did your parents eat right and stay healthy? Were your parents obese? If so there is a good chance you will be obese as well, but not because it is genetic, because you were never taught proper nutrition and dining habits. If you had been, your parents wouldn't have been obese either. Are you setting up your kids so that they will be prepared to make good dietary choices in their lives? You should be. If you think you need help with this, let me know, maybe I can help somehow.

Now for the real reason cholesterol drugs for anyone under 25 scares me. For the most part the human body should be finished growing near the 25th birthday right. During this first 25 years, the growing body (either male or female) grow nearly continually with some periods of more rapid growth than others. The problem with this is that for anyone under the age of 25, whether male or female, relies on hormones that are cholesterol based. Ever hear of testosterone or estrogen, of course you have. These sex hormones are cholesterol based and are essential for proper development. The problem with taking a cholesterol drug for these patients is that all cholesterol is targeted for reduction, not just the "bad" cholesterol. With a headache if you take an over the counter pain reliever such as Advil or Tylenol, does the drug know exactly which part of your body is in distress? No, it does not. It simply deadens the entire nervous system by overriding the body's ability to communicate with the brain and relay information, such as pain. So, does this fix anything? No it doesn't. Neither does a drug designed to decrease cholesterol levels, it merely attacks them all, good and bad. The really scary part is that without dietary AND lifestyle modifications, it is impossible to decrease cholesterol levels to make a permanent and lasting change.
If your child is obese and has high cholesterol, please explore other options for your child's health than to put him or her on a prescription medication that may cause permanent and negative, irreversible side effects. Cholesterol drugs have not been tested for long-term permanent side effects on children, so we as a society need to be cautious with the health of our youth. Are we removing cholesterol based hormones that are needed for proper development? And since sex hormones are cholesterol based, are we going to create a generation of sterile individuals who are unable to conceive and procreate?

If you need help getting your cholesterol under control, with lifestyle and dietary modifications or anything else, call 678-455-7646 to schedule an appointment.
Richard C Eckles, DC