Ahhh.... But vitamin D is not a vitamin... It was labeled a vitamin before science knew about hormones. Vitamin D is a hormone, an epigenetic hormone at that. Too much or too little causes problems. A vitamin D deficiency is a hormonal deficiency. Would you ignore any other hormonal deficiency? Impact of vitamin D metabolism on clinical epigenetics http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3365599/
If you've got a good GP, they should be able to advise you on the pros and cons of statins relatively well. It'd always also be worth talking to other people who are on it like your brother, and getting a second opinion. If the benefits outweigh the risks in your mind, then it's something to consider. I'd encourage you to take the medical advice you get from your GP more seriously than the advice you are getting here. If you're going to an NHS doctor, they don't get paid for dealing out prescriptions. Your doctor won't make any more money by giving you statins than by not.
Follow the money. Money is changing hands. Never take a GP's opinion as anything more than "opinion". You must self advocate for nobody will do that for you. This requires self education and forming your own opinion based in science fact, not pharmaceutical companies lobbying government to enact policies that boost their sales and profits. ---------- Post added 1st Mar 2013 at 04:21 AM ---------- Ask yourself... Why should NHS pay for healthy people to take statins? BBC News - NHS 'should consider giving statins to healthy people' You have to think for yourself.
In the UK, GPs are on a salary, and can be penalised if they give out too many prescriptions. They are not paid per prescription. I've found the NHS to offer good and impartial advice.
I see... The pharmaceutical companies supply the NHS statins for free? I did not know that. Statins are not free costing NHS 240 million a year now. If they can put healthy people on them imagine how that profit number grows. ---------- Post added 1st Mar 2013 at 04:45 AM ---------- There are similar rules in the US regarding doctors and pharmaceutical companies. Pharmaceutical companies find ways around the laws. They reward physicians with trips to exotic locations inviting them to be guest speakers at seminars. A shell game of kickbacks with no direct paper trail. That is how the world works.
This has gotten pretty off-topic. The OP has been given correct advice based upon the latest research. Generally, with elevated cholesterol in young people, we look at two factors- lifestyle and heredity. There is a connection between exercise, diet, obesity and high levels of cholesterol. So, if the person doesn't exercise or is obese, we would recommend lifestyle changes so that the person gets into better physical shape. The research consistently shows that exercise helps lower cholesterol levels, lowers blood sugar levels, lowers blood pressures and results in overall better health in many people. If the person doesn't have risk factors like obesity, then we look at the family history. Often we find that there's a hereditary problem with metabolism. And this is where statins may play a role in helping to lower cholesterol levels in families that have a problem with cholesterol levels. Vitamin D does have a complex role as a vitamin and a prohormone substance. But there's really no research that would support its use in hereditary hypercholesterolemia. But since Vitamin D has a role in overall health, we do recommend foods high in vitamin D along with a small amount of daylight exposure.
