A study found that not only do cholesterol-lowering statin drugs fail to help patients with severe diabetes, but statins may also double their risk of experiencing a deadly stroke.

Lipitor Doesn't Work any Better Than Placebos

The study, led by Dr. Cristoph Wanner at the University of Wurzburg, Germany, was conducted on severely ill diabetics, and tested relatively low doses of the statin drug Lipitor against dummy pills.

At the end of the four-year study, the patients who took Lipitor showed virtually no difference from those who took the placebos in terms of the combined risks of heart attacks, strokes and death.

Stroke Risk Doubled

However, when fatal strokes were looked at individually, more than twice as many patients died on Lipitor as died on the placebo.

Lipitor is currently the most commonly prescribed drug in the world.

Dr. Mercola's Comment:

Let's say you have both high cholesterol and diabetes. Which of the following methods of treatment would you prefer?

Taking a dangerous drug that:

• More than doubles your risk of strokes.
• May result in your experiencing numerous other harmful side effects.
• Fails to treat any of the underlying causes of your symptoms.
• Does nothing whatsoever for your diabetes.
• While it lowers your cholesterol, may actually cause heart failure itself.

Using a safe and natural method that:

• Simultaneously lowers your risk of heart disease and
• Helps control your diabetes.
• Treats the underlying causes of both problems.
• Has no side effects other than better health.

I think it's safe to say that you probably prefer choice #2.

Statins such as Lipitor are a particularly bad choice for diabetics, based on the findings of this article, but they are a poor treatment even if your only worry is for your heart.

Statins lower cholesterol very well.

Too well, actually -- cholesterol is a necessary and natural chemical in your body.

Cholesterol:

• Waterproofs your cell walls.
• Helps with cell repair.
• Is vital for digesting fat, regulating hormone levels, and neurological function.
• Despite cholesterol's infamous reputation, having too little of it in your body is as dangerous, if not more so, than too much.

The result is that statins can cause numerous dangerous side effects, including: