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“The last thing you want to do is to interfere with the level of cholesterol in your body. Whatever level you have is the right level – don't mess around with it!”

Dr Natasha Campbell-McBride, quote from $tatin Nation

High cholesterol, especially low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, is one of the most well established causes of, or risk factors for, heart disease. Saturated fat is dangerous and should be avoided at all costs. Science shows that statins are the modern ‘wonder drug’ and thousands more lives could be saved if low-risk patients started taking them. Right? Wrong! A new documentary blows these and other misconceptions out of the water. In so doing, the documentary likens the over-prescription of statins to organised crime. Could this be the game changer we’ve all been waiting for?

$tatin Nation will be available from 10th September for On Demand viewing from this trailer link. By watching the film from our link, you will be donating 10% of your fee to ANH-Intl campaign funds. To those of you who educate yourselves on this vital information in this way, thank you. We greatly appreciate your support.

Come in cholesterol, your time is up

We have to hand it to Justin Smith, director of a new documentary entitled $tatin Nation: The Great Cholesterol Cover-Up: he’s done a wonderful job both of showing why one of modern medicine’s most cherished theories is wrong, and putting the boot into a ‘wonder drug’ that causes more problems that it solves. And all in not much more than an hour! Right from the off, we recommend without reservation that you should see this movie, whoever you are – and then make every effort to spread the word to others. Especially anyone you know who is on, is considering taking or is being recommended, statins.

Mr Smith’s film turns its sights on the lipid hypothesis – the theory that high cholesterol is a major cause of heart disease – and, “The over-prescription of cholesterol-lowering medications and the misrepresentation of medical evidence”. And while the film addresses the science head-on, we guarantee that you’ll come away from this film with a clear understanding of why the lipid hypothesis is really the ‘cholesterol myth’, even if you have no science background at all. That’s the beauty of $tation Nation: it condenses a huge amount of complex data into an entertaining format that anyone can understand, without ever patronising the viewer. We think the film is going to be an essential tool in the eventual overturning of the outdated, misguided and frankly dangerous lipid hypothesis, and the related over-prescription of statins.

Key facts from Statin Nation

Again, we urge you to watch $tatin Nation as soon as it becomes available from 10th September, and share it with people you care about. But to whet your appetite, here’s a few vital nuggets of information from the film:

  • Eight of 9 panellists who voted to reduce the blood cholesterol cut-off point in US treatment guidelines, so that patients were more likely to be prescribed statins, had financial ties to statin manufacturers. It’s the same story in Europe
  • Cholesterol is essential for life, as a vital component of cell membranes and a precursor to many hormones. Unsurprisingly, then, low cholesterol damages cell membranes, affecting the nervous system and the ability to deal with stress. The lower your cholesterol levels, the younger you die!
  • Contrary to what we are told, lower socioeconomic groups, who die from heart disease more frequently, have lower cholesterol levels than higher socioeconomic groups
  • Low cholesterol levels predispose to cancer: among low-cholesterol populations, approximately three times more people die from cancer compared with their high-cholesterol counterparts
  • The statin, Lipitor, made $13 billion for Pfizer in 2010!

A new paradigm

“It usually takes around 25 years to change an established medical paradigm,” said Dr Uffe Ravnkov when we spoke to him after the premiere of $tatin Nation, “Because we have to wait for the current generation of experts to die or retire! We’re very close to that point now, I think.

“I believe that this film could be very important in changing the cholesterol paradigm. So many people on statins think that their terrible side effects are simply due to ageing, when of course it might be the drug that’s responsible. If enough people see this film, especially people on statins, $tatin Nation could make a huge contribution. It could even be the tipping point.”

Call to action

  • Click on the trailer and watch Statin Nation from 10th September 2012
  • Spread the word to your family, friends and acquaintances, especially anyone you know who’s taking statins, or is considering taking or is being recommended them
  • If you can, use your website, blog or social media page to get the link to this article out and spread the word about

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