Statins reduce Coenzyme Q10 by 40% and may cause cellular damage

This post includes a summary of a paper published in the Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 1993 Mar;33(3):226-9 and a recipe for pizza bites.

Books:

Study title and authors:

Evidence of plasma CoQ10-lowering effect by HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

Ghirlanda G, Oradei A, Manto A, Lippa S, Uccioli L, Caputo S, Greco AV, Littarru GP.

Institute of Internal Medicine, Catholic University Medical School, Rome, Italy.

This paper can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8463436

Concurrent to reducing cholesterol levels stain drugs also reduce the biosynthesis of the important nutrient ubiquinone (Coenzme Q10).

This study investigated the effects of statins on Coenzme Q10 levels. Firstly, two groups of five healthy volunteers treated with 20 mg per day of pravastatin  or simvastatin for a month. Then in a double-blind controlled study 30 patients with "high" cholesterol were given either pravastatin, simvastatin (20 mg per day), or placebo for three months.

The study found:
(a) In the healthy volunteer group cholesterol levels and Coenzme Q10 levels underwent about a 40% reduction after the statin treatment.
(b) The same extent of reduction, compared with placebo was measured in the "high" cholesterol patients treated with pravastatin or simvastatin.

The data show that the treatment with statins lowers both cholesterol and Coenzme Q10 levels in normal volunteers and in patients with "high" cholesterol.

The authors of the study, based at the Catholic University Medical School in Rome, concluded: "Coenzme Q10 is essential for the production of energy and also has antioxidative properties. A diminution of Coenzme Q10 availability may be the cause of membrane alteration with consequent cellular damage".

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Recipe of the day

Pizza Bites

Ingredients:

◦5-7 oz. (about 20-30 pieces) large, preservative-free pepperoni

Food Mall: Nitrate Free Pepperoni

◦pizza sauce

◦grated cheese, optional

For Supreme
◦black olives
◦bell peppers
◦mushrooms
◦green onions

For Hawaiian
◦deli ham
◦fresh pineapple

Method:
Get your oven to 400ºF. Lay the slices of pepperoni on a baking sheet and put them in the oven, on the middle rack, to get them crispy–about 8 minutes, flipping them over once. Start prepping your toppings while the peps are in the oven.

The pre-bake step of the pepperoni is super important if you want a crispy pepperoni “crust”. Once you top the pepperonis they just don’t crisp up much…

Once they come out of the oven, place a spoonful of pizza sauce on each pepperoni slice and top with your ingredients.

Place the baking sheet back in the oven and let the toppings get warm and melty, anywhere from 5-10 minutes.

NOTE: All the toppings should be sliced, chopped, and/or diced super, super small/thin. Since you’re making little petite pizzas and they’re only getting a few minutes of oven time, you want make sure they get enough heat to get them cooked through.

Statin treatment lowers the energy producing nutrient coenzyme Q10

This post includes a summary of a study published in the Journal of Clinical Pathology 1993 Nov;46(11):1055-7 and a recipe for Thai hot and sour shrimp soup.

Study title and authors:

Books:

Plasma coenzyme Q (ubiquinone) concentrations in patients treated with simvastatin.

Watts GF, Castelluccio C, Rice-Evans C, Taub NA, Baum H, Quinn PJ.

Department of Endocrinology and Chemical Pathology and Public Health Medicine (UMDS), St Thomas's Hospital, London.

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8254097

Watts notes that coenzyme Q10 is essential for mitochondrial function (energy production) and antioxidant activity.

This study assessed the effects of statin treatment on coenzyme Q10 levels. The study included:
(i) 20 patients with "high" cholesterol treated with a low-fat diet and simvastatin.
(ii) 22 patients with "high" cholesterol treated with a low-fat diet alone.
(iii) 20 normal controls. (Normal diet).

The study found:
(a) Patients treated with simvastatin had a significantly lower coenzyme Q10 levels than either patients receiving diet alone or normal controls.
(b) The higher the dose of simvastatin, the lower the coenzyme Q10 levels.

Watts concludes: "We suggest that a reduction in plasma coenzyme Q10 may underpin some of the severe side-effects of statins... a reduction in coenzyme Q10 may also compromise the course of coronary atherosclerosis... we recommend that consideration be given to measuring plasma coenzyme Q10 in patients receiving statins and particularly in those with clinically important cardiac disease".

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Recipe of the day

Thai Hot and Sour Shrimp Soup

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
Shells from shrimp (see below)
8 cups chicken stock
3 stalks lemon grass, cut into 1" lengths
4 kaffir lime leaves
1 teaspoon lime zest
2 green Serrano chiles, slivered
2 pounds fresh shrimp, approximately 20 count per pound, shelled and deveined

Food Mall: Deveined Shrimp

1 tablespoon coconut milk

1/2 teaspoon salt
juice of 2 limes
1 red Serrano chili, slivered
2 tablespoons coriander leaves (cilantro), coarsely chopped
3 green onions (including some green), coarsely chopped

Instructions:
Heat the oil in a saucepan and fry the shells until they turn pink.

Add the chicken stock, lemon grass, lime leaves, lime rind,and green chilis.

Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Strain the mixture through a sieve, return the liquid to a saucepan and bring to a boil.

Add the shrimp to this boiling "stock" and cook them for 2-3 minutes.

Reduce heat to simmer and add the coconut milk, salt and lime juice. Stir and immediately remove from heat to prevent overcooking.

Pour the soup in a tureen or ladle into bowls, sprinkle with red chilis, coriander leaves and green onions.

Serve piping-hot.

Statins associated with causing muscle pain by inhibiting the synthesis of coenzyme Q10

Published in The American Journal of Cardiology Volume 99, Issue 10, 15 May 2007, Pages 1409-1412

Study title and authors: 
Effect of Coenzyme Q10 on Myopathic Symptoms in Patients Treated With Statins

Giuseppe Caso MD, MSc, PhD, Patricia Kelly DO, Margaret A. McNurlan PhD and William E. Lawson MD

Books:

Department of Surgery, Division of Cardiology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York

This paper can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17493470

Caso notes that statin use is often associated with a variety of muscle-related pain (myopathies). Myopathy may be related in part to statin inhibition of the synthesis of coenzyme Q10, an essential cofactor for mitochondrial energy production.

The aim of this study is to determine whether coenzyme Q10 would reduce the degree of muscle pain associated with statin treatment. Patients with myopathic symptoms were randomly assigned (for 30 days) in a double-blinded protocol to treatment with either:
(i) Coenzyme Q10 (100 mg per day, 18 patients)
(ii) Vitamin E (400 IU per day, 14 patients).

The study found:
(a) Pain severity decreased by 40% and pain interference with daily activities decreased by 38% in the group treated with coenzyme Q10.
(b) In contrast, no changes in pain severity or pain interference with daily activities was observed in the group treated with vitamin E.

The results of the study suggest that statin treatment is associated with muscle pain by inhibiting the synthesis of coenzyme Q10. 

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Recipe of the day

Irish lamb stew

Ingredients:
1-2 pounds lamb, cut up
3-4 yellow onions, cut into 1/2" pieces

Food Mall: Lamb

6-8 carrots, cut into 1/2" slices

3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
1-2 bay leaves
1/2-1 t. dried tarragon
1/2-1 t. ground black pepper

Instructions:
Combine the above ingredients in a crockpot with enough water to barely cover.

Cook overnight on low (slower cooking lets the veggies flavor through without getting mushy).

Allow to cool in order to easily remove the excess fat, the bones, and the bay leaves.

Reheat to serve.

Statins reduce Coenzyme Q10 by 25%

This post includes a summary of a study published in the European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 1994;46(4):313-7

Study title and authors:

Books:

Serum ubiquinone concentrations after short- and long-term treatment with HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors.

Laaksonen R, Ojala JP, Tikkanen MJ, Himberg JJ.
Department of Clinical Pharmacology, University of Helsinki, Finland.

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7957515

This study analysed the effect of long- and short-term statin treatment on the levels of ubiquinone (coenzyme Q10). The study included 17 men with "high" cholesterol who had their coenzyme Q10 levels were measured:
(i) After they had received simvastatin (20-40 mg per day) for 4.7 years.
(ii) After a 4 week treatment pause.
(iii) Again after they had resumed treatment with lovastatin (20-40 mg per day) for 12 weeks.

The study found:
(a) During the statin treatment pause the average coenzyme Q10 levels increased by 32%.
(b) Resumption of statin treatment caused a reduction of 25% in coenzyme Q10 levels.

Coenzyme Q10 is a nutrient that every cell in the body must have in order to produce energy. See here and here

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How did the cholesterol/saturated-fat/heart disease hypothesis begin?

This post features an article from The Great Cholesterol Con Pages 42-43 and a recipe for lamb chop or steaks with garlic, paprika and herb butter.

Books:

Many of today's dietary and medical ideas are founded on hypotheses whose logic is fallacious or flawed in some way. The basis of the diet-heart hypothesis, for example, is Keys'Seven Countries Study. Dr. Ancel Keys took data from seven countries and suggested that heart disease was high in those whose diet was high in fats, and low in those whose diet was low in fats. The first, and more obvious, flaw is that at the time there were data from twenty-eight countries that he could have used. The others did not support his argument.

The seven countries out of the twenty-eight that Keys used to "prove" that saturated fat caused heart disease were; Italy, Greece, Former Yugoslavia, Netherlands, Finland, USA & Japan.

If Keys had chosen seven other countries from the data of twenty-eight available he could have "proved" that saturated fat prevented heart disease. These countries are; Finland, Israel, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, France, Sweden.

This begs the question: Why did Keys manipulate the data?

One of Keys friends, Henry Blackburn, describes how Keys was previously humiliated about his saturated-fat/heart disease hypothesis in a meeting called by the World Health Organization in Geneva to discuss the rising rates of heart disease.

Keys was a very strong willed character, was strong of personality and didn’t shy away from vociferously attacking anyone with whom he disagreed. And he didn’t just point out in a civil way that he though opposing opinions were incorrect and give the reasons why, he attacked vituperatively in medical journals and in person during conferences.

Blackburn's theory is that the humiliation at the World Health Organization meeting was such that Keys was stung into action and was driven to find "evidence" to "prove" his saturated-fat/heart disease hypothesis - hence the seven countries study.

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Recipe of the day

Lamb Chop or Steaks with Garlic, Paprika and Herb Butter

Ingredients:

Food Mall: Lamb Chops

4 lamb chops, cutlets or leg steaks

Salt and freshly milled black pepper

For the Garlic and Herb Butter:

100g/4oz unsalted butter, softened

5ml/1tsp ground paprika

30ml/2tbsp freshly chopped mixed herbs (e.g flat-leaf parsley and chives)

Juice of ¼ lemon

Method:

1.To prepare the garlic and herb butter; mix all the ingredients together. Form into a sausage shape, wrap in cling film or foil and chill until required.

2.Cook the lamb under a preheated moderate grill for 6-8 minutes. Turn over the chops and continue to cook for a further 3-4 minutes.

3.Top with a disc of the herb butter. Return to the grill and continue to cook for a further 3-4 minutes.

4. Serve

Ingredients in margarine

This post features a list of the ingredients in margarine and a recipe for scallops and bacon.

A list of the ingredients in margarine:

Edible oils,

Books:

edible fats,

salt or potassium chloride,

ascorbyl palmitate,

butylated hydroxyanisole,

phospholipids,

tert-butylhydroquinone,

mono- and di-glycerides of fat-forming fatty acids,

disodium guanylate,

diacetyltartaric and fatty acid esters of glycerol,

Propyl, octyl or dodecyl gallate (or mixtures thereof),

tocopherols,

propylene glycol mono- and di-esters,

sucrose esters of fatty acids,

curcumin,

annatto extracts,

tartaric acid,

3,5,trimethylhexanal,

ß-apo-carotenoic acid methyl or ethyl ester,

skim milk powder,

xanthophylls,

canthaxanthin

Did you realise how many chemicals you are injesting when eating margarine?

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Recipe of the day

Scallops and Bacon

Ingredients:

Food Mall: Fresh Sea Scallops

■1 oz. uncured, nitrate-free bacon

■5 fresh sea scallops

■1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
■Salt (to taste)
■Pepper (to taste)
■2 tablespoons lime juice
■1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon

Instructions:
Slice bacon crosswise into thin pieces, cooking on a medium-high skillet until crisp but not dry. Transfer the bacon to a paper towel or dish.

In a small bowl, add 1 tbsp olive oil and a few squeezes of fresh lime juice. Coat scallops in the oil, adding salt and pepper to taste. Sear scallops on skillet over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes until opaque and glossy. Transfer to a separate plate.

Over medium heat (in the same skillet), add a few squeezes of fresh lime juice and begin to scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add 2 tablespoons of water and tarragon to the skillet, then bacon, followed by the scallops. Give the skillet a nice little swirl to blend juices. Cook 30 seconds to 1 minute to allow flavors to combine.

Serve the scallops on plates with bacon and a sprig of leftover fresh tarragon.



Dr Kendrick's 14 country study on saturated fat and heart disease

Books:

This post features figures from the World Health Organization on saturated-fat consumption and heart-disease rates and a recipe for lamb shoulder blade chops with black kale.

Dr Malcolm Kendrick looked at figures gathered by the World Health Organization on saturated-fat consumption and heart-disease rates in countries throughout Europe.

He then grouped them into the seven countries with the lowest consumption of saturated fat, and compared this to their rate of heart disease, and also grouped the seven countries with the highest consumption of saturated fat and compared this to their rate of heart disease.

Every single one of the seven countries with the lowest saturated-fat consumption has significantly higher rates of heart disease than every single one of the seven countries with the highest saturated-fat consumption.

This article can be found in 'The Great Cholesterol Con' by Dr Malcolm Kendrick (Page 74)

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Recipe of the day

Lamb Shoulder Blade Chops with Black Kale

Ingredient list:

2 Lamb Shoulder Blade Chops

2 bunches of black kale

Food Mall: Shoulder Blade Chops

Apple cider vinegar

Extra virgin olive oil
Black pepper
Garlic powder
Salt

Directions:
Add 1/4 cup of water to a small sauce pan over medium heat.

Add 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar (I’m guessing about the amount. Reduce heat, cover, and let simmer over low heat. Rinse kale well. Strip leaf from stems and discard stems. Add olive oil to a sauté pan over medium heat. Add kale to hot oil and stir around with a spatula. Add more kale as it wilts until you have enough to fill two plates. Add salt and garlic powder to taste. Stir the cranberry-apple cider vinegar mixture in with the kale. Taste and add apple cider vinegar as needed to achieve a nice bite. Transfer to plates.

Pre-heat non-stick grill pan or skillet over medium heat. Season both sides of lamb chops with a nice dusting of salt, garlic powder, and black pepper. Lay the meat in the dry pan and let it sear undisturbed for 6 minutes on the first side. Turn and sear the other side for at least 6 minutes. Evaluate doneness by how much pink is showing in the side of the searing meat. Transfer to plate and allow the meat to rest while you finish with the kale.