For Your Health

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The Connection Between Statins, Memory Loss & Dementia

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https://bebrainfit.com/statins-memory-loss/

If you’ve been diagnosed with high cholesterol, it’s very likely your doctor prescribed a type of cholesterol-lowering drug called a statin.

Statins, also known as HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, are the most commonly prescribed drugs in the world — and among the most profitable. (1)

Over one in five Americans between the ages of 40 and 75 takes these drugs ostensibly to prevent a heart attack or stroke. (2)

We are currently experiencing epidemics of memory loss, dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease (now the sixth leading cause of death in the US). (3)

This may not be a coincidence.

Is there a connection between taking statins and the rise in memory loss and dementia?

How Cholesterol Impacts Brain Health and Memory
Cholesterol has been demonized as a cause of heart disease, but it’s less known as an essential component of brain cells.

Cholesterol occurs in particularly high concentrations in the brain.

Your brain is 60% fat with much of that being cholesterol.

Without adequate cholesterol, your brain cells would die.

Cholesterol is needed to make neurotransmitters — chemicals brain cells use to communicate with each other.

Related on Be Brain Fit —
Balancing Neurotransmitters to Take Control of Your Life

Neurotransmitters regulate your mood, your ability to focus, learn, remember, and handle stress.

Abnormal neurotransmitter activity is responsible for many nervous system diseases and psychiatric disorders.

Even your doctor may not know that high total cholesterol actually reduces the risk of dementia in the elderly. (4)

But she certainly knows that cholesterol-lowering drugs can cause memory loss since this well-established side effect is listed on every prescription bottle. (5)

Statin Side Effects: Memory Loss, Depression, and More
There is no doubt that cholesterol-lowering statin drugs like Mevacor, Lipitor, and Crestor are linked to serious memory loss, fuzzy thinking, and learning difficulties. (6)

Statins decrease the production of CoQ10, a nutrient that’s protective of both the heart and the brain.

CoQ10 deficiency is believed responsible for the fatigue and muscle pain commonly experienced from statin drug use. (7)

Some people get very irritable, depressed, anxious, or even suicidal when taking these drugs or when following a low-fat diet. (8, 9)

Related on Be Brain Fit —
Drugs That Cause Memory Loss (& what you can do)

The US Food and Drug Administration requires that warning labels state that statins can cause memory loss as well as mental confusion, liver problems, and type 2 diabetes. (10)

Statins can lead to diabetes at an alarming rate.

Research has found that nearly half of women who take these medications eventually develop diabetes, a disease which greatly increases your risk for dementia. (11, 12)