Diabetes

Don't let statins play games with your blood sugar

Thanksgiving is a big day for me -- for the bird but also for the football.

But today, I've got a different game on my mind -- one you may remember from the carnivals or arcades you may have visited in your younger years.

Remember "Whack-a-Mole"? When a mole popped out of its hole, it was your job to give it a whack -- but as soon as you'd get one, another one would come up from a different hole!

And that's the problem, too, with statins -- those cholesterol-lowering drugs that mainstream docs push on practically everyone over 40.

By prescribing these pills, docs are playing a game of "Whack-a-Mole" with your health!

And according to the latest science, even as you try to push your cholesterol DOWN with statins... your risk of diabetes shoots way UP.

In the study out of the Albert Einstein School of Medicine, researchers tracked the blood sugar levels and statin use of a group of obese folks over a 10-year period.

At the beginning of the study, less than four percent of the participants were taking statins prescribed by their own physicians. But by the end of the study, a third were popping these pills.

Now, past studies have shown that the single best predictor of whether someone will develop type 2 diabetes is being overweight or obese. So, you might think that the participants' final numbers on the scale determined who wound up with diabetes and who didn't.

But by the end of the study, it turned out that those on statins were 30 percent MORE likely to have developed diabetes than those not taking the drugs.

That means that statins tacked on an ADDITIONAL risk... beyond obesity!

And that means that even if you don't have other diabetes risk factors, statins can send your chances of the disease through the roof.

In fact, one study of healthy folks found that these drugs can ratchet up your diabetes risk by a whopping 87 percent!

The theory is that statins impair your body's production of insulin, sending your blood sugar soaring.

What's more, statins have been linked to acute kidney failure... nerve and muscle damage... hearing loss and blindness... and even a higher risk of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.

So, before you fill that statin prescription, proceed with extreme caution.

In plenty of cases, so-called "high" cholesterol doesn't need to be treated at all. The mainstream has been lowering cholesterol guidelines for years as part of a scam to sell these meds.

But if your cholesterol is truly, dangerously high, the first thing to do is switch to the Paleo (a.k.a. "caveman") diet, which helps control cholesterol AND keeps your blood sugar in check.

So, go ahead and reach for that drumstick today -- and if you've already moved on to leftovers, skip the sandwich and just snack on the turkey.

As well, natural supplements like red yeast rice have also been proven to keep cholesterol down, working in much the same way as statins -- but without striking a blow to your blood sugar.

Could juice be as bad for you as soda?

Happy Thanksgiving.

It's a special day to spend with family and friends... to express gratitude for all the wonderful things in our lives... and, God willing, to look forward to more reasons to feel grateful throughout the year.

Raise a glass to the occasion -- but before you pick your poison, there's something you need to know.

You may think that choosing fruit juice is a better option than soda because it's loaded with nutrients that can pack a real punch for your health.

But according to the latest research, drinking juice sweetened with sugar can raise your risk of diabetes and other chronic health conditions. In fact, it's just as bad as soda!

Now, all fruit juice contains natural fruit sugar. But much of what you'll find on store shelves has been sweetened even further with added cane sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, or other "juices from concentrate" -- which is just a sneaky way of upping the sugar content without setting off your alarm bells.

In the meta-analysis out of South Africa, researchers reviewed 36 studies on the effects of drinking sugar-sweetened beverages. It turned out that as few as TWO servings of juice each week can make it more likely you'll develop type 2 diabetes.

And if you bump that up to one sugar-sweetened drink each day, you could be looking at elevated blood pressure.

What's more, regularly sipping on these sugar bombs also ups your risk of metabolic syndrome, which is a cluster of symptoms that paves the path to heart disease and stroke.

The meta-analysis also found that a form of sugar called fructose was especially likely to increase these cardiovascular risks. And guess what? That's the kind of sugar that naturally occurs in fruit!

And because juicing concentrates the sugars AND takes out all of the fiber -- which would otherwise keep your blood sugar from spiking -- your best bet is to eat fruit whole.

But given that juices like orange, cranberry, and cherry all have solid health benefits, aim to drink them in small amounts or dilute them with water -- and stick to brands that have absolutely NO added sugar.

Avoid fruit "punch" and fruit juice "cocktails," which are usually just fruit-flavored sugar water. You're better off sticking with tea.

Later today, I'll share something else that can also do a number on your blood sugar -- but in the meantime, enjoy the blessings of the day.