Statins, Cholesterol and the Shifted Normal

Whoever defines what is normal, defines who needs medicine.

In 1985, cholesterol above 240 was considered problematic. In 2005 it was 200. By 2015 many doctors said even 180 was risky. Same chemical substance. Same test method. Different thresholds.

This didn’t happen because of new science. It happened because statins were invented. Small pill, huge market. Billions in profit for companies. This required many people who needed medicine. So the threshold moved down.

This isn’t even hidden. You can see it in medical literature. Cholesterol used to be something only very high levels mattered for. Now it’s something where normal levels matter, because medicine exists.

This is medicalization. This is what my father warned about. Not that cholesterol doesn’t matter. But that industrialization of medicine creates medicines by need, not need by medicine.

What disappears is this: cholesterol is made by your body. It’s not only eaten. Your body makes more cholesterol when you’re stressed. Your body makes more when your nutrition is poor. Your body makes more when you don’t move.

Statins block cholesterol production. This feels like a solution. But it’s symptom management, not cause management. You go to the doctor, say: I’m tired, I feel stuck. The doctor measures cholesterol, sees it’s high, prescribes statins. The problem is unsolved. Your body is only poisoned.

This sounds strong. But many people on statins feel worse. Muscle pain. Fatigue. Cognitive fog. These are known side effects. Many doctors prescribe them anyway because cholesterol is something measurable, and higher cholesterol means the medicine works.

What actually helps is this: less inflammatory food. More movement. Better sleep. Stress management. This is harder than a pill. It’s also not something pharmaceutical companies can sell.

My father saw this coming. He wrote about nutrition and cholesterol. Not as sole cause, but as intervention. Good food and movement lowers cholesterol better than statins alone, and without side effects.

This is not against medicine. This is for accurate diagnosis. But if the diagnosis is determined by who sells medicine, good thinking disappears.

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Sources: History of statins, medical normalization, nutritional medicine