Statins, Cholesterol, and the Heart Disease Lie

Jason Samir Santiago

Alright, so let’s start with cholesterol—this thing we’ve been told to fear. For decades, it’s been the bad guy, right? Big scary cholesterol clogging up your arteries. But, honestly, the story is way more complicated than that.

Jason Samir Santiago

Let’s go back to the 1950s, to this idea called the lipid hypothesis. It was this theory that said high cholesterol leads to heart disease. Simple, easy to understand, but also, turns out, kinda wrong. A lot of this was actually based on flawed research from a guy named Ancel Keys. He cherry-picked data to make it look like saturated fat and cholesterol were the big culprits. And, I mean, that’s where the snowball started rolling.

Jason Samir Santiago

The thing is, cholesterol isn’t just this dangerous goo floating around in your blood. It’s literally essential for life. Your brain needs it to function; your body uses it to make hormones, and it’s a key part of cell repair. It’s not some random villain, it’s—like the handyman your body relies on to fix stuff!

Jason Samir Santiago

But here’s the thing: while all this misinformation about cholesterol was spreading, you had Big Food and Big Pharma jumping in. Big Food was like, “Oh, low-fat diets? Perfect, let’s pump out high-carb, processed junk!” And guess what? People didn’t get healthier—they got sicker. And then Big Pharma steps in to go, “Oh, you’ve got high cholesterol? Here, take these pills forever.” It’s quite the setup, isn’t it?

Jason Samir Santiago

And what’s wild is, we’re still feeling the effects of this today, even though a lot of the original research has been proven incorrect. High cholesterol, low cholesterol, good cholesterol, bad cholesterol—it all got turned into a massive marketing machine.

Jason Samir Santiago

Alright, so, statins. Those little pills you’ve probably heard of—or maybe even take yourself—to lower cholesterol. They’ve been around since the late 1980s, and not just around, but everywhere. They became the ultimate solution to one problem: high cholesterol. End of story, right? Not exactly.

Jason Samir Santiago

See, when statins first hit the market, they weren’t just sold as a treatment. No, they were sold as a necessity. The message was, “If your cholesterol is high, you need this drug—period.” And, I mean, when you’ve got doctors, researchers, even government health agencies backing it up, who’s gonna question that?

Jason Samir Santiago

But it wasn’t just about public health, you know? It was also about money. Statins turned into one of the biggest cash cows the pharmaceutical industry has ever seen. Billions, literally billions of dollars in annual revenue. And this was in the late '80s and throughout the '90s, so a lot more money than it is now. Suddenly, everyone—from cardiologists to primary care doctors—was prescribing them like candy. And it worked, for the companies, at least. Prescriptions skyrocketed over the past, like, three decades.

Jason Samir Santiago

Now, here’s where it gets messy—this web of conflicts of interest. You’ve got researchers whose studies are funded by the very companies that sell statins. Doctors sitting on advisory boards for pharmaceutical giants and regulators with financial ties to statin manufacturers. And, I mean, if you think about that for even a second, it really makes you wonder: were these drugs being pushed because they’re the best solution, or because they’re the most profitable one?

Jason Samir Santiago

But here’s the kicker. Statins, for all their success, kinda shifted the focus away from what actually matters—risk of heart disease. Instead, they made it all about cholesterol levels. Like, if your LDL—the so-called "bad cholesterol"—is too high, here, take this drug. Problem solved. But that’s not how heart disease works. You can have low cholesterol and still be at risk, or high cholesterol and be completely fine. It’s... like we got tunnel vision, treating the numbers instead of the person.

Jason Samir Santiago

And the more you dig into this whole system and how it’s been run for decades, the more questions pop up about who it’s really serving.

Jason Samir Santiago

Here’s where it starts getting uncomfortable—what happens when these “miracle” statin drugs actually... backfire?

Jason Samir Santiago

So, one of the big issues that’s starting to pop up is how statins might be linked to dementia. Yeah, you heard that right. See, your brain needs cholesterol to function properly; it’s like fuel for your neurons. But when we aggressively lower cholesterol levels, some researchers are saying it might damage our brain health. And honestly, that’s, uh, kinda terrifying, right?

Jason Samir Santiago

And then there’s the physical stuff. Statins are notorious for messing with your muscles. People report muscle pain, weakness—sometimes it’s so bad they can’t walk up a flight of stairs. And it can get worse. There’s a condition called rhabdomyolysis—it’s rare—but it’s where your muscle fibers actually break down and flood your bloodstream, potentially damaging your kidneys. Scary stuff.

Jason Samir Santiago

Muscles aren’t the only thing taking a hit. The liver can suffer too. Statins rely on your liver for processing, and for some folks, it puts way, way too much strain on it. That’s why you hear about people having to get blood tests regularly—gotta make sure your liver isn’t just waving a white flag at this point.

Jason Samir Santiago

Oh, and chronic fatigue. This one’s tough. There’s this level of exhaustion some statin patients never bounce back from. Imagine suddenly losing your energy and just not being able to get it back. It's like your quality of life gets sucked right out of you.

Jason Samir Santiago

And let’s not forget about blood sugar. This one’s gotten a lot of attention because statins actually raise your risk for developing diabetes. Ironic, right? The drug that’s supposed to protect your heart is—turning around and increasing your risk for diabetes, which, newsflash, puts you at higher risk for heart disease. It’s like we’re chasing our own tail here.

Jason Samir Santiago

But, you know, here’s the part that really gets me. Millions of people are on statins who don’t even need them. Because the way these drugs are marketed and prescribed? It’s based on manipulated statistics. If your cholesterol is above a certain number, boom—you’re on a statin. But those numbers, those thresholds? They’re kinda... How do I put this—they’re not always based on what’s best for the patient.

Jason Samir Santiago

For example, there’s this concept called “absolute risk” and “relative risk.” Absolute risk is the actual chance of something happening to you, while relative risk is how much something increases percentage-wise. Statin studies love to highlight relative risk. So, instead of saying a statin might reduce your absolute heart attack risk from, like, two percent to one percent, they’ll say it cuts your risk by fifty percent! Technically true, but also super misleading.

Jason Samir Santiago

So, here’s a twist—heart disease might not actually be about cholesterol at all. Yeah, I know, wild, right? The real villain here seems to be inflammation. It’s this persistent, low-level fire in your arteries. And instead of fixing the cause of the fire, we’re out here blaming cholesterol for showing up to patch the damage. It’s like blaming the firefighter instead of the flame—it just doesn’t make sense.

Jason Samir Santiago

But now we’ve gotta ask—what’s fueling that inflammation? Well, look no further than your plate. Sugar, processed foods, and those so-called “healthy” seed oils—like canola or soybean oil—are, honestly, just wreaking havoc on our bodies. It’s this toxic cocktail that damages your arteries, creating little tears. And guess what cholesterol does? It rushes in to help repair those tears. That’s its job! But, you know, instead of addressing what’s causing the injury, we hyper-focus on cholesterol because it’s easy to measure and defraud the masses.

Jason Samir Santiago

And statins? Yeah, they don’t actually fix the root of the issue—they just lower cholesterol numbers. It’s like mopping up a floor while the faucet’s still running. You’re not fixing anything; you’re just masking the symptoms. That’s why people stay on these drugs for decades, dependent on them, while the actual cause of heart disease just keeps getting worse.

Jason Samir Santiago

If you’re thinking, “Okay, so what actually helps?” It’s simpler than you’d think, but not as marketable, that’s for sure. Real, whole foods—things your great-grandparents would recognize. Cutting out sugar and processed junk, moving your body regularly, managing stress—all these basic habits that don’t come in a pill bottle. Oh, and let’s not forget good fats, right? Omega-3s from fish or flax—they’re like the anti-inflammatory superheroes we all need.

Jason Samir Santiago

Let’s talk about prevention—real prevention, not the kind that comes in a pill bottle. Here’s the harsh truth: prevention doesn’t make money. And in healthcare, or at least the way we’ve set it up, it’s not about what works best. It’s about what sells best. That’s why Big Pharma isn’t out here promoting lifestyle changes. You can’t patent broccoli or a brisk walk, right?

Jason Samir Santiago

Think about it: companies spend billions creating drugs—like statins. But prevention? That’s where the magic is. Addressing heart health with nutrition, exercise, and the kind of habits that lower inflammation naturally? It just doesn’t fit into that profit model. They can’t slap a price tag on your morning jog or the Mediterranean diet, so they focus their resources on treatments that keep you coming back.

Jason Samir Santiago

Those lifestyle changes? They don’t just lower your cholesterol numbers—they often make statins unnecessary in the first place. But if you ever tried pushing back against a doctor telling you to take statins, you’d know it’s like walking uphill in a hurricane. Doctors mean well, don’t get me wrong. They’re trained in this system—they're—not setting out to push pills for no reason. But sometimes, questioning the standard playbook feels like questioning the whole system, and that’s hard, especially for them.

Jason Samir Santiago

So, what can you do? Start by, well, arming yourself with knowledge. If a doctor insists on statins, it’s essential—to ask questions. Like, “What’s my risk without this medication?” or “Can lifestyle changes reduce my numbers?” And don’t just accept a prescription as the only option. If you’re willing to make real changes—diet, exercise, stress management—those could be just as powerful as a drug, maybe more so.

Jason Samir Santiago

But here’s the bigger picture: will the industry ever change? It’s hard to say. As long as the financial incentives reward treatment over prevention, the system works... for them. But the science is catching up. You’ve got more and more studies showing how lifestyle interventions can outperform medication in many cases. It just might take a while for that science to become the new standard.

Jason Samir Santiago

Alright, so, where does that leave us? Here’s the bottom line: statins aren’t this magical fix we’ve been led to believe they are. And cholesterol? It’s not the enemy—it’s not even close. We've spent decades fighting the wrong battle while the real culprits, like whole body inflammation and poor lifestyle choices, have gone unchecked.

Jason Samir Santiago

But here’s the thing—the system kinda sets us up to fail, doesn’t it? It rewards pills over prevention, quick fixes over meaningful change. And, honestly, that’s something that needs a serious, serious overhaul. Because heart disease prevention shouldn’t just be about lowering a number—it should be about actually improving lives. And we... well, we deserve better than the status quo, don’t we?

Jason Samir Santiago

So, my challenge to you is this: don’t take the system’s word as gospel. Start asking questions. Do your own research. Challenge what you’ve been told. Because, at the end of the day, no one cares about your health more than you do. And you’ve gotta take control of that.

Jason Samir Santiago

Now, before we wrap up, a little teaser for next time. Ever wondered if psychiatric medications could actually be making mental health worse? Yeah, it’s a tough question, but one we’re gonna dive into in our next episode. So, stay tuned—it’s gonna be a big one.

Jason Samir Santiago

And before you go, don’t forget to like, subscribe, leave a comment, and share this with someone who might need to hear it. It really helps get these conversations out there. Alright, folks, I’ll see you next time. Take care.