anybody remember when Regis Philbin discussed Lipitor?

[eml256]

Does anyone remember if Regis Philbin discussed side effects he was experiencing which he attributed to Lipitor (maybe 1-2 yrs ago)? after a couple of days , any mention of statins disappeared from his show. or am i misremembering this? thanks, madelyn

[Biologist]

eml256,

I bet you are remembering just right. That sounds like how that would have gone down. There is no doubt he would have been hushed up. A lot of advertising at stake.

I also heard the "promo" for tonight's "Entertainment Tonight" on TV where they mentioned his heart condition so that is consistent with your observations too.

Out of curiosity, I did a pretty thorough Google search right after you posted and did not find anything supporting his making such comments, but that is not surprising really. I did however find this URL where if you word search "regis" he comes up but not regarding statins.

*http://www.alienview.net/ALLT1.html

I went ahead and read the article though and was interested in the author's comments on TMG (trimethylglycine) which I happened to notice today in a vitamin store and bought a bottle. He seems to know what he's talking about as far as I can tell, so why not? It was about $10.50 for 60 tablets at 750 mg (while he recommends 1,000 mg). Here's some quotes from it:

"Once upon a time in the late 60's a brilliant
Harvard scientist, Dr. K. McCully, did
extensive research regarding the effects of
folic acid, B-6, B-12 & Betaine (TMG) on
homocysteine levels in the blood. He
determined these simple inexpensive B
vitamins, plus the methyl-donor Tri-
methyl-glycine (TMG), dramatically facilitated
the breakdown of this corrosive amino acid.
Homocysteine has a toxic effect on artery
cells, resulting in inflammation & deformation
of the arterial walls. This causes a rough spot
that cholesterol and oxidized lipids stick to.
Cholesterol sort of acts like putty… "sealing
the cracks" so to speak. "

"Have you ever wondered why on virtually all
TV adds for Statins there is a disclaimer which
says "...Has not been shown to reduce Heart
Attack or Stroke..."...OK, I give up...why should
you take statin drugs, again?"

If you happen to be into some more reading, here may be an interesting one for you. Looks like statins may have only been round 1. Here's round 2 maybe

*http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/031307T.shtml

Biologist

[sos_group_owner]

Ya'll did hear Regis say on Monday's show that he's going to have bypass surgery. Might as well kiss his sweet butt goodbye.
[http://www.dailybulletin.com/news/ci_5422901]

Fran

[carbuffmom]

Biologist:

FYI: I also take 1000 mg. of TMG. Have a good day>

DEB

[flacorps]

[quote="Biologist"]
If you happen to be into some more reading, here may be an interesting one for you. Looks like statins may have only been round 1. Here's round 2 maybe

*http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/031307T.shtml

Biologist[/quote]

Transgenic foods are not the only ones to worry about. To a lesser extent there may be similar problems with the selectively bred and hybridized grains, fruits and vegetables that have gained favor over the years.

The fact is, these miracles of yield sometimes come at a cost for humans. One of the things plants are bred for is disease and insect resistance. The plants often perform this feat by incorporating natural poisons into their stems, leaves, seeds and fruits. For instance, furanocoumarins and bioflavonoids protect everything from celery to citrus. Sometimes these substances can harm us ... even cause cancer. Furanocoumarins act on the liver, flavonoids act on the kidneys ... and together they can shut off the body's means of metabolizing and disposing of active drugs, leading to an overdose. It even has a name: "the grapefruit juice effect" (grapefruit contains both). The P450 system (enzymes CYP3A4, etc. *http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CYP3A4 ), which is disabled by the furnaocoumarins, is responsible for clearing perhaps 50% of the drugs on the market. It's not such a big deal, because the kidneys can still do the job ... unless they are brought to their knees by the flavonoids.

You can't say "well, I don't drink grapefruit juice" because some of the most potent furanocoumarins are contained in citrus [i]flavorings[/i], which are oils that are extracted from the peels, where most of the furancoumarins in citrus are contained. Be especially cautious with citrus-flavored waters ... most soft drinks contain citric acid, which breaks down furanocoumarins. Water products typically lack citric acid, and are consumed in larger quantities than ordinary soft drinks because there is nothing in them to create satiety in the consumer. If you knock your P450 system out completely with a regimen like this, then drink some orange juice while you happen to be on a statin ... you are in [i]trouble[/i].

[flacorps]

Could photosensitization from increased furanocoumarins in food account for some of the increase in skin cancer the medical community has been seeing over the years?

*http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=SUNA,SUNA:2005-49,SUNA:en&q=celery+furanocoumarins

[Biologist]

Thanks, flacorps.

Very interesting! I have wondered before what the big deal about grape fruit juice has been regarding drugs but have never gotten around to checking into it. Now I will -- or better said, you have done it for me. You may have redirected my attention to this matter for a while when work eases up on me. Thanks again.

BTW, you write:

"One of the things plants are bred for is
disease and insect resistance. The plants
often perform this feat by incorporating
natural poisons into their stems, leaves,
seeds and fruits."
--flacorps

That happens to be "my theory" (i.e., no doubt many peoples' theory) for the evolution of statins in nature. The base molecule was genetically "selected for" (i.e., "bred for") in its "host organisms" for its ability to kill the competition and all predators by interrupting vital/basic molecular pathways. This applies to the "red yeast variety" of statins found in these very lowly organisms and then later "conserved" in more advanced organisms such as the cinnamon plant and others. The purpose/function of the molecule is the screw up the works of other organisms.

Some may find the following of interest for several reasons, one of which is to demonstrate the "conservation principle" in evolutionary biology whereby survival systems in the lower orders often extend to higher level organisms including humans.

*http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7067070349217621336

Biologist

[flacorps]

Insects have a P450 system. When it is disabled by a plant's natural defense, the insect is unable to absorb nourishment from what it consumes.

To paraphrase Dr. McCoy, "starved to death with food all around"...