John Arts - Natural health researcher John Arts is a natural health researcher and supplement formulator. If you have questions or would like a free health plan you can contact John on 0800 423 559 or join his newsletter at www.johnarts.co.nz.

My main area of professional interest is the etiology (causes) of disease and especially the role of insufficient micronutrients in creating disease.
With this information we can then use micronutrient therapy to help rebuild the failed defence processes to encourage a return to normal health patterns.

Over the next few weeks we are going to try and simplify some of the causes of common disease processes. Today we look at statin myopathy which is the muscle weakness and pain affecting some people who use cholesterol lowering statin medications.
I love it when scientists working in human health have a eureka moment. Every medical and health breakthrough has come from such discoveries. Research by Wagner BK et al. ‘Large-scale chemical dissection of mitochondrial function' Nature Biotech 2008 is a landmark research into the new disease of statin myopathy. These researchers tested over 2000 active molecules, of which about half were approved medicines, to see what affect they had on the ability of cells to make adenosine triphosphate (ATP) which is the energy we need to live. They found many of these including the most popular cholesterol-lowering statin drugs caused a lowering of ATP.
They found that statins resulted in a significant increase in free radicals which disrupted the energy processes leading to a reduction in cell energy. This reduction in energy causes impairment of muscle cells which is the source of the muscle pain and weakness. While the research did not explain why statins cause this increase in free radicals, the obvious candidate is that statins reduce levels of coenzyme Q10 (ubiquinol). CoQ10 not only helps the actual energy conversion process, it also acts as a powerful antioxidant. The Co Q10 lowering effect of statins would almost certainly explain the lower output of energy and higher levels of free radicals for those taking these drugs.
Anything that interrupts or restricts ATP can be the first cause of a disease process. Many diseases, and now we know even common medicines, can have a profound impact on our ability to create and maintain the energy we need to live. My advice for anyone who is on statins is to add a comprehensive nutritional support programme that should include 100-200mg of high grade Co Q10. It is important though to have any such programme personalised for your situation including your current health, age, weight and of course the medications you have been prescribed.

John Arts is a natural health commentator and researcher. If you have questions or would like a free health plan you can contact John at john@johnarts.co.nz or phone 07 578 9051 or 0800 423 559. You can join his newsletter at www.johnarts.co.nz.