Supplement/Drug Synergies

What nutrients synergize with statins to better improve my cholesterol portfolio

The rationale for supplementing the diet with the selected nutrient synergist while taking statin medications is two-fold.

• Adverse effects from statin medications are dose-dependent. This means that higher doses of statin medications are more likely to result in unwanted side effects, especially with prolonged use. Lower doses of these medications carry a lower likelihood of unwanted side effects. By supplementing the diet with fish oils, the ability of statins to effectively regulate cholesterol metabolism can be maximized - quite often resulting in an ability to realize positive changes in blood pressure regulation at lower doses of this type of medication.
• Statin medications primarily improve only lipid risk factors for cardiovascular disease - cholesterol levels. By supplementing the diet with fish oils other functional aspects of heart health - including insulin levels, hemostatic variables, and endothelial function - can also be improved resulting in a substantially greater functional level of heart health than can be achieved by taking statin medications alone.

• Omega 3 Essential Fatty Acids (EPA/DHA): Both statin medications and omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil have been documented to independently exert positive cardiovascular effects. The combination has also been show in multiple studies to have a synergistic impact on cardiovascular function. Adding fish oil to the diet in persons taking statin medications has a synergistic impact on improving lipid parameters. Statin medications will typically reduce total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, and triglycerides, while increasing HDL-cholesterol. When fish oil is added to the diet of persons taking statin medications greater increases in HDL-cholesterol and decreases in total cholesterol and triglycerides typically occur than are found with the statin medication in isolation. Under circumstances where triglycerides have failed to respond to an appropriate degree to statin medications, fish oil supplementation safely and predictably lowers triglycerides. In addition to the synergistic impact on lipid parameters, fish oil added to statin therapy exerts several other functional benefits. Evidence indicates that the combination is more effective in lowering systolic blood pressure than are statin medications in isolation. The combination of statin medications and fish oil results in lower insulin levels. Fish oil also acts to protect against the increases in insulin levels that can result from long-term statin use. Hemostatic and thrombotic variables improve to a more marked degree when fish oil is used in combination with statin medications. Endothelial dysfunction is well documented in hypercholesterolaemic subjects. While statin medications often result in some degree of improvement in endothelial function, dietary supplementation with fish oil has an independent positive impact on this critical area of cardiovascular function.

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