Statins Aren’t the Best Way to Reduce Your Risk of Death from Flu

At a recent meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, researchers in Oregon made a surprising announcement: Among patients hospitalized with the flu, those who take cholesterol-lowering drugs are less likely to die than those who don’t take them. To me that sounded like a bit of a non sequitur… so I decided to learn more.

Daily Health News contributing editor Andrew Rubman, ND, told me he wasn’t surprised to hear about the results of the study — but that no one should interpret this as a reason to take a statin drug. He pointed out that since profits are plunging for pharmaceutical companies after statin goes off patent, they would love to find a new revenue generator amidst this particular family of drugs. As we well know, these potent medications have equally potent and worrisome side effects. Dr. Rubman told me that there are far better ways to achieve the same immune-bolstering effect.

Anti-Inflammatory? Yes. Safe? No.

In the study at the Oregon Public Health Division in Portland, scientists analyzed data on 2,800 flu patients as part of the CDC’s Emerging Infections Program. They found that during the 2007-2008 flu season, of 801 hospitalized patients who had been taking statins to lower cholesterol, 17 (2.1%) died in the hospital or within the next 30 days. Of the 1,999 patients who had not been taking statins, 64 (3.2%) died.

This makes sense, says Dr. Rubman, since statins have an anti-inflammatory impact which may help destroy flu-infected cells. The problem is, many people on statins also experience troubling side effects, such as muscle pain and weakness, nerve damage, fatigue and memory loss. The longer you take these drugs, the higher the risk of these side effects. Additionally, as even the researchers themselves noted, there were some serious shortcomings in the Oregon study. It was observational rather than randomized and controlled… it did not distinguish among different statin drugs and dosages… and results were presented at a conference rather than published in a more rigorous peer-reviewed journal.

A Better Way

By lowering inflammation, statins may incidentally strengthen your ability to resist the flu, yet there are smarter ways to do this. Dr. Rubman recommends that you enhance immunity, calm inflammation and stave off the flu the safe and natural way — follow a healthful diet, exercise regularly and get as close to eight hours of sleep each night as you possibly can. He also suggests the following…

  • Use omega-3 fatty acid supplements. These strengthen immune function and guard against inflammation in your mucous membranes, where flu germs initially take hold. Doses of one gram daily of the combined omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid may be clinically effective.
  • Go fish. Two to three times a week, feast on fatty fish from the ocean, such as wild salmon, herring, sardines and sablefish. These are rich in omega-3 fatty acids and low in contaminants, such as mercury and PCBs. Other good dietary sources of omega-3s are walnuts, flaxseed and canola oil.
  • See your doctor. Your best bet is a physician who has training in and experience with supplements, and who can prescribe an anti-flu program to fit your individual needs. Supplements Dr. Rubman typically prescribes include vitamin C, vitamin D, antioxidants, zinc, elderberry, echinacea, goldenseal and NAC (n-acetyl-cysteine).

Whatever you do, don’t let drug companies scare you into taking powerful drugs with powerful side effects when safer alternatives exist. There are better ways to stay healthy this flu season and beyond.