They’ve Got to Be Kidding…

Posted By elissa on Aug 15, 2010 | 2 comments

Evidently some cardiologists think fast food restaurants should offer their customers statin-laced condiments with their food.

A new report in the American Journal of Cardiology suggests that fast food restaurants should offer statins – a popular class of cholesterol-lowering medications – alongside their unhealthy food.

“We propose that the fast food industry is well placed to offer advice and supplements to counteract the cardiovascular harm arising from the foods they purvey,” the report said. “These companies already have an infrastructure for providing a variety of condiments… A generic statin could be added to the panoply of items in the self-service tray at little additional cost.”

Say what???

Seriously, I can’t believe that anyone could believe that adding prescription drugs to food (even awful food), would be a good idea. Thank goodness some professionals feel the same way:

But Dr. Ralph Sacco, president of the American Heart Association, says that not only isn’t the solution that simple, it could be dangerous.

“There are other things regarding obesity that are important that a statin won’t neutralize, such as diabetes and high blood pressure,” Sacco said. “Even though we agree statins have a lot of good evidence in reducing cardiovascular and stroke risk, there are certain risks with any medications.”

No kidding… like muscle aches, headaches, nausea… as well as more rare, but also more serious risks, such as rhabdomyolysis and liver damage. There are reasons these drugs are sold by prescription only, and they should stay that way.