Statins No Substitute For A Healthy Diet

Even if you’re taking statin drugs to lower your cholesterol, you still need to modify your diet to reduce your risk of heart disease, say health experts. But people on statins aren’t as vigilant about eating healthier fare as they were in the past, according to a study published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.

Researchers compared statin users in 1999-2000 with those in 2009-2010, and found that the earlier group consumed almost 10 percent fewer calories and more than 14 percent less fat than those a decade later. People who didn’t take statin drugs didn’t have a significant change in their food intake over the decade, according to the study authors, who took their data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

Experts advise statin users not to use the medication as an excuse to throw caution to the wind when making food choices.