Over-medication + low cholesterol levels = more negative impact on behaviors

neuroscience
drugs
behavior
pharmaceuticals
#1

About the work Beatrice Golomb, who leads a research group at the University of California, San Diego - on the impact of the worlds largest industry, pharmaceuticals. They cover statins, anti-depressants, L-dopa, etc.

“The world is in the midst of a crisis of over-medication, with the US alone buying up 49,000 tonnes of paracetamol every year – equivalent to about 298 paracetamol tablets per person – and **the average American consuming $1,200 worth of prescription medications** over the same period. And as the global population ages, our drug-lust is set to spiral even further out of control; in the UK, one in 10 people over the age of 65 already takes eight medications every week.”

“Several studies have supported a potential link between irritability and statins, including a randomised controlled trial – the gold-standard of scientific research – that Golomb led, involving more than 1,000 people. It found that the drug increased aggression in post-menopausal women though, oddly, not in men.”

"Golomb remains convinced that lower cholesterol, and, by extension, statins, can cause behavioural changes in both men and women, though the strength of the effect varies drastically from person to person. “There are lines of evidence converging,” she says, citing a study she conducted in Sweden, which involved comparing a database of the cholesterol levels of 250,000 people with local crime records. “Even adjusting for confounding factors, it was still the case that people with lower cholesterol at baseline were significantly more likely to be arrested for violent crimes.”

“…In order to minimise any undesirable effects and get the most out of the staggering quantities of medications that we all take each day… we need to know more. Because at the moment, how they are affecting the behaviour of individuals – and even entire societies – is largely a mystery.”

Nowhere do they mention the role of nutrient depletion and the poison of the SAD way of eating though. >_<

(Keto Koala 🐨) #2

Omg don’t even get me started on paracetamol. Or all those anti depressants and anti psychotics ect. Most of it is toxic crap. I took way too much paracetamol once and had to get my stomach pumped. That info was really interesting though. I should tell my Mum. She is going through hell with menopause and is on medications and probably has low cholesterol too.

#3

Hopefully you can help her check out the work of Dr. Anna Cabeca (keto-green), esp for midlife women. Her book The Hormone Fix is absolutely fabulous.

Though for the majority of otherwise-healthy women the change of menopause is free of negative symptoms, those who suffer from hormonal imbalances and/or toxification can turn everything around via nutrient density LCHF/keto, detox, alkalinization, and the help of superfoods such as Maca & Ginger, and nutriceuticals like DHEA. And even more help for her could be found with the Drs. Unwin’s low carb behavioral change digital platform support.

In industrial culture, years of suppressive meds for acute colds/flus and aches & pains along with microbiome derangment from excessive antibiotics has left lots of folks with toxified organs and GI tracts. But detox and rejuvenation is very possible, esp for determined older women who have lots of internal power surging going on :joy:

(Keto Koala 🐨) #4

I will have to let her know about that book. She really needs it. She is a healthy weight and stuff but she works way too hard and stresses a lot. She has been suffering menopause for over 6 years. That seems a very long time. She’s taking some native American herb to try to help her but I will certainly pass the info along. She’s about to go to vipashna to serve for a week and then do daily meditations in silence for two weeks. Hopefully that will ease her stress levels. Xx

#5

Yes! Black cohosh is a great ally for certain symptoms, but it doesn’t work great for all ladies, and for some it does very little. Maca and/or DHEA and Vit D3 w/ calcium can do wonders as far as natural pro-hormonals that balance things very personally. 6 years of suffering? My heart goes out to her! The Functional medicine and Integrative medicine approaches definitely look at relieving the toxin loads of various organs/glands and deep nutrient density . It’s a crisis - and one that can turn into a great opportunity for self knowledge, detoxification, and rejuvenation. She’s lucky to have a compassionate & loving daughter like you, all best! Xx

(Keto Koala 🐨) #6

Awww thanks. Yes that’s the one, Black cohosh!! I will tell her about the others too. I think the menopause is certainty not helping her depression. Will let her know. Thanks SO much. You have so much cool knowledge it’s awesome

#7

You’re welcome so much! And, it takes awesome to know awesome :pray:t4:

(Keto Koala 🐨) #8

Omg you remind me of my friend Amber Moon. She even uses the exact same emoji.:pray:. I just told mum all the stuff you recommend including that book. She said she wants to try cannabis oil

#9

I am well past menopause now, but for me it was a whopper. And yes, I was on - no diet. I came across food and ate it. Raised by parents who experienced a lot of starvation in their lives, food was all good and a wonderful reward. Anyway, my menopause was horrible, I would cry without reason, none whatsoever. My emotions went haywire. Sometimes I was horny as heck, other times sex was the last thing I wanted. (poor hubby!, never knew what to expect) But mostly I was depressed and cried a lot. I finally managed to tell myself convincingly that none of it was real, that it was just some chemical reaction, and that I wasn’t really sad. That worked to some extent, I still cried, but looked at it like you look at sneezing, just a physical impulse. I tried black cohosh, didn’t work. Progesterone cream helped some, temporarily. Cannabis also helped temporarily, it didn’t really change anything but I could concentrate on something pleasant and forget about the mood swings. Being a very grounded person, not given to mood swings, just the fact that I had them upset me. I wish I had known to try work with diet, but no. Not a good phase in my life. That said, being post menopausal is heaven. One doesn’t really know how enslaved one is to hormones until the levels go down.

(squirrel-kissing paper tamer) #10

Yes! I went early (age 40, chemically induced/chemo) and it’s a gift. I’m not angry about the tough two years I spent sweating, being moody and gobbling down supplements to help. Now I feel cleaner mentally than I ever did when I was saturated with the lady hormones.

As for the original article, it seems pretty common sense that any regularly taken med could have psychological side effects. One thing our doctors often do is separate body disciplines to make life easier and more organized (endocrinology, neurology, dermatology, etc) but it’s like they forget that they’re all parts of a whole and one effects the other. I remember seeing patients who were on meds from this specialty doc and others from that and I would look for interactions because the prescribing doctors weren’t taking the others into consideration. “I do cardiology, I want these meds, I don’t care what your diabetes doctor is saying.”

And none of them seem to have to time to consider the mental health effects of their actions. Thanks for the article, @SlowBurnMary. I’m glad someone is talking about it.