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If you're taking a statin, are you at risk of a hidden side effect doctors aren't talking about? Well, until recently, I would have had no idea about this, but Dr. Nick Norowitz uncovered a paper from 2024 that clearly, and let me emphasize, clearly demonstrates a significant decrease in GLP-1 levels for those taking statins. That's the same hormone targeted to increase by popular drugs like WGO, Ompic, and Majaro. And that decrease seemed to cause the dangerous onset of insulin resistance. But fortunately, they also found a fairly simple way to potentially remedy this side effect.
Now, Nick was rightly upset that this hasn't been front page news and that the study is over a year old, but yet hasn't really made it into a discussion about statins, and that's fairly outrageous. So, I encourage you to to watch his video for more on his reaction. But but as a cardiologist, I want to review what this means for my patients taking statins and what it may mean for you. But first, please remember this is for educational purposes only for you to discuss with your healthcare team and is not medical advice. I certainly don't want you changing your medications or supplements based on this information alone.
Now, this is different than most of our content here at Metabolic Mind where we focus on the intersection of metabolic and mental health and metabolic therapies like ketogenic therapy for brainbased disorders. But one topic that often arises is what happens if my LDL increases on a keto diet. And while that can happen, it's important to emphasize it happens in a minority of people. But it but it can still happen. So after an informed discussion with physicians, some people in that setting will choose to take a statin to treat it. But the risk of GLP1 is something crucial that you probably haven't been told about. Actually, I'm fairly certain you haven't been told about it.
We've known for years that statins can increase the risk of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes with the risk being highest in those who have pre-diabetes or other risk factors for diabetes. And to be honest, that's a big reason why I often recommend a low carb or keto diet for those on statins so that they can combat that potential risk. That's not based on data, but my clinical experience and it seems to make sense. But despite this knowledge, it seems there has been little in the way of looking for mechanisms for that risk. And that's where this paper from 2024 comes in.
They studied both mice and humans and concluded that the insulin resistance comes from the reduction in GLP-1 levels. And they went even further determining the cause of the GLP-1 reduction is likely due to a decrease in claustrdium species in the microbiome. And the subsequent reduction in ursodoxyolic acid or udca. Now, that's a mouthful, but UDCA is a naturally occurring bile acid made in the liver from, you guessed it, cholesterol. Now, there are a lot of details in the paper, and for simplicity, I won't cover them all, especially since Nick has already done a really great job of it. Instead, I want to focus on what this can mean for someone taking a statin.
The big question is, does it matter that GLP-1 levels went down? And based on their research, it seems the drop in GLP1 directly related to the onset of insulin resistance. So yeah, it really matters, but it isn't routine to walk into your doctor's office and get your GLP-1 levels checked, right? So what can someone do to if they're on a statin to to know if they're at risk? Well, the key is what is happening with someone's metabolic health. So the usual parameters apply. keeping triglycerides low, HDL, you know, normal to high but not low, fasting insulin levels low, HBA1C low, glucose trends on the CGM in the healthy range, you know, what's your body composition, visceral fat, do you have normal blood pressure, all these things, the key is, are you metabolically healthy or showing signs of insulin resistance? So, GLP-1 levels may be the instigator, but it's the end result we can measure and try to correct.
And while no doctor will admit to this, there is sort of this this like this air of here's your statin, now you're protected and little else matters. Go about your way. And that's the furthest thing from the truth. Instead, it should be here's your statin, of course, after a detailed informed consent discussion. But now, let's plan on how to optimize and maintain your metabolic health. That is the key. So, sleep, managing stress, exercise, nutrition, all play vital roles and cannot be ignored. And now we can possibly add something new to the list. Supplementing with UDCA or so deoxyolic acid. I have to admit that's a new one for me. I've never in my life recommended a patient take UDCA, but this study found that supplementing with it counteracted the decrease in GLP1 levels and the onset of insulin resistance. So that's pretty impressive for just a bile acid supplement.
But I wonder that if someone is, you know, eating a healthy low carb diet and getting regular physical activity and resistance training, sleeping well, managing their stress, avoiding toxins, maintaining good body composition, maybe they will have the same beneficial effects and not need the UDCA. Hasn't been studied, but I can't help but wonder. But regardless, this is an outstanding example of a curious mind, that being Nick, uncovering something in plain sight that the medical world isn't talking about, possibly because it's an inconvenient discussion. And yet it could have profound impacts on the roughly 70 million people taking statins and that's just in the US. This should not be buried. Instead, it should be discussed with every single statin prescription along with a detailed plan on how to improve and maintain metabolic health.
So, I hope you found this helpful and that it provides you with informed talking points to discuss with your health care team. Please let us know what you think. We know many of you are opposed to statins and everybody's got the right to make up their own mind on that. But for those considering statins, will this help you prioritize metabolic health even more? Will it change the conversation between you and your doctor? You know, let us know in the comments. We'd love to hear from you and any questions you might have. So, thank you for watching. I'm Dr. Brett Sher and we will see you here next time at Metabolic Mind, a nonprofit initiative of Bizooki Group.