The American Journal of Cardiology published a paper yesterday which proposed the selling of statins in fast food restaurants such as Burger King and McDonalds. Right by the salt and ketchup, you would be able to pick up your statin and pop it with your chocolate milkshake in order to decrease your risk of developing heart disease and reverse the effects your meal has had on your cholesterol levels.
Statins are taken by people who have high levels of bad cholesterol in order to decrease their risk of developing heart disease or suffering a heart attack or stroke.
In the paper, by Dr Darrel Francis of Imperial’s National Lung and Heart Institute, he outlines why he and his colleagues think that taking statins as part of an unbalanced diet would be beneficial. The researchers believe that the restaurateurs could make statins available at the same cost as the sachets of salt or ketchup. Francis describes this preventative measure as akin to putting on a seat belt.
The opposing argument suggests that the availability and accessibility of statins would encourage a diet full of junk food. Steve Field, Chairman of the Royal College of Practitioners, expressed his concerns over the idea and feels that by making these pills accessible; one is doing more harm than good as it is likely to increase the level of consumption of fatty fast foods. Guilt free fast food may help to negate the effect a burger will have on cholesterol levels but this kind of food is bound to have other negative effects on the body. There are other factors to be considered. The effects statins have are not always beneficial and in some cases affect the kidneys, the liver and muscle strength. Francis and his team acknowledge that trials need to be carried out in the hope of assessing the potential risks and they have stressed the importance of placing a warning on the statin packaging, which would explain that the statin should not be taken in the place of a balanced diet. We’ll wait and see but judging the sceptical reactions, it doesn’t seem like McDonalds will be dispensing free cholesterol meds anytime soon.