Categories: Life

Statins vs. Steak: My Aha Moment

For several years, I had been taking Rosuvastatin to manage my cholesterol. Over time, I started experiencing daily symptoms—constant stuffiness, nasal congestion, sneezing, heartburn, trouble sleeping, and forgetfulness. Like many others, I assumed it was just part of aging, allergies, or sinus issues I’d struggled with since 1999. Eventually, I even began developing itchy patches of skin, but I didn’t connect the dots.

Carnivore diet

Then, I made a significant change—I started the Carnivore diet. If you’re curious about my experience and the benefits I’ve seen, I wrote a detailed blog post on it. To put it simply, the improvements were incredible. Within a couple of months:

Heartburn disappeared.
Congestion and stuffiness were almost completely gone.
My gums stopped bleeding.
I felt clearer, healthier, and better overall.

Statins impact

Encouraged by these changes, I had bloodwork done about a month into my Carnivore journey while my body was still adjusting to burning fat instead of carbs and sugar. As expected, my LDL cholesterol had spiked. My doctor, who had initially supported me trying this lifestyle, did a complete 180 and quadrupled my Rosuvastatin dosage—from 10mg to the maximum 40mg.

I wasn’t happy about it. Many in the Carnivore community, including doctors, caution against statins, arguing that LDL isn’t the real culprit behind coronary heart disease. Yet when you’re caught between traditional medicine and the emerging science of new dietary approaches, it’s hard to know who to trust. Reluctantly, I started taking the higher dose while closely monitoring my blood pressure daily, as I had been doing since starting Carnivore.

That’s when things spiralled.

The red spots and rashes on my skin—previously mild—began to worsen and spread. I was unbearably itchy. At first, I thought it was the hot tub so I stopped going in. It didn’t change. Then perhaps it was a change in laundry soap? We went back to our old soap, no difference. Was it something in the water? We contacted the town and nothing had changed, but I started drinking bottled water instead. You guessed it, no change.

I didn’t link it to the medication since the rash had started subtly before the dosage increase. Desperate for relief, I visited the doctor, who diagnosed it as eczema and prescribed a steroid cream. The cream offered temporary relief, but the rash and itchiness never fully went away. Worse, I noticed my blood pressure spiking—especially the diastolic number—after applying the cream. When I read the side effects, sure enough, elevated blood pressure was a known issue, so I reduced – but did not stop – the usage.

Meanwhile, other symptoms returned with a vengeance after the Rosuvastatin drastic dosage increase:

Stuffy nose and congestion.
Sneezing and dizziness.
Feeling tired, low energy.

Fed up and desperate, I finally decided to investigate the side effects of Rosuvastatin. What I found was eye-opening:

Some of Rosuvastatin Side Effects (oral route):

Bleeding gums
Hives, itching, skin rash
General feeling of tiredness or weakness
Hives, itching, skin rash
Large, hive-like swelling on the face, eyelids, lips, tongue, throat, hands, legs, feet, or genitals
Pinpoint red spots on the skin
Congestion
Runny nose
Stuffy nose
Sneezing
Dizziness
Lightheadedness
Heartburn
Loss of interest or pleasure
Trouble concentrating
Trouble sleeping
Forgetfulness
Memory loss
Swelling of the breasts or breast soreness in both females and males

Nearly every symptom listed was something I had been living with for years, some getting much worse since quadrupling the dosage!

Here’s my theory: My body had been fighting these side effects all along, and the congestion and itchy rash were early outward signs of trouble. When I started the Carnivore diet, the reduction in inflammation from red meat intake and cutting out processed foods and sugar relieved most of the symptoms—except for the lingering itchiness. But when my Rosuvastatin dose was quadrupled, it overwhelmed my body, and the symptoms came roaring back—rashes, congestion, dizziness, everything.

That was my aha moment. If I had any lingering doubt about traditional medicine’s quick-fix approach—10 minute appointments and prescription pads at the ready—I don’t anymore. My LDL cholesterol might be “high,” but I’ve chosen to focus on newer science showing that what really matters is keeping your Triglyceride-to-HDL ratio below 2.

For context, when my doctor sounded the alarm about my LDL, my ratio was 1.61—an excellent result.

A Final Word

I’m not a medical professional nor will I ever proclaim or tell you to stop medications or start Carnivore. This is simply my personal experience. I’m just sharing it for anyone who might be facing a similar struggle. If you’re looking for more scientific insights, I encourage you to check out the work of these experts who challenge conventional wisdom on Carnivore or Keto, on cholesterol and health:

I still believe in science, but I’ve now learned to seriously question its application, its sources (for their scientific evidence), and the influence of pharmaceuticals on our healthcare system.

If nothing else, I hope my story inspires you to listen to your body and take charge of your health. Do the research instead of putting blind trust into people who spend very little time finding the cause of your issues but are very quick on the prescription pads. The side effects have the potential of causing more issues than what you went in for, possibly worsening your condition.