The most popular drugs in our country right now are statin drugs used to lower cholesterol. At least 12 million Americans currently take these drugs, and according to industry guidelines another quarter million should be on statins. There is an excellent review of side-effects of statin drugs in my article "Dairy and Eggs, Good For You!", on my articles page. These drugs have more risks than benefits. Cholesterol is used as a precursor for many hormones within our bodies, and artificially lowering cholesterol levels can disrupt hormonal balance, resulting in a host of psychological disorders including depression. A new study from the Journal of the American Geriatric Society concluded that the statin drug studied had "statistically significant effects on affect and affective processes in elderly volunteers. The decrease in positive affect may be significant clinically and relevant to the quality of life of many patients." In other words, these patients were bummed out on statins to a point hat affected their quality of life. Interestingly, most studies find no benefit of statin use in these patients. Should we really be giving elderly patients drugs without benefit that increase cancer risk, suicide, and depression? Read the study here . For healthy alternatives to statins read my articles on Omega 6/3 Balance, Policosanol, and Chinese Red Yeast Rice--all of which are on the articles page.