Pretty scary stuff.

"NEWSWEEK: You've written that "lifestyle modification is the cornerstone of cardiovascular prevention in childhood." Isn't that what the AAP should be focusing on? Are you worried that these guidelines will encourage doctors to prescribe drugs to kids with high cholesterol instead of changes in diet and exercise?
Peter Belamarich: No. If people read them carefully, they say that the statin medications should be targeted to very high-risk children. The kids who would qualify for drug treatment based on these guidelines are less than 1 percent of all children. Ninety-nine percent of children and adolescents still should be treated with what's called therapeutic lifestyle change: limiting animal fat, increasing physical activity to an hour a day."

He goes on to express concern about long-term effects of using these drugs in children, even though current knowledge suggests they're generally safe. I'd agree about very limited prescribing of statins for now, in older kids who are at very high risk for cardiovascular disease.

To give this an herbal perspective, one common supplement, red yeast rice, works like a statin drug (and in some cases has been sold with an actual statin drug as part of the formula (without this being revealed to consumers). Red yeast rice is not currently recommended for use in children due to lack of evidence about efficacy and safety in a pediatric population.

Hokey pokey, please be careful who you listen to on this forum if indeed anyone. It is easy for anyone to claim to be a doctor and copy things verbatum from an internet link.

"There is not enough scientific evidence to recommend red yeast for children."

"Hokey pokey, please be careful who you listen to on this forum if indeed anyone."

Absolutely true. Don't trust anyone, including people who tell you not to trust anyone. :)

There are some good, trustworthy sources cited in discussions here, so statements backed up by such sources are worth considering.