can help lower cholesterol. supports healthy cholesterol levels. of cholesterol. but it's not the only source. your liver produces about 1,000 milligrams of cholesterol each day. cholesterol binds the proteins to travel through the blood stream, creating hdl. that's the good stuff. and low density protein, known as the lousy stuff. think of hdl as the cleanup crew, picking up the ldl in the blood vessels and taking them back to the liver to be processed. but sometimes there's too much ldl. >> when you eat more of the bad fats, it causes your liver to produce more bad cholesterol. >> but foods higher in fiber like oatmeal reduce those levels of ldl in your body. so keep your cholesterol in check by eating smart. as you chase life, don't forget about exercise. you don't have to become a marathon runner, just a brisk walk can do it. 30 minutes a day, five days a week. even get the same benefit if you split it up into ten minute intervals. how intense? it's okay if you can still talk while you're exercising. but if you can sing, you're not pushing it h

cholesterol, the so-called bad cholesterol. and we recommend that individuals have a fasting ldl cholesterol that's less than 125 as a target, if they've never had heart attacks or strokes or any events in the past. if they have had symptoms in the past, then we aim even lower, for an ldl of less than 100. homocysteine, a byproduct of normal metabolism, is also emerging as a risk factor for stroke. now there's pretty convincing data from over 20 epidemiologic studies in large populations that mildly increased homocysteine does increase your risk for heart attack and stroke. the exciting thing is that homocysteine is potentially usually treatable. taking extra doses of the vitamins that are involved in the metabolism of homocysteine-- b12, b6, and especially folic acid-- can lower homocysteine levels with extra intake. and so a number of clinical trials have now been organized to see if taking extra vitamins and lowering serum homocysteine does result in actually preventing stroke and heart attack. if so, it will be another impo

good cholesterol, the best way to think about that is sweeps up the bad cholesterol.cleanup crew. satins are a type of medication. there are many different types of brands of the medication. it interferes with the way cholesterol is made, absorbed and cleaned out of the body. if you interfere with that a bit, you can decrease someone's cholesterol and increase the amount of cholesterol that is sort of wiped away from the blood vessels. they can have significant side effects, not necessarily life thet ening in most cases but can you develop significant muscle problems. can you develop problems with your liver. what they're not sure of and very posh question is will it actually prolong life in the vast majority of people? that still remains to be seen. here's the bottom line, hopefully this makes you more knowledgeable. but also initiates a conversation with your doctor. you need to know your family history. you need to know your cholesterol levels. you need to chase life. now before we go, a quick reminder about our fit nation challenge. listen, you've been doing it. i

in cholesterol, the bad cholesterol and the good cholesterol turn out to be predictors of heart disease. but what we've recognized is maybe we've been treating some of the wrong people. because by a singular focus on your lab test, we have perhaps often been treating people with mild elevations of bad cholesterol who were otherwise at low risk. and had relatively little to gain. and there have been others with low cholesterol who could have benefitted from some of these medications but who we may have neglectd not recognizing they had a lot to gain. >> let's talk a little bit about those congratulations. who now qualifies under the new risk calculator? >> so, the way that this works-- and there is a calculation, but i think it's good to think about this as a general for instance pel, trying toidentify people wt to gain-- that is, those people for whom medication is likely to lower the risk so it's worth taking the medication every day, worth exposing yourself to some of adverse effects. they said, look, if your cholesterol is markedly elevated, that should probably qualify you. by defin

profile. >> the new recommendations really reaffirm the importance on treating cholesterol levels in the highest risk populations. those with established heart disease, those with diabetes and those with genetic cholesterol problems. >> reporter: analysts say there is no question statents are the big gorilla, 214 million prescriptions a year, a 17% increase in the last five years. two of the biggest sellers, lipator has gone off patent. crestor go go off 2015. they say it won't offset the lost revenues from those expiring patents. >> at that point and the generic life cycle doesn't help generic firm. >> the next generation of patented stat tents is in the pipeline, meanwhile doctors emphasize drugs are no substitute for a heart healthy lifestyle that include as good diet, exercise and a lot less stress where possible. for "nightly business report" i'm hampton pearson in washington here to talk about giepd lines is barbara a managing director with fti, you heard that package. do you think that's a need m mov mover. >> lipator and crestor and pfizer more increased attention and crestor

good cholesterol of 45 as a ten-year risk of cardiovascular disease of 5%. statin treatment may not be warranted. but for a man who is african american-- a group known to be at higher risk-- the exact same numbers give a risk of almost 9% a level that meets the panel's criteria for treatment. >> everyone is different. we all have our risks and our individual factors that make treatment either more beneficial or may make treatment more difficult, and to deal with that we're urging a patient/clinician discussion. >> reporter: getting rid of target cholesterol levels is such a departure from current practice, it's likely to be very a controversial among doctors. but the panel hopes the new guidelines will help remove the false sense of security that can come when a patient on a statin has a very low cholesterol level, but eats poorly and doesn't exercise. >> pelley: big change. jon, thanks very much. the troubled rollout of president obama's health insurance law is taking a toll on his job approval ratings. in the respected quinnipiac university poll out today,

for example, a 50-year-old white male with a total cholesterol of 220 and good cholesterol of 45 has 50%. a statin may not be warranted. for an african-american, a group known to be at high risk with the exact same numbers is given a risk of almost 9%, a cnumber that affects it. >> everyone's different. they have risk factors that make treatment more beneficial or more difficult. to deal with that we're urging a patient/clinician discussion. >> getting rid of target cholesterol levels is such a departure from current practice, it's likely to be very controversial among current doctors but the panel hopes to remove the false sense of security that can come with having a very low cholesterol from receiving the statin while skper siegs but eating poorly. jon lapook, cbs news, new york. >>> coming up after your local news on "cbs this morning," we will speak with ryan ferguson, the missouri man freed from prison last night after serving nearly a decade for a murder he did not commit. >>> plus, talk show host joe scarborough stops by the studio. and former yankees manager joe torre talks

so we wanted your cholesterol to be lower than 200. your ldl to be there and your good cholesterol below 60. now they want him to change. and think about the campaign for risk. what does that mean? if your ldl, the bad cholesterol, is over 190, you're automatically going to go on some of these medications. if you have a heart disease or stroke or history of this, which is where the history of physicals comes in, jamie. you'll be 45 to 75 and at risk for diabetes, you're automatically going to go on it. and the biggest, important part we need to know is something called risk stratification which mark was just talking about. what does that mean? your risk of heart attack or stroke, if it is more than 7.5%, there's going to be a calculator. what's in the calculator? general etics, race, all of them go into the normal gram and will spit out saying, this guy should be on statins. >> i want to ask you about the side effects because we hear a lot of problems about leg cramps and deterioration of your muscular tendons. >> it can also increase

are you confused about good cholesterol versus bad cholesterol? you know what the difference is? apparently that doesn't matter much anymore. i want to bring in our chief medical correspondent, dr. sanjay gupta. what makes these new guidelines so monumental? sanjay gupta, can you hear me? all right. we're obviously having some problems with sanjay. we will come back to him in a second. now we will turn to the world lead. >>> if you approach st. paul's hospital in the typhoon devastated city of tacloban in the philippines, you will see a hand-drawn sign that reads no admissions, no supplies. a blunt on-target summation of the desperate situation throughout the country. cargo flights are arriving. hundreds of tons of supplies are waiting. but conditions on the ground are keeping help out of some of the most affected areas. debris is blocking many roads and there is no power, no communication and no clean drinking water sources in wide swaths of the country. another storm swept through exponentially less severe but certainly not helping matters. currently, there are 250 u.s. service

if your cholesterol is too high, we'll put you on a statin. they're moving now in the direction of what is your risk factor? you know, do you have -- >> genetics, family history. >> are you male, do you smoke, do you have diabetes, are you obese? these are the things, smoking probably being the biggest. these are the things they're focusing on now. i still say it's got to be a doctor and a patient. and something we have emphasized on the show, and i know david is going to get into this, too. what are we doing first? you may be add risk. let me explain that a little. what do i mean by risk? we know that statin drugs retard plaques in the coronary arteries. if you have heart disease, they're going to prevent you from having a second heart attack. people at risk are forming the plaques. they just don't know it yet. the first way to address it is to improve your diet, get the blood pressure down, lose weight. you do all those things and you're not successful, then i'm thinking statdens. >> that's great, what you bring up, and maybe you can address

so, when diet and exercise aren't enough to lower cholesterol, adding crestor can help. go, crestor! ♪ ♪ oh, yeah [ female announcer ] crestor is not right for everyone, like people with liver disease or women who are nursing, pregnant, or may become pregnant. tell your doctor about other medicines you're taking. call your doctor right away if you have muscle pain or weakness, feel unusually tired, have loss of appetite, upper belly pain, dark urine, or yellowing of skin or eyes. these could be signs of rare but serious side effects. crestor! yes! [ female announcer ] ask your doctor about crestor. if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. if you can't afford your medication, on the table by not choosing the right medicare d plan. no one could have left this much money here. whoo-hoo-hoo! yet many seniors who compare medicare d plans realize they can save hundreds of dollars. cvs/pharmacy wants to help you save on medicare expenses. talk to your cvs pharmacist, call, or go to cvs.com/compare to get your free, personalized plan comparison today

even if you do not have high cholesterol number the market prescript a cholesterol lowering drug.alls for aggressive treatment of cholesterol. doctors will abandon the numbers for bad cholesterol. >> northwestern university professors helped draft the new protocol. depression is not just bring it down and will kick the aging process right out. the molecular psychology journal says altered white blood cells, the injured cells are linked to heart disease and obesity diabetes cancer and mental decline. >> the major contributor to elements related to heart attack. a study reveals body mass index alone can trigger heart damage. independent of other metabolic disorders excess weight is the single biggest cause for our attack and heart disease according to danish researchers. obesity also raises the risk for cancer and arthritis. >> and holds only sometimes. fried chicken sandwiches. >> just eat >> just eat judiciously. but then it goes to the closet...to die. so try new glow unstopables. they fill your closet with scents so fresh they last for 12 weeks! downy unstopables. try with downy

and what this study suggests is that it's cholesterol and the conversion of cholesterol to this estrogen-likeso is the recommend then that women should make sure they keep their cholesterol in check if they want to reduce the risk of braes cancer? >> well, i'm not a physician, but the implications of our research are twofold. one it confirms the studies that have been done in the past, that a diet low in cholesterol is beneficial for health and it now adds breast cancer to the potential benefits. the second was highlighted in our study was that lower cholesterol is likely to increase the efficacy of the therapies that women take for estrogen reexcept for positive breast cancers. >> let's remind ours though that the research was done on mice. so it is too early to say now how this might actually help tackle breast cancer in humans? >> usually when you -- you hear about studies done in mice, cancer studies. the first thing you think is it's going to be an awful long time before that impacts human health and disease. in our study we did look in human tumors. we took the information from the mice

they can make good cholesterol go bad and bad cholesterol worse and they make for heart trouble in all of us. our report tonight from our chief medical editor, dr. nancy snyderman. >> reporter: it's dinner time in america and chances are something you're eating tonight contains artificial trans-fats. they are in most margarines, pizza, chips, baked goods and more. also known as partially hydrogenated oil they are used to increase the flavor, texture, and shelf life of many popular processed foods. today the food and drug administration took the bold move of announcing it wants to eliminate them from the american diet. >> everybody realizes artificial trans-fats represent a serious threat to health. they raise the risk of coronary artery disease. by working together, we can reduce artificial trans-fats further in the american diet. >> reporter: doctors say this move is a big step in the right direction. >> there is absolutely no nutritional benefit from trans-fats. they raise the low density lipoprotein count or the ldl which is bad cholesterol. they lower hdl which is the good choleste

you wanted to bring down your bad cholesterol. forget about that, no more chasing numbers.umber two, more importantly who needs to be on medication. people with risk factors. you're looking at overall risk factors. whether you have diabetes or cardiovascular disease. if you have that probability of developing an m.i. or a stroke, you need to be on medication. number three, what medications are the ones we're talking about? we're talking about statins. they are the only ones up to this point that have been shown to reduce heart attack, and strokes. now comes a different story because there's other types of medication that have been in the pipelines. these are the pcsk-9 inhibitors. which is basically new medication that's going to target a specific gene to lower bad cholesterols. the pharmaceutical companies are saying that's okay, it's going to work, we don't need to do a lot of studies. now doctors are saying, wait, you told us not to chase numbers. you want us to use something that really prevents heart attacks. the pharmaceutical companies are saying we have something th

stuart: do you think i have high cholesterol?hould be on the drugs and i think they have a dramatic impact and that's what the organizations are saying. again it's not the same thing as me believing in guidelines. i want doctors to have the conversation we have here. stuart: you will go out and actively solicit your patients, tell them i think it's a good idea. i'll look at you closely, but i recommend the statins. >> i've been doing that. these guidelines don't change my thinking, but reach out to people who have been thinking this way. stuart: do you think they've reached out to me. >> a dent. next year flu shot after that-- >> no way on the flu shot. that is. okay, doctor. great stuff. thank you very much. the white house keep calling all of those canceled plans substandard. does the government have the right to decide what it substandard, what's good for you? the judge is next and you can bet he's fired up about that one and we have oliver stone, anti-wall street movie director invited by the big banks as a keynote speaker at

your bad cholesterol level- keep it under 100. not any more. new guidelines released today by the american heart association and the american college of cardiology say that last number isn't so important anymore. why? regardless of those numbers you might need to be on a cholesterol lowering statin drug. if you have heart disease or diabetes - you're put on a statin. if you have high cholesterol of over 190 - you're likely to get a statin. statins, like lipitor and zocor, essentially help the body clear out the waxy cholesterol that can build up and cause heart attacks or strokes. under the new advice 33 million more americans would be candidates for taking statins. the upside? >> sot/are uncommon. the downside? ucsf heart specialist - dr. rita redberg - says statin side effects are not so rare and can harm your liver. . and you can also experience muscle and joint pain and weakness and memory loss. >> of course, experts say exercise is good. you might just look into changing your diet - dropping bad habits like fried foods and meats can't hurt

the drugs that we use for treating cholesterol are safe.they do have adverse affects but the serious adverse affects are uncommon. >> reporter: many doctors say the new guidelines are really finally catching up to the latest science on how many lives could be impacted by statin medications. right now statins are prescribed for a quarter of all americans over the age of 40. >>> jury selection began today in a new trial over the amount of damages that samsung owes apple for infringement. a judge lowered the amount to 600 million. and then a new trial was set to determine if that amount should be adjusted higher. a third trial is also set to begin next year over a different set of apple patents and alleged infringement by samsung. >>> let's go to bill martin. today we i stepped outside it was nice and i started to feel bad about it. >> look at these rain totals from last night. i'm stretching to find some of these. we had trace amounts showing up in the east bay. oringa had .82 believe it or not. mendecino i had to go way north to find showers

i have high cholesterol. i think i eat good but i try.tion now, i am not a child by any stretch but too young to be on medication for the rest of my life. why wouldn't you encourage people to go the oatmeal route, omega 3, natural ways to get this down? >> first of all, this is not a substitute for a healthy lifestyle. of course you should eat well, you should exercise regularly, you should keep your body weight down, she issued not sunoco. there are many people, with genetic cause of high cholesterol, they will need to be treated with the drug and these guidelines tell us who is most likely to benefit and guidelines for physicians about how to prescribe these drugs in a safe and effective fashion. ashley: the pharmaceutical companies, if this means bigger business or could it work the other way and more people are told to adapt their life style rather than take the magic pill? >> no question these guidelines will involved treating more patients withstands. all but one of those are generic. some of the drugs that have been generic for a f

what this study suggests is that it is actually cholesterol and actually the conversion of cholesterolan estrogenlike molecule that play as significant impact in the breast cancer incidents and implications of our research, they are twofold with respect to human health, one is that it confirms studies done in the past that a diet that is low in cholesterol is beneficial to health and now it adds breast cancer to the potential benefits and the second i think was highlighted in our study, which was that lower cholesterol is likely to increase the efficacy of those therapies that women take for positive receptors of breast cancer. in our study there was a little bit of a difference and we took information from the human tumors showing that the processes that we had identified also existed in the tumor and another study was published by a group in dallas a couple of weeks ago showing that the molecule was extremely high in breast tumors. so i think that unlike most other studies this one will have a much more practical effect on our treatment and prevention of cancer. >>> and still ahead,

and raises your bad cholesterol. it's been very associated with hart disease. you know, we know that 5,000 deaths a year due to transfats. we know 15,000 heart attacks, heart disease is due to transfats. transfats are a problem. here's the good news. over past eight years we've seen a 73% reduction in transfats. americans today are only eating a gram of transfats whereas eight years ago they were eating four grams. >> the companies on their own started to cut them? >> pressure. yes. mcdonald's. kentucky fried chicken. these places have taken it out of the french fries, taken it out of the big macs. things are moving in the right direction already. i agree with jamie's point. if you start with this, what else is going to creep in? the butter. if you take the transfats out of microwave popcorn, you end up with more butter. that leads to breast cancer, colon cancer. >> we should cut these. doctor, i thinking more slouugao make things taste good. >> i think it's a wonderful idea. all these products were manufactured to s

. >>> plus should you be on anti-cholesterol pills? >> some of these side effects are pretty significant. >> researchers say millions who aren't on the drugs should be. but are they really safe? >> and from bad to worse. >> we don't have homes, we lost our homes. and we have nothing to eat. we really need help now. >> the latest from the phillipines. let's go "outfront." >>> good evening, everyone. i'm erin burnett. out front tonight, one president stands up to another. former president bill clinton taking on president obama's misleading promise about americans keeping their health care plans under obama care. here's what the president said. >> i personally believe even if it takes a change in the law the president should honor the commitment the federal government made to those people and let them keep what they've got. >> let them keep what they got. president obama has said i'm sorry for the promise, but is he going to do anything about it? anything rectify the problem? john king is in washington. we begin our coverage there. john l

he says cholesterol sky high eating real bad food?uit bacon it's just too good. jeff going for the rhyme between "food" and "good." it's not a perfect rhyme. >> if you keep saying bacon, you'll have to go on the cholesterol drive. >> tweet us #morningrhyme and #earlystart. >>> time to get shopping, and we'll have the best days to head to the maul in "money time." that's coming up next. uffled no] oops. ow. sorry. [ baby crying ] ♪ [ female announcer ] new pampers. unlike ordinary diapers with 2 layers, pampers have 3 absorbent layers, to stay up to 3 times drier, so babies can sleep soundly all night. ♪ wishing you love, sleep and play. pampers. wishing you love, sleep and play. life could be hectic. as a working mom of two young boys angie's list saves me a lot of time. after reading all the reviews i know i'm making the right choice. online or on the phone, we help you hire right the first time. with honest reviews on over 720 local services. keeping up with these two is more than a full time job, and i don't have time for unreliabl

jon lapook report there is may be a flaw in those new guidelines for cholesterol. a traffic stop ends with police firing at a minivan fillith children. john miller investigates. and bob schieffer with a doctor who treated the wounded president kennedy. why he believes what kennedy was wearing may have cost him his life. >> schieffer: doctor, just tell me what's happened here now. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening, tornadoes this late in the year are rare, but this week before thanksgiving dozens of them tore across the nation's mid-section. preliminary estimates from the government say there were 75 tornadoes yesterday in seven states from tennessee to michigan. at least eight deaths are reported. relatively few considering the number of twisters. accurate forecasts and early warning apparently saved lives. illinois was hit hardest. six died there. in the city of whitaker, 82- year-old pat lost her home washington looks like it was hit by a bomb. dean rends is there. dean? >> reporter: since 1986 t

and so, you know, statins do things more than lower cholesterol. it is an approach that's looking at the whole person. and it isn't just a pill. that's not, that's not the main part of these recommendations this is just one part. but the key is, you shouldn't just, the prize is not the lower cholesterol. the prize is decreasing heart disease, less death from heart disease. so you know, the key is, you need to look at everything. diet and exercise were a big part of it. >> shane, you know, what does this mean overall in the insurance industry? so you have more people that are going to be on more pills. more pills means more dollars to me, even if a lot of them are off patent and are cheaper month. it means more people in my insurance pool will be getting more prescriptions. don't health care costs go up? >> absolutely. costs are skyrocketing. just to give you an example, we have small businesses that we do some basically health care planning for. they're getting calls where premiums are jumping up anywhere from 50%, as high as 90% across the board.

levels, the so-called bad cholesterol.octors are now urged that prescribe them to a wider array of patients including those who suffer stroke and heart disease as they get older. >> doctors will find the guidelines easy to use. the focus is not on the number. the focus is on the right intensei therapy. >> those with heart deceased, most adults with type two diabetes and those with extremely high levels of healy cholesterol above 190 are the new target group. they fall between the ages of 40 and 75 that have a certain percentage risk of developing heart decease or stroke in the next 10 years. >> while statins can be beneficial, doctors say the old rules still apply, emphasis on a heart-healthy lifestyle, exercise and men i of vegetables is the key. >> those new guidelines say a third of all adults should consider taking statins. >> the painting less than 50 years old fetched a record-setting price at auction. it cold for a whopping $142 million. 1969 work was auctioned tuesday night. the price broke the record of 120 millio

. >> doctors sound a warning about cholesterol medication. now they say millions of people could be taking drugs they don't need. power of the people until we restore our free >> welcome back to al jazeera america here is a look at your top stories. >> major market milestone. the dow rose above the 16,000 mark for the first time in in history. >> stocks did retreat a bit but managed to close at a high. >> millions of people are displaced because you have typhoon haiyan. the world bank has offered the philippines a 500 million-dollar emergency loan to repair the battered area. >> and tornados ripped across five states on sunday. central illinois was the hardest hit area. >> gogovenor pat quinn has declared parts of the region a disaster area. >> let's do this. we have more. >> tony, i want to talk to you first about the tweets we have been receiving here because illinois is not the only state that was hit. missouri was also hit by the storms as well as we want to show you seven states that were hit we want to show you some of the tweets. this

levels, and 75% of those individuals lowered thr total cholesterol without changing anything withinir lifestyle other than they started cooking with the nuwave oven. >> i dropped almost 20 points in my cholesterol and 2-1/2 pounds in body fat by using the nuwave oven. >> i've lost 15 points in my cholesterol since i started using this nuwave oven. >> i never thought something this simple and this new way of cooking could change my life, but it really did. >> by now, it's easy to see that the nuwave oven sets the standard in kitchen appliances. come on, spend more time with your family and friends. eat healthier and better-tasting food. hey, have more fun in the kchen are you ready for the new wave in cooking technology? >> the nuwavoven. >> here's how to order. announcer: professional chefs create great-tasting meals from years of experience d by using professional equipment. and now you can too with the nuwave oven pro, the number-one countertop oven in america. no more defrosting or preheating that giant oven. the nuwave cooks all your meals faster, better, healthier and easier, g

. >>> plus should you be on anti-cholesterol pills? >> some of these side effects are pretty significant. >> researchers say millions who aren't on the drugs should be. but are they really safe? >> and from bad to worse. >> we don't have homes, we lost our homes. and we have nothing to eat. we really need help now. >> the latest from the phillipines. let's go "outfront." >>> good evening, everyone. i'm erin burnett. out front tonight, one president stands up to another. former president bill clinton taking on president obama's misleading promise about americans keeping their health care plans under obama care. here's what the president said. >> i personally believe even if it takes a change in the law the president should honor the commitment the federal government made to those people and let them keep what they've got. >> let them keep what they got. president obama has said i'm sorry for the promise, but is he going to do anything about it? anything rectify the problem? john king is in washington. we begin our coverage there. john l

but some scientists are very well in this kind of research saying hold on, bad cholesterol is bad cholesterolve of how the person is. don't go so fast tone people they don't need certain things. this will be like the mammogram story unfortunately. dagen: how often should you get a mammogram? >> 40 years old, one to two years you should get it. it's it will be like that. you will prevent more disease. or will you waste more medical dollars? does not give you any health benefits. dagen: bottom line, do you think this will be a better way of treating? >> your folks at high risk populations, and if you look at the data, that is a population that you really have to focus. focus on risk factors for the state of the individual and forget about laboratory numbers. connell: businesswise these companies get more business, right? >> some of them, not all of them. dagen: most of these sessions are engineered. >> they are going to sell a lot. they are selling a lot. dagen: you have to come back more often. you are great running around buildings. connell: dagen doesn't want you on. >> we are neighbors upst

reasons with, lower the total cholesterol below 200, lower the bad cholesterol below 100.guidelines and they say for all these different things, if you had diabetes you'd be recommended a statin or evidence of heart disease, you'd be recommended a statin. there would be people who had bad cholesterol for congenital reasons. the point is if you do the math on all this, it increases the number of people. >> make the guidelines more understandable but one thing that seems confuse at least to me, that ten-year heart disease risk score, what is it? how do you figure that out. >> this is based on a calculator. think of as a mish-mosh risk factors. they put it into a calculator which will be online and you can figure out your risk of having heart disease over ten years in this case. if it's above 7.5%, again, it would be recommended a statin. that's a possibly a large segment of the population. >> this could double the number of americans taking statins. that raises the question, is that safe? are there other side effects people need to worry about? >> there are side effects to t

but if i do everything right over the next 20 years, my cholesterol stays fine, my blood pressure stays't smoke or become diabetic, then my risk goes up to 8%, and i would be recommended a statin, why should the people get statins if their numbers look pretty good. >> as you know, i have been on statins, because my dad passed away at 50. i'm hoping to live to an older age, people tweeted the side effects, muscle pain, i never experienced that or the like. what could be the side effects? >> sometimes i think they're casually dismissed. the muscle pain can be so profound people don't exercise or move around as much, which is exactly the thing you want them to do to help to lower their cholesterol levels and heart disease, people can have memory loss problems, which means it may not come over suddenly. but over time you realize your memory is not as good as it was. the data -- that seems to agree with that. >> i actually have a terrible memory, that may actually be the statins. >> i don't want to diagnosis over the air, but it could be the cause, keep in mind, 36 million people take these

and decrease good cholesterol.acks and deaths each year. >> this makes it easier on consumers. this has the potential to make it easier on consumers so we don't all have to grab our reading glasses and pour over labels, but we can just than the food that we're eating is going to be healthy and good for us. >> reporter: now santa clara county's new public health officer, dr. sarah cody. she said if you could put in a plug for good fats, like olive oil, avocado, seeds, nuts, and olives. again, this is just a pre-proposal coming in from the fda. it goes through a 60-day common period. reporting live in san jose, bob riddell, nbc bay area news. sdwlooirchlgts the project designed by a south bay high school student for his eagle scout project is getting a whole lot of attention. caleb levine is in high school at san jose. he created and built raptor traps, and now the u.s. department of agriculture uses his invention to catch and relocate red-tail hawks that are attracted to the errant where were. >> congratulations. me

jon: ldl is the bad cholesterol. your ldl was at 190 or higher, doctors gave you statins to lower it right? >> right. jon: now the suggestion is the numbers are not as important but the risk factors. some people who might have cholesterol levels that high might not get statins? >> no. if your number is that high you will still get a statin over 191. jon: i see. >> however if it is lower than that and you do not smoke, your risk, we're saying you have a low risk of a heart attack over 10 years, saying 7%, 7.5%, and you can go online figur what your risk is, yes, we're going to have you live a very healthy lifestyle and not care as much as, as what that particular number is. so i think it will be hard for us to we're very go oriented people and like to look for a goal or a target. it will be kind of hard to eliminate what the goal is and just try to stay healthy being on medication without a particular plan what we're trying to achieve in terms of a goal. jon: sounds like you don't think it will make things necessarily

transfat raises bad cholesterol and lowers good cholesterol.da estimates getting transfats out of food will prevent 20,000 heart attacks and 7,000 deaths each year. the fda is a little late to this game actually. new york city the state of california and many other places banned transfat in restaurants years ago so wendy's took it out of their frying oil and so did mcdonald's and other big chains. the grocery store, that's a different story. in the grocery store, you can find pies that have transfats and margarine, cookies, biscuits, and one of the biggest culprits of all? microwave popcorn. transfat won't come out of the food immediately. the fda has yet to set a definite timetable. elizabeth, cnn, reporting. >> i worry about everything that replaces the transfat. >> i say everything in moderation. >> i guess but you never know. you never know. a lot of people have obesity problems. this whole cholesterol issue, clogged arteries, right? >> yes. >> he agreed with me. i love it. >> let's go to burger king and get some fries. everything in modera

. >>> a major change in the guidelines for treatment of cholesterol in the u.s. have an impact on who doctors recommend to receive statin therapy. >> this cardiologist calls it biggest shift in 20 years. new guidelines to treat cholesterols and emphasizing risk of heart attacks and stroke. >> the big change is that no targets. no goals. you either treat or don't treat. >> guidelines released by american heart association and american college of cardiology increases accent to cholesterol lowering drugs to people who have a lower risk of heart disease. old guide lines limited statins for patients with a 20% chance of developing heart disease in the the next decade. now, the number reduced to 7.5% risk for heart attack or stroke. put simply, doctors say the number of patients with access to statins could double. >> study after study has shown these medications, the statins, reduce the risk of death, heart attack and stroke. >> with more access, doctors warn the drugs won't eliminate the risks. stressing a healthy diet low in saturateed and transfats at least 40 minu

. >> reporter: you see, trans fats lower good cholesterol. and they raise bad cholesterol. what we're trying to avoid is this. ldl, or bad cholesterol building up as plaque in the blood vessel walls. because that plaque buildup is what can cause heart attacks. the cdc says ditching trans fats would prevent up to 20,000 heart attacks a year and as many as 7,000 more deaths from heart disease. new york city banned trans fats from restaurants in 2007 and many companies and popular chains around the country have already phased them out. the grocery manufacturer's association says it looks forward to working with the fda to better understand their concerns in how the industry can better serve consumers. >> now, none of this is a done deal yet. there's a 60-day public comment period. the fda is going to consider concerns, suggestions, that anybody, including the manufacturer's, might have. but again, this is a pretty big deal. i want to talk more about this managing editor, kat kinsman. welcome back to the program. >> thanks, sanjay. >> what are we talking about with trans fats?