The reality is that, for the vast majority of people they provide no benefits whatsoever. In a significant minority they cause horribly unpleasant and often debilitating side-effects. But with a fifty billion dollar industry resting on them, they are aggressively marketed and pushed relentlessly.

Dr Kendrick contends that the bottom line with statins is this: If you are a man who is already suffering from heart disease, statins can increase your life expectancy. Not by much, but they do work. For everyone else, statins do not increase life expectancy by one, single, day. So there is absolutely no point in taking them, at all.

The main message of this book. Stop worrying about your cholesterol level. A high level is much healthier than a low level, and if you have a high cholesterol level you will live longer.