When prescribed a new medication, listening to our body matters and could lead to new discoveries.

Research explores the possible anti-inflammatory effects of statins in bowel disease.

Studies reveal the role of statins in lowering colorectal cancer risk in patients suffering from IBD.

Our body is constantly communicating with us through discomfort, aches and pains, or pleasurable sensations, among other physical symptoms. Our body can tell us what seems to agree with us and what doesn’t. Learning to pay attention to these signals can sometimes provide valuable clues about our health.

When we introduce a new medication into our bodies, our individual biology may respond in unexpected ways. Sometimes, a medication causes unwanted symptoms. Other times, it may produce a surprising benefit that we weren’t expecting.

This is what happened to me.

20 Years of Living With Colitis

For the past 20 years, I had been living with a form of colon inflammation called lymphocytic colitis. I had managed it through dietary changes, avoiding certain foods and beverages, including cantaloupe, pears, coffee, tea, and chocolate. These foods seemed to trigger sudden, incapacitating episodes of diarrhea.

Avoiding chocolate was particularly difficult because I have always loved chocolate.

During those same 20 years, I had also struggled with high cholesterol. Despite being a physician, I had resisted taking medications to lower my LDL, or “bad” cholesterol. Perhaps this illustrates the familiar observation that physicians don’t always make the best patients.

Eventually, however, I changed my mind.

About a year ago, I agreed to start taking Pravastatin, a medication belonging to the statin class, to lower my cholesterol.

I began cautiously taking a low dose every other day and monitoring how I felt. I was particularly concerned about whether the medication might aggravate my colitis. When I saw my body was tolerating it well, I gradually increased the dose to 20 milligrams every evening.

Then something unexpected happened.

My colitis symptoms dramatically improved. I was able to eat my favorite dark chocolate........

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