NewsHealthCholesterolMost people prescribed statins need to take the medication daily08:32, 21 May 2026NHS guidance for lowering cholesterol without statinsStatins are one of the most common medications prescribed to people with high cholesterol levels to help manage the condition and stop it from escalating to worse health issues like strokes or heart disease.‌For most people, this is a medication they have to take daily and Dr Oscar Duke assured anyone who misses a dose that this one mistake will not completely uproot their treatment plan. The GP appeared on BBC’s Morning Live talking about the medication before taking some viewer questions.‌One viewer wrote in asking if statins still work when taken “sporadically”. Dr Oscar responded: “Ideally you should take every day, that's how most of the studies have been done.‌“But occasionally we do use them on alternate days for people who've had problems taking their statins or are a bit intolerant to statins and we don't see a massive difference in the cholesterol levels compared to if you're doing it every day.“So ideally, every day (but) if you miss a day or something, it's not a disaster, just carry on as normal.”‌According to NHS guidance, if you miss a dose try to take it as soon as you remember. If you do not remember until the following day then just take your usual dose and continue as normal, do not take two doses together to ‘make up’ for the forgotten pill.Earlier in the show, Dr Oscar addressed a news article talking about the potential side effects of statins. The GP admitted that while reading the side effects list for any medication can be “terrifying”, but assured that in medicine, doctors “balance” out the risk with the benefit from each drug.He added: “People occasionally come up with these side effects. Yes. And that can be anything from muscle ache to liver involvement, but it is not the picture for most people.”‌He encouraged people “don’t just take my word for it” and shared a study by the British Heart Foundation published in the Lancet journal that analysed the side effects of statins.According to Dr Oscar, it found only around four of the 66 listed side effects were actually reported by patients and the most common was muscle aches which only affected 1% of people on these tablets.Article continues belowThe NHS notes side effects from statins can differ depending on exactly what type of statin you’re taking, but the more common ones are:headachesdizzinessfeeling sickfeeling more tired or weaker than usualfarting (flatulence)problems with pooing, such as constipation or diarrhoeamuscle painsleep problemsNHS advises: "Talk to your doctor or pharmacist if you get any side effects at all, and if they bother you or do not go away. Your doctor may recommend trying a lower dose of pravastatin or a different statin."Choose Daily Mirror as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value.‌BBCMorning LiveHealthCholesterol