Suckling Pig and Zocor

I ordered suckling pig last night, in honor of my improved cholesterol numbers. I might have gone for it in any case, but this time I did so without the usual twinge of apprehension and sense of foreboding. The dish in question was consumed at Assenzio, the East Village Sardinian wine bar and restaurant that has been on my A-list for about five years. I'd had better there in the past; last night's pig was a bit on the dry side and a bit too salty. When it's "on" though, Assenzio's suckling pig, cooked with aromatic sprigs of myrtle, is among the best I've had in New York. Assenzio offers a nice combination of casual atmosphere, moderate prices, and a good wine list (though scant in the below-$30 category). Last night we started with the gnochetti with wild boar ragu, wild boar being a house specialty. It's always surprisingly and pleasantly light, considering it's a plate of pasta dumplings with a hearty game sauce. I had a very enjoyable pear tart with vanilla gelato for dessert. I've probably been to Assenzio about ten times, and there have only been a few serious misses. Once the polenta with artichoke and truffle oil was pathologically salty; once the suckling pig was tragically dry; once the swordfish carpaccio was half frozen and I had to send it back. Usually, however, the food is delicious and the portions generous.

But enough of Assenzio and on to Zocor. My cholesterol had been borderline high for about ten years, generally in the 210-230 range. In addition, my HDL was pretty low, rarely breaking 40. My doctor was always trying to get me to go on statins, but I resisted, fearful of side effects and not overly concerned with those numbers. I always felt the cholesterol risk was overstated and that doctors were too quick to prescribe potentially dangerous drugs as a panacea. Recently, however, my numbers started creeping up, and I suppose the "research" I do for this blog may be part of the problem, along with my quintogenarian status. Last March I was at 250, and in December at a whopping 289. I finally gave in and agreed to try Zocor. Though Lipitor is more widely prescribed, and is somewhat more effective, Zocor had gone generic and was therefore much cheaper. I took Zocor for three months, without any noticeable side effects, and had my blood tested last week. I called the doctor the other day and he told me that my total cholesterol was down to 159, with an HDL of 54; my liver function was normal. "You've added twenty years to your life," my doctor said. A rather hyperbolic pronouncement, I thought. I don't think there's been enough time or evidence to determine how effective statins are in the long run, and I'm still skeptical about how close the relationship between cholesterol and heart disease may really be. But considering the good results I've had, and the lack of side effects, I figure I might as well continue taking Zocor. It may have absolutely no bearing on my life expectancy or future health, but I've come to think of it as a milder, atheist-friendly form of Pascal's Wager.