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Red Yeast Rice For Control Of Cholesterol

High cholesterol has been in the news as a health problem for years. Many treatments based on prescription drugs have been developed. There is also a Chinese folk medicine, red yeast rice, that may also help reduce cholesterol levels.

Every cell in the human body needs cholesterol to build cell membranes and for other purposes. Unfortunately, when excessive levels of cholesterol in the form of low density lipoproteins (LDL) are present in the blood, the risk of the blood vessel disease atherosclerosis goes up. This can lead to heart disease, strokes, and other problems.

One of the tools for controlling LDL and total cholesterol levels is the prescription medications in the statin family. Including Lipitor and a number of similar drugs, they reduce the activity of the HMG-CoA reductase enzyme. This cuts down the level of cholesterol secreted by the liver. Surprisingly, research has found that monacolin K, which is found in red yeast rice, is actually chemically identical to lovastatin.

Red yeast rice is a commonly used food coloring agent for many Chinese ingredients and dishes. It has been fermented with monascus purpureus, a mold that gives it a color of reddish purple. For many years it has been a traditional part of Chinese medicine and herbology.

It has been evaluated for effectiveness in many clinical trials, including one with several thousand subjects. It resulted in a very significant decrease in mortality, when compared to a placebo, for subjects who had previously had heart attacks. It has been found in some cases to lead to better outcomes than some prescription drugs.

The safety of this substance is not well known. It is known that statin drugs do have side effects, some of which are serious.. Unfortunately, it is known that the composition of the substance varies, with different levels of statin equivalents. This, it is hard to map statin experience into safety projections in this case.

The FDA does not allow health claims that are not substantiated by testing. Thus those who sell red yeast rice avoid making such claims in the product packaging or advertising. Most of them don’t even discuss the presence of monacolin K. Naturally, interested consumers have many other sources for such information.

Most doctors agree that LDL levels should be controlled. Red yeast rice is one way of doing this. Unfortunately, the effectiveness and safety of this treatment are not well established. Anyone with concerns about high LDL should talk to their doctor before beginning any treatment.

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