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Home > Anti-aging Research > Red Yeast Rice.

Red Yeast Rice

Related Topics:

• Sytrinol / policosanol / pantethine / inositol hexanicotinate / cholesterol / HDL cholesterol / homocysteine / inflammation / heart disease / strokes / guggul / artichoke / triglycerides / statins / green tea / hesperidin / hypertension / trans fatty acids

Specific Recommendations:

• Red yeast rice products at iHerb

General Information:

• Red Yeast Rice – The Emperor's New Clothes - dmarknutrition.com
• What are the side effects of Red Yeast Rice? - Drugstore.com

News & Research:

• Active ingredient levels vary among red yeast rice supplements - Science Daily, 10/25/10 - "Across the 12 products, levels of total monacolins ranged from 0.31 milligrams to 11.15 milligrams per capsule and levels of monacolin K or lovastatin ranged from 0.10 milligrams to 10.09 milligrams per capsule. Four of the formulations had elevated levels of citrinin"
• Red Yeast Rice Comparable to Pravastatin for Statin-Intolerant Patients - Medscape, 1/21/10 - "After 12 weeks of treatment, red yeast rice reduced LDL-cholesterol levels 30% from baseline, from 181 mg/dL to 126 mg/dL, while pravastatin reduced LDL-cholesterol levels 27%, a nonstatistical difference between treatments. Similarly, there were no significant differences observed in changes in total cholesterol, triglycerides, or HDL-cholesterol levels ... Regarding the primary end point, the incidence of treatment discontinuation because of myalgia, both red yeast rice and pravastatin were equivalent. In the red-yeast-rice arm, one patient of 21 (5%) withdrew because of muscle pain, while two patients of 22 (9%) withdrew in the pravastatin arm. Also, there were no reported differences in the mean pain severity scores with the two treatments" - See red yeast rice products at iHerb.
• Statins Can Protect Against Alzheimer’s Disease, According To New Study - Science Daily, 6/22/09 - "They clearly demonstrated that treatment with a statin called Lovastatin could prevent the death of nerve cells under these conditions. The statins not only prevented cells from dying but also prevented the loss of memory capacity that normally occurs after such cell death. In a previous study Dolga had showed that these statins stimulate the protective capacity of tumor necrosis factor, which is a key player in the brain’s immune response" - [Abstract] - Note:  Lovastatin is in red yeast rice.
• Red Yeast Rice May Lower Cholesterol - WebMD, 6/17/09 - "After six months, patients who took the red yeast rice had lowered their LDL cholesterol by an average of 35 mg/dL, compared to 15 mg/dL among the placebo group"
• Supplement may be statin alternative for some - CNN, 6/16/09 - "Now a new study suggests that an over-the-counter dietary supplement sold at pharmacies and health-food stores may be a workable alternative for people who have statin-related muscle pain. It seems that when combined with diet and lifestyle changes, red yeast rice supplements can lower LDL, or bad cholesterol, levels by more than 20 percent without a substantial risk of muscle pain (also known as myalgia), according to a study published Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine" - [Medscape]
• Red Rice Yeast for Cholesterol Control? - Dr. Weil, 1/22/09 - "Of all the natural supplements available to help lower cholesterol, red rice yeast extracts are by far the most effective"
• Fish Oil, Red Yeast Rice Cut Cholesterol - WebMD, 7/23/08 - "We followed them for a three-month period ... The LDL declined 42% in the supplement group and 39% in the Zocor group ... The supplement group also lost an average of 10 pounds in 12 weeks, but there was no significant weight loss in the medication group. Triglyceride levels, while on average normal in both groups at the start, decreased by 29% in the supplement group but just 9.3% in the medication group -- a significant difference" - See red yeast rice products at iHerb and Mega Twin EPA at iHerb.
• Lowering Blood Cholesterol With Fish Oil And Red Yeast Rice Instead Of Statins - Science Daily, 7/8/08 - "The alternative treatment group participants received daily fish oil and red yeast rice supplements ... The statin group participants received 40 milligrams (mg) of Zocor (simvastatin) daily ... The researchers noted that there was a reduction in LDL cholesterol levels in both groups. The alternative treatment group experienced a 42.4 percent reduction, and the statin group experienced a 39.6 percent reduction. Members of the alternative therapy group also had a substantial reduction in triglycerides, another form of fat found in the blood, and lost more weight" - See red yeast rice products at iHerb and Mega Twin EPA at iHerb.
• Red yeast extract reduces major coronary events in large, randomized clinical trial - theheart.org, 6/12/08
• Chinese Red Yeast Rice Is Good For Your Heart, Study Suggests - Science Daily, 6/9/08 - "a partially purified extract of Chinese red yeast rice, Xuezhikang (XZK), reduced the risk of repeat heart attacks by 45%, revascularization (bypass surgery/angioplasty), cardiovascular mortality and total mortality by one-third and cancer mortality by two-thirds"
• Controlling Cholesterol? - Dr. Weil, 3/16/07 - "Of all the natural supplements available to help lower cholesterol, red rice yeast extracts are by far the most effective"
• Are Statins the New Wonder Drugs? - Dr. Weil, 6/21/04 - "For moderately elevated cholesterol, I recommend non-prescription red rice yeast, a natural source of statins with fewer side effects" - See iHerb or Vitacost red yeast rice products.
• Cholesterol-Lowering Supplements (Guggulsterones, Policosanol, Sterols) review - ConsumerLab.com, 8/1/03
• Controlling Cholesterol Naturally - Natural Foods Merchandiser, 8/03 - "When you take the recommended amount of red yeast rice, which is 1,200 mg a day [divided into two doses], it is equivalent to taking 5 mg of a statin drug"
• Cholesterol Drugs May Prevent Cancer - WebMD, 6/2/03 - "Overall, taking statins reduces risk of developing cancer by 20%, but that protection increases to 36% for people who take statins for four years or more ... But the benefit stops about six months after the patient stops taking the drug" - Note:  Red yeast rice is a non-prescription statin.  See iHerb and Vitacost red yeast products.
• Statins Appear To Have Favourable Impact On Psychological Conditions - Doctor's Guide, 4/2/03 - "the longer people are on the statins the more their symptoms of depression, anxiety and hostility decrease ... When people stop taking statins or can not tolerate the medicine, their depression, anxiety and hostility returns to pre-statin levels" - Note: Red yeast rice is a non-prescription statin but you should still check with your physician. 
• Chinese Cholesterol Control? - Dr. Weil, 10/1/02 - "And it contains seven different statins, not just lovastatin. In my experience, the natural mixture of compounds is less toxic (to the liver and muscles) than isolated lovastatin ... Other brands of red rice yeast extract are still available in the U.S., although they haven’t been clinically proven as was Cholestin, and may not be as effective"
• Dr. Julian M. Whitaker Petitions FDA to Include CoQ10 Use Recommendation in All Statin Drug Labeling - Life Extension Magazine, 8/02 - "On May 23, 2002, Dr. Julian M. Whitaker filed two citizens petitions with the Food and Drug Administration. The petitions call on the Commissioner of Food and Drugs to change the labeling of all HMG CoA reductase inhibitor drugs (the so-called statin drugs), and to issue a Medication Guide, warning consumers of the need to take coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) whenever they take a statin drug" - I stuck this in because red yeast rice is a non-prescription statin. - Ben
• Statins May Help Prevent Alzheimer's Disease - Doctor's Guide, 4/16/02
• Statin Drugs May Fight Alzheimer's, Too - WebMD, 4/9/02 - "Statins block the vasoconstrictive [blood-vessel narrowing] effect of the A-beta protein -- a critical protein involved in Alzheimer's disease ... These drugs appear to have anti-inflammatory properties, independent of their benefit in lowering cholesterol, that may help protect against dementia" - Note:  Red yeast rice is a non-prescription statin.
• Possible red yeast rice alternative: A Natural Anti-Cholesterol Dietary Supplement, Policosanol - Life Extension Magazine, 6/01 - "policosanol lowered LDL cholesterol 20% in 6 to 12 weeks at 10 mg/day. Total cholesterol was reduced 15%, and HDL increased 7%-28%. Taking 20 mg/day reduced LDL about 28%, total cholesterol about 20%, and elevated HDL 7%-10%"
• Lovastatin Holds Promise For Treatment In Head And Neck, Cervical Cancers - Doctor's Guide, 11/1/01 - "five of 20 patients who were administered lovastatin after other therapies failed to control their disease were able to achieve long-term stable disease" - Note:  Lavostatin is the active ingredient in red yeast rice.
• Evaluation of the Antihyperlipidemic Properties of Dietary Supplements - Medscape, 4/1/01
• Statins May Reduce Dementia Risk By 70 Percent - Doctor's Guide, 11/10/00 - "People over the age of 50 who are prescribed cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins may reduce by 70 percent their risk of developing dementia."
• Court Rules FDA Can Regulate Supplement Marketed for Cholesterol - WebMD, 7/26/03 - "The court then ordered the FDA to lift its ban on the importation of red yeast rice, from which Cholestin's active ingredient is derived ... This is not a natural form of red yeast rice, it is a product modified to achieve the same benefits"
• Studies: Chemical in some Chinese cuisine can lower cholesterol - CNN, 3/25/99 - "Levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), or "good" cholesterol, increased by 15 percent. Levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL), or "bad" cholesterol, decreased by 21 percent." 
• Court Reverses FDA Decision to Ban Import of Red Yeast Rice Product Cholestin™ - Herb World News Online, 6/17/98

Abstracts:

• Long-term effects of nutraceuticals (berberine, red yeast rice, policosanol) in elderly hypercholesterolemic patients - Adv Ther. 2011 Nov 21 - "containing berberine 500 mg, policosanol 10 mg, red yeast rice 200 mg, folic acid 0.2 mg, coenzyme Q10 2.0 mg, and astaxanthin 0.5 mg) or placebo ... There was a statistically significant reduction in total cholesterolemia (-20%), LDL-C (-31%), and insulin resistance (-10%) with nutraceutical treatment. No significant changes were detected for plasma high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). Furthermore, no statistical differences were found between baseline and end-study safety parameters. Medication compliance and tolerability were high" - Note: I’m been promoting synergy and talking lower doses of everything proven in specific areas like this for some time.
• Lipid-Lowering Efficacy of Red Yeast Rice in a Population Intolerant to Statins - Am J Cardiol. 2010 Mar 1;105(5):664-666 - "The total cholesterol decreased 15% (-37 +/- 26 mg/dl, p <0.001) and LDL cholesterol decreased 21% (-35 +/- 25 mg/dl, p <0.001) during 74 +/- 39 days of treatment. Most (92%) patients tolerated the treatment, and many (56%) achieved their LDL cholesterol goal. In patients unable to tolerate daily statin use, the total cholesterol level decreased 13% (-33 +/- 10 mg/dl, p <0.001) and LDL cholesterol decreased 19% (-31 +/- 4 mg/dl, p <0.001). In conclusion, red yeast rice modestly decreased total and LDL cholesterol, was well-tolerated, and was an acceptable alternative in patients intolerant of other lipid-lowering medications"
• Pretreatment with Lovastatin Prevents N-Methyl-D-Aspartate-Induced Neurodegeneration in the Magnocellular Nucleus Basalis and Behavioral Dysfunction - J Alzheimers Dis. 2009 Mar 6 - "From these studies we conclude that treatment with lovastatin may provide protection against neuronal injury in excitotoxic conditions associated with neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's disease" - Note:  Lovastatin (that's the generic name and therefore shouldn't be capitalized) is in red yeast rice.  See red yeast rice products at iHerb.
• An analysis of nine proprietary Chinese red yeast rice dietary supplements: implications of variability in chemical profile and contents - J Altern Complement Med 2001 Apr;7(2):133-9
• Cholesterol-lowering effects of a proprietary Chinese red-yeast-rice dietary supplement - Am J Clin Nutr. 1999 Feb;69(2):231-6

Related Sites:

• Doctor's Guide search of red yeast rice
• Doctor's Guide (2) search of red yeast rice
• Intelihealth search of red yeast rice
• Life Extension Foundation search
• Medline search of red yeast rice
• Medscape search of red yeast rice
• Google search of red yeast rice
• The Natural Pharmacist search of red yeast
• Nutrition Science News search
• WebMD search of red yeast rice

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