Friday
Nov202009
Fri, November 20, 2009 Red Yeast Rice Lowers Bad Cholesterol
The documented use of red yeast rice in Asia goes back to around 800 C.E. but its historical use certainly goes back much further even than that. Now, a new study proves scientifically that this ancient Chinese remedy can lower low density, or “bad” cholesterol. Better yet, it seems to be safe even for people who can’t take the other cholesterol-lowering drugs like statins.
Red yeast rice is produced by growing a species of mold known as Monascus purpureus on plain white rice. Although it’s probably not something most Americans have ever heard of, it’s widely used in Asia as food, medicine and even as an ingredient in dyes.
The fact that this study, which appeared in the Annals of Internal Medicine, proved that red yeast rice works isn’t surprising. After all, certain forms of it were once sold as trademarked drugs for that very purpose. What makes these results significant is how well it worked. The group that took the red yeast rice saw an average drop of more than 40 points. That’s in stark contrast to the placebo group which dropped only 10.
Source:
Becker, D., et al. (2009). Red Yeast Rice for Dyslipidemia in Statin-Intolerant Patients. Annals of Internal Medicine.
Red yeast rice is produced by growing a species of mold known as Monascus purpureus on plain white rice. Although it’s probably not something most Americans have ever heard of, it’s widely used in Asia as food, medicine and even as an ingredient in dyes.
The fact that this study, which appeared in the Annals of Internal Medicine, proved that red yeast rice works isn’t surprising. After all, certain forms of it were once sold as trademarked drugs for that very purpose. What makes these results significant is how well it worked. The group that took the red yeast rice saw an average drop of more than 40 points. That’s in stark contrast to the placebo group which dropped only 10.
Source:
Becker, D., et al. (2009). Red Yeast Rice for Dyslipidemia in Statin-Intolerant Patients. Annals of Internal Medicine.
Reader Comments (1)
According to a recent study red yeast rice can help lower cholesterol. Dr. David Becker and Ram Gordon, M.D. at Chestnut Hill Cardiology, published the findings of their study, “Red Yeast Rice for Dyslipidemia in Statin-Intolerant Patients," in the June 16, 2009 edition of Annals of Internal Medicine.
According to Dr. Becker “Every physician has patients who refuse to take statins or have significant side effects from them”. And he goes on to say "One of the largest challenges in the medical community has been that there is no agreement or consensus on how to treat these patients. We are convinced that our research may lead to some answers."