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Red Yeast Rice - Buyer Beware!
Unfortunately, RYR is not the wonder drug that many folks think that it is and may actually be harmful. First, one must remember that in 2008, there were many products manufactured in China that were found to be tainted with lead and melamine, to name a few of the contaminants.
Red Yeast Rice extract is the fermented product of rice on which red yeast has been grown . The active ingredient in red yeast rice is believed to be Monacolin K, an agent reported to be identical to lovastatin (a commonly prescribed statin). Like satins, red yeast has been found to directly reduce lipids. There is little doubt that the proprietary preparation of red yeast rice, known as Cholestin favorably alters lipids. However, due to legal issues, this preparation is no longer commercially available in the US. In 1998, the FDA determined that red yeast rice did not conform to the definition of a dietary supplement under the 1994 Diet supplement and Health Education Act (DSHEA). This act states that marketed dietary supplements cannot contain a compound already approved as a drug (in this case, lovastatin) unless the substance was available commercially before the drug's approval.
At present, Cholestin is still available in Canada, Europe and Asia - however, great caution should be exercised because Cholestin has been reformulated and no longer contains the important Red Yeast Rice extract, but rather polymethoxylated flavones extracted from citrus fruits, geraniol and marine fish oils. It is unclear if this or other proprietary preparations of red yeast extract will provide the same lipid effects. The FDA has issued a warning to consumers regarding three brands of red yeast rice. For more information, visit the FDA website and type in red yeast rice in the search box.
As a result of a study published in the June 15, 2008 issue of the American Journal of Cardiology, the National Lipid Association (NLA) felt compelled to write an official statement on this RYR study. This study suggested that a new ingredient of RYR, called Xuezhikang (XZK), may have significant benefits. The published study was a randomized, double-blind, placebo study conducted in Chinese hospitals on 4,870 patients who had a previous heart attack within the past 5 years. The primary endpoint was the occurrence of a major coronary event or death from coronary or cardiac causes. The striking findings of this study are the 45% reduction of the relative risk of major coronary events and the statistically significant reductions in CV and total mortality The NLA recommended that physicians and patients should beware that the composition of this product is not yet known and any future use will depend on the results of ongoing studies.
XZK is produced by the Beijing WBL Peking University Biotech Co. Ltd and is the purified extract of Chinese RYR with multiple components. This product is not sold in the USA, lacks FDA approval, and is not identical to other products sold in the USA as "red yeast rice". This does not mean that this particular brand is not brought into this country illegally. Like the product known as Cholestin, XZK contains lovastatin, plants sterols, and isoflavones. At the present time, it is not known to what extent, if any, lipid- lowering accounts for treatment benefit.
To summarize the current thought on this preparation and all other types of RYR,
- Physicians should not advise patients to take any RYR supplement as efficacy has not been proven for any indication.
- If you are taking a medicine for cholesterol management, continue to take your prescription. Do NOT add any RYR to your current medications as adverse effects may be more likely.
- RYR should not be substituted for statins. The active ingredients of any of the preparations currently sold in the USA are unknown.
Related Topics:
- Quiz: Do You Know How to Lower Your Cholesterol?
- Cholesterol Management Message Board with Michael F. Richman, MD, FACS
- Get Cholesterol Management tips in your inbox
Labels: cholesterol, red yeast rice, statins
30 Comments:
Thank you once again for the great information in a way that non-medical people can understand. I am promptly stopping this stuff
I have been using Red Yeast Rice due to complications with other cholestrol meds, and have had very good results for over a year. My doctor has no problem with RYR as long as my cholestrol numbers remain great!
I read the FDA reports on Red Yeast Rice and saw that the latest report was written in aug of 2007- got anything NEW on this?
This article sounds scary. I recently started taking RYR made by Nutraceutical Sciences Institute in 600mg capsules. It doesn't list the breakdown of the RYR powder. It just says it contains rice flower & magnesium stearate. Should I discontinue taking it?
Per my Dr's suggestion,due to income loss,I am taking RYR for 4 weeks now, and my acid reflux is
gone!! I have no idea yet what it is doing for the cholesterol numbers.,but I am very happy so far. Laurel/Euclid Ohio
My doctor has me on almonds, walnuts,pistachios, and peanuts. My cholesterol is OK.
Beware of the powerful drug company propoganda about Red Yeast Rice. I have been taking it for almost three years with no side effects and with dramatic results. My cholesterol dropped from 218 to 147. Friends of mine have had the same dramatic results. Since the drug companies cannot patent Red Yeast Rice they are conducting a propoganda campaign to scare people from using it. They prefer you pay $100+ for their product, instead of $7 a month for over the counter Red Yeast Rice.
Yes, previous blogger tells the truth. FDA and pharmaceutical companies want to ban Red Yeast Rice from the market. Drug companies don't want a product that sells for under $10 mo. to compete with their drugs that cost over $100 month. Powerful forces are working to keep this wonderful, ancient herbal medicine off the market. The Chinese have been safely taking Red Yeast Rice for thousands of years. Let's see the drug companies match that!
I have had great results with RYR. I started with 1200 mg by Nature's Bounty and my cholesterol went from 230 to 180 in 6 months! I lowered my dose to 600 mg and am awaiting the new results!
I have been taking RYR for about eight years. My suspicion is that the FDA forced companies to have it reformulated. Initially my cholestrol went from 239 to under 200 and was maintained for eight years. Approximately a year ago it spiked and is now 235 and I can't seem to get under the 235 mark. I think that the modified RYR on the market is not as effective.
Buy adding Red Yeast Rice, Peanuts and Fish Oil to my diet I have reduced my Cholesterol. In a 6 month period from an overall 259 down to 150. Ldl from 181 to 68. Crestor side effects had disabled my everday simple activities from putting on socks to bicycling. Now, I feel great. I am very active and feel great!
I am not abe to tolerate a statin .Itake hypocol. I send to singapore for it. I have been on it for one month no side effects.it has 5 miligrams of a statin.the company name is pharmasia.it cost 25.00 for 30 capsuls.i hope this works my holesterol is 211hdl85..
I have been taking RYR for over a year with great results. If you do take the RYR, be sure to also take CoQ10. All statins, including RYR, cause the loss of
CoQ10 and should be replaced. That's something my doctors neglected to tell me when I was trying to take Rx statins.-- I had to do my own research.
I started taking 1200mgs/day of Nature's Bounty RYR one year ago and my total chol. dropped from 206to 167. I also take fish oil & CoQ10. I agree the pharm. co.'s just don't want their profits cut!!
Thanks everybody here, This post is really very informative, I saw these comments and got to know about this topic deeply. Thanks again.
My cholesterol dropped from 205 to 157. Friends of mine have had the same dramatic results. Since the drug companies cannot patent Red Yeast Rice they are conducting a propoganda campaign to scare people from using it.
I have been taking Red Yeast Rice with garlic for four months, because I cannot take statin, it causes me a lot of muscle pain. My cholesterol went from 301 to 250. Now, they have discontinued this RYR with garlic to Phytosterols with garlic, which I refuse to take.
As a pharmacist, I have a healthy respect for the adverse effects of the commercial prescription statins. I've been on RYR plus Fish Oil Concentrate 1200mg/day for several years with demonstrable reduction in total cholesterol and LDL. Recently, added Welchol (a prescription cholesterol binding resin with no systemic absorption) and my LDL/HDL ratios improved further.
It is true, however, that RYR products do not have any standardization as to content, so you should make sure you purchase a major brand (e.g., Nature Made or similar) and stick with their product.
I read your blog and want to know exactly what your are ordering in Singapor. A friend of mine is going to be in Singapore soon and I would like to have him bring me some back. What is it that I am telling him to bring me? Thanks
I think we should be able to find out what drug companies doctors and their relatives have stock in. It would lend a lot of weight to what doctor I choose and what advice they give that I take.
What is the brand of RYR that still contains statins and where can it be purchase?
AnonK
Mens Health magazine, Oct 09 issue. An small article about a study on red yeast rice supplements. go to naturals-supplements.com, these are "made in the USA"-not China. LDL levels in this study dropped 21 percent. They mentioned this site as the brand they used in the study.
Where are you buying your red yeast rice? I was buying from swanson vitamin. but the fda make them change.
Jeff
vitacost.com for RYR
My doctor put me on RYR for Cholesterol and results are great.
Advise that you do your research before taking one article as law.
to make sure you get safe and untainted RYR, there is a great website called consumerlabs.com that studies which brands meet quality, purity and dosage standards. It is not a free website, but it's worth it to have an unbiased organization sort thru all the counterclaims about RYR and other good supplements. p.s. I take 600mg of the Neurtraceuticals and it works dramatically (cholesterol from 257 down to 177)
I am a Licensed Clinical Nutritionist in practice for over 15 years. My clients take RYR and CoQ10 (in the more effective Ubiquinol form)and a high quality fish oil EPA/DHA formula. Every person that used these supplements has tested within normal levels for cholesterol within 6 months of starting at the correct dosage for their body. I also recommend a healthy diet (NOT a fat free diet by the way). Many preventative minded Physicians (obviously the ones that are up on the research and not in the drug companies pockets) are now prescribing this as an alternative to statin medications because compliance is better when people are not suffering from side effects and exorbitant costs. Just make sure to use a high quality company to buy your supplements from. Don't let fear and drug company tactics scare you away from a safer strategy. And please don't believe that statin drugs make up for the diet and lifestyle changes that are so imperative for a healthy heart.
Juli
Niacin(500 mg) has a great effect on my cholesterol . As it is in Chicken breasts and mushrooms ,and I add these foods to my diet often..
The FDA has the nerve the stop any natural way of getting your health better,by protecting their drug company buddies profits,but let Chinese poisons in candy ,milk powder,and who knows what else .Do you think the Chinese learned these dirty tricks by themselves ?The niacin worked better than the more expensive FDA approved drug for the same purpose in a test.Reducing deposits in the arteries,as the other only stopped more build-up
Check out Oral Chelation to break up the calcium build-up in Arteries.need to take a mineral supplement for Mag.as it pull that out too.
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