Category Archives: Red Yeast Rice

Marked variability in red yeast rice products

Red yeast rice is an alternative therapy to treat high cholesterol levels. It contains monacolins that may inhibit HMG-CoA reductase — the enzyme inhibited by statins.

Researchers at Chestnut Hill Hospital, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, report marked variability of monacolin and citrinin content in 12 readily available red yeast rice products. Continue reading Marked variability in red yeast rice products

Benefit of red yeast rice in statin-intolerant patients

People experiencing statin-associated myopathy include pain and muscle weakness. This muscle pain (myalgia) is estimated to affect 10% to 15% of patients taking statins.

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia evaluated the tolerability of red yeast rice vs pravastatin (Pravachol) in patients unable to tolerate statins because of myalgia. Continue reading Benefit of red yeast rice in statin-intolerant patients

Ranking diet and exercise to manage high cholesterol

Dr. Robert Kelly (photo) is associate director and curriculum coordinator for the Fairview Hospital /Cleveland Clinic Family Medicine Residency Program.

He lists aspects of diet and exercise that are most and less effective in controlling cholesterol. Continue reading Ranking diet and exercise to manage high cholesterol

ConsumerLab.com tests cholesterol-lowering supplements

Three of 16 products failed the content analysis test. One product did not release its ingredients and two others had less than half the expected ingredients.

That’s less than a 20% failure rate, which is better than often reported by this lab.

An article in Functional Foods & Nutraceuticals reports that the following supplements were tested: sterols, policosanol, guggulsterones, fish oil, garlic, niacin, soy protein, red yeast rice, and stanols. I highlighted the supplements discussed at this blog.

Continue reading ConsumerLab.com tests cholesterol-lowering supplements