Red Yeast Rice, an Alternative to Prescription Statins?

[James L]

Does anyone have experience taking red yeast rice supplements? A couple of human trials, including a double-blind study at the UCLA School of Medicine (D. Heber, et al., Am J Clin Nutr, 1999), have shown that red yeast rice reduces total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol. The non-UCLA study also showed a significant increase in "good" HDL cholesterol.

The dosage used in the UCLA study was four 600 mg capsules daily, which contained about 10 mg of total monacolins. Monacolin K was determined to be the principal active ingredient that affects the cholesterol levels. The prescription drug lovastatin (usually in a 20-40 mg dosage) appears to act in a similar way to affect cholesterol levels.

[Cacky]

James - I took a vitamin E with Tocotrienol (derived from rice hulls) as an alternative statin. Didn't do a darn thing for my cholesterol numbers, but sure worked wonders eliminating my night sweats (which I don't think you have to worry about!). I've been reading the comments about statins that have been posted here recently. My doctor put me on a dose of Lipitor 10mg several years ago. For the first year I did blood work every three months, I now do it yearly. I've suffered no side effects, either muscle fatigue or weird liver function numbers. With having parents who succumbed to heart disease (mother) and stroke (father) I don't mind taking my chances with the statins and plan to continue doing so.

[Gaelen]

The dosage used in the UCLA study was four 600 mg capsules daily, which contained about 10 mg of total monacolins. Monacolin K was determined to be the active ingredient that affects the cholesterol levels. The prescription drug lovastatin (usually in a 20-40 mg dosage) appears to act in a similar way to affect cholesterol levels.

James, have you ever done any research checking out the derivation and discovery process for lovastatin or any of the other statins?

Y'know, drug companies don't just pluck new compounds out of thin air or stumble upon them growing in an unwashed coffee cup. The drug discovery process is a lot more organized today than it was even two decades ago...in many cases it's a scientific process of elimination and derivation of compounds which were originally noticed to be effective to some extent from natural sources--and the drug discovery process is an effort to duplicate and improve upon the naturally available compound potency. A prime example is paclitaxel.

It's entirely possible that you might find a found-in-nature replication process behind some of the varieties of statins. You never know until you look.

[mcsblues]

James as Gaelen intimates (I think!) one of the active ingredients in Cholestin (aka red yeast rice extract) is lovastatin - which is where statins originated in the first place (although I believe most of the commercial variations available now are synthesized).

The point is, why having convinced yourself (again, I think - remember all those 'cons'?) that statins are dangerous and cholesterol lowering is pointless, would you go out and take the 'natural' source of the very same drug? If you do a search you will find at least one study showing similar potential side effects (joint pain and muscle weakness etc) along with the identical CoQ10 depleting nature of the prescription (soon to be OTC:rolleyes:) medication - which is a good indication in itself that natural or not ... statins are not health foods.

[Grandma Moe]

I have some experience with red yeast rice. My MD and another guy I go to who does meridian stress testing said it was the only thing he had ever seen that was natural that actually worked to lower cholesterol and he recommended it for me after testing it on my body. I got much better results when I ate 90 % plant based foods. My cholseterol went from 283 to 192 in three months. My ratios now are in the average range for heart risk, down from the very high risk range I was in four months ago.
It's hard to do PP vegetarian. even 90% vegetarian but I am getting better all the time. Gaelen told me not to count raw foods. If I did it would be impossible to keep the carbs below 40. My weight loss is slower and I have had more trouble staying away from carbs in general, but I went three months without trouble and it could be that I just went to too many celebrations this month. (A person only has so many no's in them you know.)

[James L]

Cacky and Gaelen, thank you for your comments. Moe, thank you for the information.
... why having convinced yourself (again, I think - remember all those 'cons'?) that statins are dangerous and cholesterol lowering is pointless, would you go out and take the 'natural' source of the very same drug?
1. Malcolm, when a cardiologist suggested that I consider taking statins, I knew zero about statins. That's why I started the Pros and Cons of Statins thread. I haven't convinced myself that statins are dangerous and cholesterol lowering is pointless. Some people have reported negative experiences with the drugs while cardiologists seem to favor their use. Both of your assertions may well be true, but I haven't had time to adequately research either one of them; so the jury is still out as far as I'm concerned. (Although a TC of 267 seems like it could probably use some lowering.)

2. My PCP is a competent and knowledgeable physician (although I won't guarantee that he knows more about nutrition than I do :) ). Although the October lab results cited in my Statins post seem suspect, I have no proof that they are invalid. When my PCP reviewed those results and suggested I try red yeast rice (RYR), I knew zero about RYR and had no good reason to question his suggestion. Later, after doing some preliminary research and then reviewing the favorable results of the January blood draw, I started this thread to see if anyone here could provide additional first-hand information about RYR.

3. I have experienced no noticeable side effects from the RYR and apparently people in some countries ingest as much as 15 grams daily, in their normal diet, with no side effects. Also, RYR is a complex natural compound and it seems that other constituents of RYR besides monacolin K may contribute to lowering cholesterol. Having several natural constituents working in synergy may be a safer and more effective way to affect cholesterol levels than to take a prescription statin.

If RYR can drop my total cholesterol from 267 to 178 in six weeks, I'm not ready to automatically exclude it from my nutritional arsenal. And a trig/HDL ratio of 2.38 is outside the neighborhood of 1, which is the neighborhood I like that ratio to be in. If RYR can contribute to dropping that ratio to 1.2, then I am prepared to continue to experiment with the supplement.

Given the interesting and surprising (to me, at least) results that I obtained while taking RYR, I wanted to make that information available for review and consideration by the members and readers of this discussion forum. For me, it currently remains an interesting and ongoing experiment.

Thanks for your always informative posts!

[vehappi]

Group, I appreciate your insights about Red Rice Yeast. Interestingly, I was taking Red Yeast Rice and my total cholesterol was around 180. I stopped taking it because I thought the Protein Plan would do the trick. I was also taking Policosansol and stopped for the same reason.

Does anyone know how fasting affects the cholesterol equation?

Vehappi

[Caveman]

I have some experience with red yeast rice. My MD and another guy I go to who does meridian stress testing said it was the only thing he had ever seen that was natural that actually worked to lower cholesterol and he recommended it for me after testing it on my body.

Natural? Well, how about a combination of Soy, Guar Gum, and Citrus Pectin? These are the ingredients in ProFibe, a water soluble fiber that has been on the market for over 25 years.

ProFibe can reduce cholesterol levels up to 25-30 percent for most users in as little as a month in some cases, a drop of more than 50 points! That's good news for preventing future artheriosclerosis but that's not all!

ProFibe has also been shown to reduce existing arteriosclerosis (soft plaque) by one third or more plaque that is clinging to the arterial walls, preventing the free flow of blood, actually reduces and begins to disappear. Moreover, ulceration of the arterial walls, caused by the damaging plaque, heals. You can read more at (http://www.profibe.com).

I'm a 50 yo man and have been taking ProFibe for the past 10 years. My TCh used to be over 330 and now it is under 170 (my HDL is over 60). I eat a high-protein, high-fat, low-carb diet and I do not take any drugs to control my cholesterol.

[Adriana]

Caveman,
How long were you on Profibe before you saw results?

[Adriana]

Is red rice yeast a safe and effective natural alternative to statins? The answer is maybe. But there is no guarantee of consistency between brands and batches. It seems risky tome.

The USDA ruled in 1999 that RYR contained a natural version of lovostatin, a regulated substance, and required that red rice yeast suppliers remove it in manufacturing.

Tests on products sold in 2009 "contained monacolin K (the naturally-occurring form of lovastatin), as well as eight other monacolins (statins or statin-like substances).

For information go to http://heartdisease.about.com/cs/cholesterol/a/Nrxcol_rry.htm

Read patient experiences in comments here: http://heartdisease.about.com/b/2007/08/10/apparently-some-red-yeast-rice-still-contains-lovastatin.htm

http://heartdisease.about.com/b/2009/06/18/red-yeast-rice-still-effective.htm