Statins and Red Yeast Rice WisdomCard™
Our Guides and Physician Review team have organized the Top 10 Health Resources on Statins and Red Yeast Rice and compiled helpful research notes below.
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Research Notes on Statins and Red Yeast Rice
Red yeast rice has shown positive results in lowering cholesterol for patients who are intolerant or have severe side effects to statins.1 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued warnings to two manufacturers who sold red yeast rice products over the Internet that contained lovastatin, a prescription drug used to lower cholesterol.2 A study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine established the use of red yeast rice combined with diet and lifestyle changes can lower low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol.3 Consult a health care professional prior to starting treatment with red yeast rice.
Fast Facts:
- Cholestrix, sold by Sunburst Biorganics and Red Yeast Rice, Red Yeast Rice/Policosonal Complex sold by Swanson Health Care Products were issued letters to cease the promotion and sales of the products by the FDA.2
- Red yeast rice is rice that is fermented by red yeast (Monascus purpureus) and has been used in food and for medicinal purposes for thousands of years. It is the main colorant for Peking duck, used as a spice, and an ingredient in rice wine.1
- Approximately twenty percent of patients discontinue statins due to muscle pain. Red yeast rice has shown a twenty percent decrease in LDL cholesterol levels without the muscle pain side effect.3
- A supplement watchdog group found a potentially toxic ingredient in four out of ten brands of red yeast rice in 2008.4
- It is illegal to sell red yeast rice in the United States unless the supplement only contains a trace amount of cholesterol lowering substances.1
- In the United States, red yeast rice is available in 600 mg to 1,200 mg doses. It is recommended to not administer more than 2,400 mg per day.5
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Research Notes References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 MedicineNet: Red Yeast Rice: Cholesterol Lowering Supplements
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA): FDA Warns Consumers to Avoid Red Yeast Rice Products Promoted on Internet As Treatments for High Cholesterol Products Found to Contain Unauthorized Drug
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 CNN Health: Supplement May Be Statin Alternative for Some
- ↑ Health.com: Red Yeast Rice May Lower Cholesterol, So Why Isn’t Your Doctor Recommending It?
- ↑ WebMD: Fish Oil, Red Yeast Rice Cut Cholesterol
About this WisdomCard
- Contributor: Carolyn
- Reviewer: Nicole Kinsey
- Supervised by: The OrganizedWisdom Physician Review Team
- Last update: Oct. 15, 2009
Each WisdomCard is handcrafted by our team of physician-guided health advocates. Our goal is to make it easy for you to find the most useful health resources for any health topic. In addition to filtering out spam and bad links, WisdomCards highlight tips and warnings, such as:
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About WisdomCard
Meet our contributors and reviewers
- Contributor: Carolyn
- Reviewer: Nicole Kinsey
- Supervised by: The OrganizedWisdom Physician Review Team
- Redirects: Red Yeast Rice and Statins, Statin and Red Yeast Rice, Red Yeast Rice and Statin
- Last update: Jul. 3, 2009
Each WisdomCard is handcrafted by our team of physician-guided health advocates. Our goal is to make it easy for you to find the most useful health resources for any health topic by filtering out spam and bad links.
