Red Yeast Rice: Chinese Secret for Lower Cholesterol (cont'd)
Q: How well does it work?
A: We found in our trial that those who took the placebo had no reduction in cholesterol, while those receiving the Chinese red yeast had a 15 percent drop in cholesterol levels. That's very significant. Often patients who have a cholesterol of 220 to 230 will have their cholesterol to drop below 200, after taking Red Yeast Rice.
In fact, 2.4 grams of the Red Yeast Rice resulted in similar decreases in cholesterol as 20 milligrams of Mevacor. The difference is that Mevacor is a purified chemical and the Red Yeast Rice is a mixture of naturally occurring compounds.
Q: Are there side effects?
A: Red Yeast Rice is fairly safe. It carries with it the usual warnings that are associated with cholesterol-lowering drugs: pregnant women shouldn't take it, probably children shouldn't take it, people with liver disease should not take this. But in animal studies, where dosages were given at a thousand times a human dose, there's no abnormal liver function seen at all, so we feel this is fairly safe.
Q: Can I use Red Yeast Rice instead of my prescription drugs?
A: If someone is diagnosed with heart disease, they should take the very best drugs that we have in Western medicine. And certainly if you've had a heart attack, you should take a cholesterol-lowering prescription drug. However, for those people who are relatively healthy (and there is a large number with moderately elevated cholesterol who are not currently taking conventional medicine), with their doctor's approval, these patients could safely take this natural drug and lower the risk of heart disease by lowering their levels of cholesterol.
Q: Where can I get Red Yeast Rice, and how much does it cost? And how is it taken?
A: You can get Red Yeast Rice at your local health food store. A two-week supply of capsules costs about $20.00.
If you'd like to learn more from Dr. Heber about Red Yeast Rice:
Read: Natural Remedies for a Healthy Heart, David Heber, M.D. (Avery Books, 1998)
E-mail: daveheber@aol.com
Write: Dr. David Heber, Professor and Director UCLA Center for Human Nutrition
900 Veteran Ave., Rm. 1-2-213
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1742
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