Red Yeast Rice, 120 Caps

What is it?

Red yeast rice extract is a preparation made from a yeast that is commercially grown on rice grains. The Rice and yeast, which is deep red in color, are ground up into a red powder.

For hundreds of years, the Chinese have used it as a spice, as a food preservative, and to make rice wine. In recent years, red yeast rice extract has been investigated as an agent for lowering cholesterol and triglycerides.
According to one double-blind, placebo controlled clinical trial conducted by the National Medical Association Scientific Assembly, serum total cholesterol dropped 25.9% LDL cholesterol dropped 32.8% and triglycerides were reduced by 19.9% after only eight weeks.[1]
In another clinical trial, 324 patients with hyperlipidemia were administered Monascus purpureus (red yeast) extract for eight weeks. At the end of eight weeks of treatment, the red yeast extract raised high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL cholesterol or “good” cholesterol) by 19.6%. The results of the trial indicate the red yeast extract is an “effective and safe preparation in the treatment of hyperlipidemia.”[2]
There are at least nine naturally occurring compounds in red yeast that are chemically related to statins, the widely prescribed pharmaceuticals used for their cholesterol-reducing effects. Red yeast extract has HMG-CoA (menvinolin) reductase inhibitors. These inhibitors may block the enzyme responsible for making cholesterol in the body. When this synthesis is blocked, the body simply produces less LDL cholesterol, measurably reducing its presence in the blood. In addition, red yeast raises HDL cholesterol to more desired levels. Increases in HDL levels boost cardiovascular health since HDL cholesterol helps eliminate LDL cholesterol from the bloodstream.
Note: It is not known if red yeast extract inhibits the body’s production of CoQ10 (as statin drugs do). Therefore, supplementation with 30 to 100mg of CoQ10 while taking red yeast rice extract may be suggested.
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Dosing
Adults take one capsule one to three times daily or as directed by your healthcare practitioner.