J.K.
Dear N.,
I have not taken red yeast rice before so I can't directly answer your question. However, I would highly recommend a book called "The 8-week Cholesterol Cure" by Robert Kowalski. I, too, have high cholesterol, and by following the recomendations in this book and exercising a very small amount (just walking a bit more) I dropped my total cholesterol from a very high 230 to a very low 130 and raised my hdg significantly, but I forget now what the number was. All was accomplished within 6 months. I would advise that you try to educate yourself about diet and vitamin treatments before going on prescription medicine. Prescriptions are great for people who really need them -- I'm not anti-medicine, but something like cholesterol treatment is an on-going, never-ending process, so you would be on the medication forever. Also, that gets expensive! I will tell you that the author suggests taking niacin, a B vitamin, as part of his regimin. Lots of people experience a side-effect of this called "niacin flushing" which is something like a hot-flash: flushed cheeks, warm feeling, sometimes accompanied by racing heart. However, I found that I did not need to take much niacin at all to experience dramatic cholesterol-lowering results. I started with a good b-vitamin supplement that contained 50 mg of niacin with no side-effects. After 1 month I switched up to one pill (250 mg) of the slow-release product recommended with the book. I had very few hot-flashes and lots of fantastic benefits. The author also recommends using phyto-sterols to block cholesterol absorbtion. You can find phyto-sterols in certain margarine products like benecol or smart balance, and I've even seen some yogurt-smoothie type products recently that have them. Or, you can buy a pill to eat prior to meals. Either way is proven to work by the fda, that's why they are included in the margarine products. This, plus a little more fiber and a little exercise will do wonders! I cannot recommend this book enough -- I give it to all my friends when they complain about high cholesterol. Good luck!
Okay -- I'm back. Since my book was right here, I looked up red yeast rice. The author has a couple of paragraphs, so here they are:
"For decades, if not centuries, Chinese herbalists have used the yeast grown on red rice for heart health...as is the case with many, but not all, herbal therapies, this one really works. Chemical analysis reveals that red rice yeast yields lovastatin, the active ingredient in Mevacor. This is a lower-potency natural source of the prescription drug. It is marketed as Cholestin and is available in drug and health food stores. You can expect about a 10% cholesterol reduction with daily use as directed on the package." It also says you should have blood tests to check liver function, and if its a choice between this and niacin, to take niacin instead.
Sorry for the incredibly long post, I get carried away.
