This has been known in Asian cultures for centuries and now Western medicine is just beginning to discover it...the potential of red yeast that grows on rice (monascus purpureus) to lower LDL (the "bad" type) cholesterol. While conventional medicine has been only in recent years even focusing on the effects of cholesterol on health, in particular for the heart, the method of its control and lowering has involved avoidance of certain food substances rather than promoting some that could help. Such allopathic institutions as the Mayo Clinic are investigating but are not sure, it appears, as to whether this or other non-pharmaceuticals are effective. (See http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/red-yeast-rice/NS_patient-redyeast.)
For many patients with high cholesterol levels, there has been only a requirement to take prescription drugs. Among these are statins (also called HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors), which block an enzyme in the liver that produces cholesterol. Those who are anxious to prevent heart attacks and/or strokes are, naturally, in need of some method of controlling LDL levels that would result in the clogging of their arteries, endangering their lives. However, as with many pharmaceutical medicines, there are certain side effects that, understandably, people wish to avoid. In the case of statins those include headaches, nausea, digestive upsets, rash, and even damage to muscles. The muscle pain from statin use can progress to a condition known as rhabdomyolisis, where muscle tissue is lost, and the kidneys and liver also become damaged. In some cases this results in the patient's death. In other cases, there have been serious interactions with a wide variety of other prescription drugs and even with grapefruit juice. Needless to say, some patients are concerned about the potential for more risk from this medication than from their original problem. It is reasonable, then, to seek alternatives to statins.
Red yeast rice, on the other hand, has been used both as a remedy in Chinese medicine for digestive complaints, stomach, spleen and circulatory problems, and more recently in this part of the world, as an over-the-counter supplement for cholesterol-lowering. It contains compounds that naturally have the same desired effect as statins. One of these compounds, monacolin-K, has been found to be a powerful inhibitor of the cholesterol-producing enzyme, and has even been marketed by certain pharmaceutical companies.
The FDA, however, has been debating with these companies as to whether red yeast rice is a supplement or a drug. (See http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/2007/ucm108962.htm.) They have banned all but trace amounts from one supplement, Cholestin; another product, Hypocol, is no longer available in the U.S. The government has also made it illegal to even promote the use of this natural substance for the purpose of cholesterol-lowering. Because it contains compounds that are the same as those in statin drugs, they consider red yeast rice an unapproved drug, and believe that it will have the same interactions and side effects as the pharmaceutical variety. (Question: if they are so concerned about red yeast rice-based compounds causing these harmful problems, why do they yet allow prescription statins, which have these side effects, etc., also, to be approved?)
Good news, though--in a study, back in 2009, in the Annals of Internal Medicine, conventional doctors found that the red yeast rice was a safe alternative for patients needing their cholesterol lowered but who could not, or did not wish to, use statins. (See http://www.annals.org/cgi/content/abstract/150/12/830) In the study led by Dr. David Becker, 62 patients who had been experiencing muscle pain from statin use were given either red yeast rice supplements or placebos. Over a 24-week period, concurrent with changes made to their lifestyles (about which the article gives no details), the patients were monitored for their progress or lack thereof. The end result, to sum up, was that the yeast was seen to safely, effectively lower LDL cholesterol levels in those who received it as treatment.
Wait, there's even more good news! At UCLA, a study (albeit conducted on rabbits--a technique deplored by many in the natural health field) showed some evidence that red yeast rice does, indeed, have an ability to lower LDL cholesterol. The report, at http://www.redyeastrice.org/herbal-remedies/redyeastrice/red-yeast-rice-clinical-studies, (note: please scroll down to the last two articles on the page) gives hope to those in the holistic medical world that someday people will have this choice readily available for their use in lowering cholesterol safely. One of the studies, "Cholesterol-lowering effects of a proprietary Chinese red-yeast-rice dietary supplement (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Feb. 1999; 69(2):231-6) by Heber D, Yip I, Ashley JM, Elashoff DA, Elashoff RM, Go VL, makes the following statement:
"Red yeast rice significantly reduces total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and total triacylglycerol concentrations compared with placebo and provides a new, novel, food-based approach to lowering cholesterol in the general population."
So what does this any of this mean at the government level now? Will the FDA recant its position and allow red yeast rice to be sold and promoted as an alternative treatment for cholesterol? Will it classify it as a drug, either by prescription or over-the-counter, and allow the drug manufacturers to make use of what has been used routinely in Asia for centuries? It remains to be seen how this will all work out...but if the pharmaceutical companies want to make a smart move--particularly in this poor economy--they'll cash in on this natural remedy.
Comments