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Since many of us battle high LDL cholesterol from our HRT I found this very useful.
A new study by the Mayo Clinic suggest that red rice yeast, combined with fish oil and healthy lifestyle changes, can help reduce "bad" cholesterol as effectively as the statin drug Zocor.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92103272
However, there is a BIG catch. An independent lab found the amounts of lovastatin and other monacolins (the good statins) in the red yeast rice supplements varied tremendously among brands. As much as a 100 fold difference! This is a huge difference in the potency of the supplements! It seems that Nature's Plus brand had the highest amount at 10.6 mg per 600 mg capsule.
Also of concern, some red yeast rice supplements were found to be contaminated with the potential toxin citrinin. Citrinin could possibly damage your kidneys. Although human studies have not been done to determine at which level citrinin is toxic, it would seem wise to avoid it. Four brands were found to be contaminated, Solaray, Natural Balance, VegLife, and Walgreens. Ironically, these brands also had the lowest levels of statins.
A new study by the Mayo Clinic suggest that red rice yeast, combined with fish oil and healthy lifestyle changes, can help reduce "bad" cholesterol as effectively as the statin drug Zocor.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92103272
However, there is a BIG catch. An independent lab found the amounts of lovastatin and other monacolins (the good statins) in the red yeast rice supplements varied tremendously among brands. As much as a 100 fold difference! This is a huge difference in the potency of the supplements! It seems that Nature's Plus brand had the highest amount at 10.6 mg per 600 mg capsule.
Also of concern, some red yeast rice supplements were found to be contaminated with the potential toxin citrinin. Citrinin could possibly damage your kidneys. Although human studies have not been done to determine at which level citrinin is toxic, it would seem wise to avoid it. Four brands were found to be contaminated, Solaray, Natural Balance, VegLife, and Walgreens. Ironically, these brands also had the lowest levels of statins.
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