MycoRant

A previous post (Red Rice Yeast–The Good and the Bad)  discussed the pros and cons of red yeast rice as a substitute for cholesterol-lowering statin drugs. Evidence is good that it does in fact lower cholesterol, perhaps even dangerously so if consumed unwisely.

Now a new research study has shown that red yeast rice was as effective as a statin in reducing LDL cholestrol. Study Finds Red Yeast Rice Efficacy Comparable to Statin appears at modernmedicine.com. The article summarizes the research thusly:

Steven C. Halbert, M.D., of University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia, and colleagues randomized 43 adults with dyslipidemia, who previously had discontinued statin therapy because of myalgia, to 12-week blinded regimens of either red yeast rice (2,400 mg twice daily) or pravastatin (20 mg twice daily). The researchers found that LDL cholesterol levels decreased by 27 percent in the pravastatin group and by 30 percent in the red yeast rice group.

The original research, Tolerability of Red Yeast Rice (2,400 mg Twice Daily) Versus Pravastatin (20 mg Twice Daily) in Patients With Previous Statin Intolerance by Halbert et al, is an open access paper appearing at The American Journal of Cardiology,  Volume 105, Issue 2, Pages 198-204 (15 January 2010).

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Tags: cholesterol, red yeast rice, statins