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Lower Cholesterol with Chinese Red Yeast Rice.

Red Yeast Rice has been used by the Chinese for many centuries as a food preservative and food colorant (it is responsible for the red color of Peking duck), and for medicinal purposes. According to ancient Chinese list of drugs as good for improving blood circulation and for alleviating indigestion and diarrhea.

Now scientists have found that it is also useful for lowering blood lipids, including cholesterol and triglycerides.

Chinese studies have shown that red yeast rice products can lower total blood cholesterol by an average of 10-30%, lower LDL cholesterol by 10-20%, triglycerides by 15-25%, and increase HDL by 7-15%

A recent 16-week clinical trial in Norway's Oslo University Hospital corroborated earlier Chinese clinical tests. The clinical trial, involving 40 subjects found that HypoCol reduced the total cholesterol level by 16 percent, while the LDL cholesterol, commonly known as the "bad" cholesterol, decreased by 24 percent.

What is Red Yeast Rice?

Red yeast rice is rice that has been fermented by the red yeast, Monascus purpureus. There are 3 main types - Zhitai, Xuezhikang and Cholestin (also known as HypoCol)

Zhitai is made by fermenting of a mixture of different strains of Monascus purpureaus on whole grain rice .

Xuezhikang is made by mixing the rice and red yeast with alcohol and then processing it to remove most of the rice gluten. Xuezhikang is believed to contain 40% more cholesterol-lowering ingredients than Cholestin or Hypocol.

Cholestin or HypoCol is manufactured by fermenting selected strains of Monascus purpureaus, using a proprietary process that concentrates an ingredient called monacolin K , which is believed to be the major cholesterol-lowering ingredient

Are Red Yeast Products Safe?

Human trials in both US and China have reported no liver, kidney, or muscle toxicity, and only rare , minor side effects of indegestion and heartburn.

Despite human trials only lasting a few weeks or months, red yeast rice products are generally believed to be safe in the long term as they have been a staple food in Asia for thousands of years without problems.

Red yeast rice is available in the US as a food supplement called Cholestin™ , while in Asia and Europe, it is available as HypoCol™

 

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