Recently ABC World News ran a story about the benefits of red yeast rice in reducing cholesterol levels. The report explains some Asian countries use it as a food coloring as well as an herbal medicine.

It’s always interesting to me how a remedy used for more than 1,000 years is “re-discovered” and used in today’s healthcare treatments-with positive results.

Dr. Christopher Cannon, a cardiologist at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital, tells ABC News, “It works much the way a statin would work, by reducing the amount of cholesterol that the liver makes, but in a much gentler level.”  Statin drugs like Lipitor are prescribed by doctors to reduce cholesterol levels. Yet studies have shown some patients suffer from severe muscle pain as a result.

Red yeast rice supplements can reduce LDL, considered the “bad cholesterol,” as effectively as the statin drugs, without muscle pain. Statin drugs are regulated by the FDA, whereas red yeast rice, available in pill form, or ground powder or dried grain, is not. People purchasing it from a health store have no sure way of knowing the exact amount of active ingredient in the product, other than its reputation as a reliable source.

In any case, consider talking to an alternative medical professional about using red yeast rice to reduce your cholesterol level. It just may reduce your pain as well.

Photo Credit: ABC News