The dietary supplement red yeast rice, which has been shown to lower cholesterol levels, is cheaper than a prescription statin drug. But is red yeast rice a sound alternative? It's worth asking—especially since a new study has found that people with high cholesterol respond just as well to red yeast rice as they do to pravastatin.
Researchers compared the two substances in a small study of 43 subjects who had been treating high cholesterol with a statin other than pravastatin—and had stopped treatment because of muscle pain (myalgia), the most common side effect associated with statin drugs. As part of a new treatment regimen, the subjects took either red yeast rice or pravastatin daily; they also participated in a program emphasizing improvements in diet and exercise.
After 12 weeks, their levels of LDL ("bad") cholesterol had decreased by virtually the same amount (27% in the pravastatin group, 30% in the red yeast rice group) and reports of muscle pain were also similar—and on the low side. The results were reported in the American Journal of Cardiology.
The ability of red yeast rice to lower cholesterol is no mystery: Red yeast rice extract contains a naturally occurring statin, lovastatin (which is also the active ingredient in one of the statin drugs). But because the manufacture of dietary supplements is unregulated, you can't be certain of the dosage or purity of any red yeast rice product you buy in a drugstore or health food store. So despite the study's positive results, you are better off opting for generic pravastatin, which is well regulated, has been extensively tested, and is also one of the least expensive statins. If you do want to try red yeast rice, be sure to talk to your doctor first.
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