Reduce Cholesterol Naturally

Cholesterol is essential for human life. It’s vital to cell structure, used to produce hormones like estrogen, testosterone and those made in the adrenal glands, converted to bile acids to help you digest food and it’s found in large amounts in brain and nerve tissue. However, overly high cholesterol can be a contributing factor to heart, or cardiovascular disease. It’s important to know that on average only about 20 percent or less of the cholesterol in our bodies comes directly from food, with the other 80 percent being produced by the liver.

Always remember, though, that eating foods high in certain kinds of unhealthy fats will result in increased liver production of cholesterol. For more than 1,200 years a substance known as Red Yeast Rice has been used by the Chinese as both a food and a medicinal agent. It is made quite simply by fermenting or growing red yeast on rice. Several years back it was discovered that Red Yeast Rice contains natural substances that lower cholesterol. These substances exert a cholesterol-lowering effect by inhibiting a liver enzyme (HMG-COA reductase) that is involved in the production of cholesterol in the body. Because of this inhibitory action, one of Red Yeast Rice’s therapeutic uses include the prevention and treatment of high cholesterol. A number of human studies conducted in China since the mid-90s have found that red yeast rice consumption reduces cholesterol levels by anywhere from 10 to 30 percent and triglycerides by 10 to 20 percent. These figures are right in line with what I’ve personally observed in scores of people over the past four years.

Also, a carefully controlled trial at the UCLA School of Medicine that was published in the February 1999 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that test subjects who received two and one-half grams daily (a full dose) of red yeast rice had, in their words, a significant reduction of cholesterol, triglycerides and LDL after eight weeks of treatment as compared to placebo. Speaking of dose, I find that when using a high-quality product half the recommended amount does the job nicely with most people. Being a natural substance, Red Yeast Rice is extremely well tolerated. Researchers observed no adverse effects and found no changes in liver function tests, which were performed both before and after the study.

However, since Red Yeast Rice functions in a similar manner to cholesterol-lowering statin medications, and we know that statin drugs inhibit CoEnzyme Q10 production along with cholesterol, it’s generally thought to be important to supplement with at least a moderate amount of CoQ10 when taking Red Yeast Rice. Because of its popularity there are a lot of so-called “Red Yeast Rice” products on the market that are of questionable quality to say the very least. This is a case where “Buyer Beware” definitely applies. If you use Red Yeast Rice be sure to purchase a good brand from an ethical company. Note: Before beginning a regimen of Red Yeast Rice and CoEnzyme Q10 (or any other nutritional supplement) first check with your doctor to see if they feel it would be appropriate for you.

Rusty Improta, B.S., is a nutritional consultant and owns Rusty’s Vitamins, located at 5 Chambersburg St., Gettysburg.