Small scale studies using pharmaceutical-grade red rice yeast have continued to demonstrate efficacy and safety. However, in the United States it is no longer legal to sell supplements of red yeast rice that contain more than trace amounts of cholesterol lowering substances. For example, the active ingredients of red rice yeast have been removed from Cholestin marketed in the United States. (Hypocol, another product containing red yeast rice is no longer being sold in the United States.)
The reasons the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has ruled that it is illegal to sell red yeast rice that contains more than trace amounts of the cholesterol-lowering substances and to promote red yeast rice for lowering cholesterol levels.
- First, statin drugs are associated with muscle and kidney injury when used alone or combined with other medications. There is concern that patients who already take statin drugs with or without these other medications may increase their risk of muscle or kidney injury.
- Second, the FDA considers the products containing red yeast rice with high levels of cholesterol lowering substances to be new, unapproved drugs for which marketing violates the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
- Anyone know the real skinny? It appears that a natural cure might cut into Big Pharma's pocketbook. Read this.
12 comments:
Niacin to raise the HDL... it's hard to take. Contact me if you want to know more about it. Unfortunately, I am expert in Niacin!!
i was going to say just what sanoguy said - niacin. my doctor has turned me on to it and yes, the pills are big and hard to swallow and i'm supposed to take 3 a day which i'm having a hard doing. so i haven't exactly gotten accurate results. i'll let you know after my next blood test if they're working. and you don't need a prescription, you can buy them over the internet.
what a concept.
nancy
The hard part about taking Niacin is that it causes serious flushing if not taken properly. Contact me about how to do that, Robert.... that is, if you decide to try it.
These folks are who I get my vitamins etc from. They sell the product just not here in CA. Below is their reason.
Much like the Mary Jane laws.
Hudgins
Other companies do sell Red Yeast Rice in California. However, California has a law (if they choose to enforce it) that forbids the sale of this item in California. The companies that are selling it in California risk court action and fines if the state chooses to enforce the law which from time to time they do. We do not choose to take that risk.
There is nothing wrong with the product and this is one of our best selling products. We sell it in the other 49 states and 125 foreign countries. But, we do not sell it in California because of the California regulation.
Beth
Customer Service
Wonder Labs
http://www.iherb.com/Red-Yeast-Rice
Red Yeast Rice is a statin (a natural one) and used in the mega-million dollar pharmaceutical industry manufacturing of RX statins. It does not have the side effects of Lipator etc. Big Pharm argues that there is not a safe dosage regulation in natural meds, but we all know that is to protect RX sales.
You should not use Niacin because of your kidney problems.
Prescription quality Salmon Oil, Oats, and a halt to your gourmet blogging should help...........
I'm doing the salmon oil and the oats - will see if it makes a difference. Cardiologist is the one who brought up the red yeast rice. I don't think the kidney is at risk.It was cancer, not a problem of function.
All of these companies are selling cholastin free ryr I presume or are they technically afoul of the law? I won't quit the gourmet blogging, either, no point in leaving a sad and good looking corpse.
Here's one more perspective at
Science Based Medicine
you can buy flush free niacin, it's more expensive and i'm not sure if it has the cholesterol lowering properties are regular niacin, but it's beneficial in other ways; read Dr. Osmund's research on the subject...of course, never take regular niacin on an empty stomach; if you take it at the end of a meal, along with vitamin C and a B complex, you will mitigate the flushing effect; if you pulverize them all with a pill crusher, and mix them in a little apple sauce or something similar, they are much easier to swallow; also build up slowly to higher doses; lately i've been taking 500 mg of crushed niacin along with aspirin (which also counteracts the flushing) at bedtime, and i've been sleeping better; of course, consult your doctor first, though.
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thanks for the tip on red yeast rice; i'd never heard of this product before; you can learn so much from the Blast; also, i saw it on sale at Albertson's yesterday, so can it really be illegal in California?
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kudos to Wild Bill for the medical journal article he posted, which i finally got around to reading; was thinking about giving RYR a try, but not anymore.
:.(
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