Red rice yeast reduces cholesterol levels because it contains, among many other chemicals, one of the statin drugs. (The statin drugs, the most effective cholesterol-lowering agents used in medicine today, were originally derived from yeast products.) Red rice yeast just happens to contain one of the most popular statin drugs on the market today – lovastatin.

In fact, when red rice yeast was found to contain lovastatin, the FDA moved to make red rice yeast (often sold as Cholestin in earlier times) a regulable drug, and thus remove it from the unregulated shelves of the health food store.

But in the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (Public Law 103-417), Congress saw fit to remove all “dietary supplements” from under the auspices of the FDA. Manufacturers of dietary supplements since that time have been free to make whatever claims they choose to make about their multitude of products, apparently without needing scientific support.

Treatment

The following studies suggest that red yeast rice significantly reduces high cholesterol:

• Recently, the UCLA School of Medicine conducted a study involving 83 people with high cholesterol levels. Those who received red yeast rice over a 12-week period experienced a significant reduction in total cholesterol, LDL ("bad") cholesterol, and triglycerides (fatty substances that can also accumulate in the blood stream and cause damage to blood vessels) compared to those who received placebo. HDL ("good") cholesterol did not change in either group during the study.
• Two studies involving red yeast rice were presented at the American Heart Association's 39th Annual conference in 1999. The first study, involving 187 people with mild to moderate elevations in total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol revealed that treatment with red yeast rice reduced total cholesterol by more than 16%, LDL cholesterol by 21%, and triglycerides by 24%. HDL cholesterol also increased by 14%. In the second study, elderly participants who were given red yeast rice experienced significant reductions in total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol compared to those who received placebo. Both studies treated the participants with the supplement or placebo for 8 weeks.
• In another 8-week trial involving 446 people with high cholesterol levels, those who received red yeast rice experienced a significant drop in cholesterol levels compared to those who received placebo. Total cholesterol fell by 22.7%, LDL by 31%, and triglycerides by 34% in the red yeast rice group. HDL cholesterol increased by 20% in the red yeast rice group as well.