Is There A Link Between Red Yeast Rice And Cholesterol Lowering?

If you've been told by your doctor that your "cholesterol is too high," it's important not to panic. First of all, what he or she means is that your ratio of HDL - or the good cholesterol, to your total cholesterol is too low and that you may well have LDL - the bad cholesterol, present in too high a quantity. There are many reasons behind this. Sometimes it's hereditary, and sometimes it's to do with your lifestyle, together with your dietary intake. Remember that we must have cholesterol within our systems to function correctly, but we don't actually need any dietary cholesterol intake at all.

In some cases, a change in lifestyle and a much "smarter" diet is not sufficient to adjust your cholesterol figures enough. If you have a history of heart disease in your family, lead a fairly sedentary lifestyle and have done what you can to alter your diet, then sometimes the doctor will suggest you take a statin drug. There are a number of these in the marketplace. Sometimes, however, users have complained of side effects such as bad muscle cramps. Other times people are not too happy taking a prescription drug of any kind for the long-term. At times like these your research may uncover an alternative solution. For example, in Asia we see how eating red yeast rice and cholesterol reduction techniques have helped the population avoid many of the inherent cardiovascular diseases prevalent in Western society.

Red yeast rice has been favored as an herbal medicine for generations. Essentially it reduces the amount of cholesterol that the liver makes, much the same way as the statin would. However, it does not produce the severe stomach cramps that many who are taking prescription statins complain of.

In a study published within the Annals of Internal Medicine, 62 patients who had been taking prescription statins and had complained of severe muscle pains were entered into a study group. Half of them took red yeast rice supplements each day, while the other half did not. There was a substantial decrease - an average of 27%, in the level of bad cholesterol within the systems of those who were taking the supplements. Even better, the persistent stomach cramps and muscle pains were not reported.

Similar, exciting results have been reported throughout Asia for a number of years now. It seems that red yeast rice and cholesterol lowering have an established relationship over there.

Before you rush out and try to find these supplements, be sure that you buy carefully. Not all supplements are the same and some of them may have other ingredients that could be less beneficial to you, to put it mildly. Try and find a good source - as the one drawback, of course, is that this isn't regulated unlike the highly regulated prescription drug market.

In an ideal world it would be far better to rely on the over-the-counter supplement than those expensive, prescription drugs which may also lead to unpleasant or unwanted side effects.

Higher LDL cholesterol might be very harmful for your health condition. For useful facts on naturalcholesteroltreatment.net red yeast rice and cholesterol, browse naturalcholesteroltreatment.net naturalcholesteroltreatment.net in which I present nutritional secrets and also all-natural supplements which are highly beneficial for this health situation. Rajagopalan illustrates how all natural treatments have helped millions with LDL cholesterol problems.