Went to the health food store and talked w/ the man there. He said they are not taking Red Yeast Rice off the market but the FDA made them take "lowers cholesterol" off their label b/c , I guess, the pharmaceutical companies aren't making enough money off statins or something.
Anyhow, hubby is going to stay on Policosanol and I'm going to try the red yeast rice for 3 mos. and see.
Made it until dinnertime w/o any carbs then had a meltdown! I do feel pretty good today, though.
One day at a time, I guess.
Just wanted to let everyone know.

Ruth, that is about all you can do, is take it one day at a time if U don't want to be on statins. The people that do take them without side effects don't know how fortunate they are, just pop a pill and forget about it. Oh well guess the rest of us will just do the ALMIGHTY search of diet etc. till the right combo. comes along. http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif

Good luck on the staying off carbs., but I'm sure it will get easier as you go along. I remember when hubby and I just HAD to have sugar in our coffee, now for the past 20 years we haven't used it, and now if I do put any in it tastes aweful, funny how the ole taste buds adapt!! Good luck to you and hubby, will also keep ya posted how it goes here. http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/wave.gif JJ

Just remember that the red yeast rice contains the same chemical that is in the statins although at a lower dose.You also need to be aware that if you are taking other medications that there may be problems.

TB-He said NOT to take policosanol AND the Red Rice Yeast at the same time but he never mentioned any other meds. I'm on Prilosic and maybe an occasional Advil once in awhile. He didn't say it had the same things as statins either. So.....did I get ripped or what?

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I tried red rice yeast and it did not agree with me

I take a good quality red yeast rice, the only thing I do that I didn't know about was drink a couple of beers here and there. I've had good results with it, and I was on a low carb diet with no MSG's. Taking 1/2 my body weight at least of water daily and replacing my minerals with a mineral based sea/salt 1/4 teas. per quart of water. No caffine and very little alcohol. So far so good. It sounds like it's a good thing that I can't stand grapefruit!! Don't need any more health problems.

For my IBS I take something that has grape seed in it, but I think that is diff. than grapefruit. Good article on red yeast rice. Thanks for the inforamtion. I'm glad I went with the good quality stuff. Diana http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif

TB- Thank you for the great article. Guess I wasn't told all the facts. I am taking a good quality one. 1 capsule a day for 2 days now. I'm not sure if it is the stressful situation I am in or the meds but I was having slight chest pains and difficulty breathing this morning. Maybe I'll just wait until things calm down in my life and try it again later.
Same here w/ the grapefruit juice--YUCK!
Thanks so much!

I took red yeast rice for a while, back when I was still concerned with the myth about cholesterol.

It gave me terrible gas and cramps. Have no idea what it did to my cholesterol level, but now I don't care. http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif

I know that the red yeast rice works ... If you will add apple pectin to it , it will work better ... I have studied alot about this because my family has the same problem ... But put the APPLE PECTIN with it and it will lower it faster

What is Apple Pectin?

Hello everyone:

Have had high cholesterol problem for better part of my life. Friend told me about Red Rice Yeast by Solaray. Took it for 3 months. One capsule twice daily. Had Cholesterol checked recently. It was 243 is now 197. I was elated. I follow the macrobiotic diet by Michio Kushi. I do however, eat chicken once a week. I would like to know how long a person should stay on Red Rice Yeast? How many capsules per day?
I'm new here. I'd love to hear from someone who is taking red rice yeast.
Glad I found this site.
Thanks.
God Bless.............Rosellina

Hi Roselline

I have taken RRY for two years. My daily consumption is 2400 mg (4 pills, two in morning and two at night) of the HPF product. Until recently, the label indicated that the product was standardized to .4%. Now, because of the FDA they had to remove this wording to avoid trouble.
If you calculate the STATIN dose (.004X2400) it is about 9.6mg. This is roughly equivalent to minimum dosage of the pharmaceutical prescription. I have had no adverse reactions, including liver function tests. The RRY has dropped my TC by 40 and raised my HDL by about 12 points. As of last month, I have increased my dosage to 3000 mg per day. I am considering switching to the pharmaceutical because of both cost and strength.

From the research I have conducted, the natural form of RRY is better tolerated as then the prescription Statin. Its like taken vitamin C Vs eating an orange. In the orange you get lots of supporting nutrients that work in conjunction with the vitamin C. The same is true for the RRY. The active ingredient, Statin is isolated from the yeast and packaged in the pharmaceutical prescription. That is why it delivers more punch and stays in the system longer.
Anyway, I have had good results with the combination of life style changes and RRY.

I heard about this stuff called Cholesterin. It is made from alfalfa. I saw an ad in the paper. Any body ever heard of that stuff? Supposed lower your cholesterol.