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If your cholesterol is a little higher than it
should be, you're probably trying to adjust it by following a diet low in saturated fat
and cholesterol. Unfortunately for many of us, this approach just doesn't do the trick.
Natural treatments, however, may help reduce moderately elevated cholesterol levels. Of
these, inositol hexaniacinate (no-flush niacin) and pantethine are vitamins accumulating
notable track records, as is the herbal supplement guggulipid. Red yeast rice is a newcomer, and
results of studies in both China and the United States indicate that it's a supplement
worth considering.
Red yeast rice may more
effectively reduce moderately elevated cholesterol levels (200-240 mg/dl) than
cholesterol-reducing diets. Its cholesterol reducing actions are thought to be due to
mevinolin, a chemical identical to lovastatin. Lovastatin and other statins are chemicals
used in conventional medicine to reduce cholesterol. In 1999, lovastatin was also shown to
reduce death rates from cardiovascular disease.
- A rise in cholesterol levels among the Chinese led
their researchers to seek less expensive cholesterol-reducing drugs than the statin drugs
used here. Their approach was simple: Test the cholesterol- reducing effects of the
traditional Chinese remedy, red yeast rice. Made by fermenting
rice with red yeast (Monascus purpureus Went), red yeast rice is not new to China or to neighboring
Japan, where it has long been used as a food coloring agent and preservative and to make
red rice sake and liqueur. The red edging on boneless Chinese spare ribs is due to red
yeast rice. Asians have also used the food product to treat indigestion, diarrhea, and to
improve blood circulation. In 1977, a Japanese researcher found that a chemical in red
yeast inhibited HMG-CoA reductase, the enzyme that the liver uses to make cholesterol. The
chemical, originally called Monacolin-K and mevinolin, is chemically identical to the
generic, fat-reducing statin-based drug, lovastatin, which was developed from a strain of
fungus (Aspergillus terreus) and introduced in 1987. Lovastatin, mevinolin, and
other statins-based drugs reduce by cholesterol which blocking the activity of HMG-CoA
reductase deprives the liver of an essential component in cholesterol manufacture. An
estimated 80 percent of cholesterol found in the blood is produced by the liver (only 20
percent is contributed by diet), so HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors go a long way toward
reducing blood cholesterol levels. But not surprisingly, then, effects demonstrated in the
Chinese studies suggest that red yeast rice may be useful in
controlling moderately elevated cholesterol. It may also cause some problems, and its
effect on high-density lipoprotein (HDL), a factor in overall cholesterol reduction, is
still to be determined.
Garlic is another herb for
cholesterol. The therapeutic effects of Garlic have been scientifically validated in the
area of cholesterol and triglyceride lowering, as well as its strong antimicrobial
properties. Research in Germany, India, France, China, England and the United States
demonstrate consistent results proving the efficacy and safety of Garlic even in high
doses. Known as a yang tonic in Chinese medicine, Garlic will stimulate appetite and
metabolism, clear toxins, and act as an antimicrobial agent of the mucous membranes. A
great deal of recent work has been done on the sulphur bearing amino acids in Garlic.
 | HDL Cholesterol: Aim High |
- Researchers have estimated that for each one percent
decrease in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, heart attack risk drops by two
percent. By comparison, each one percent increase in HDL levels causes a three to four
percent drop in heart attack risk. For these reasons, investigators have tried to find out
what effects red yeast rice has on HDL levels. In one prominent study in
China, the conventional statin-based drug simvastatin (Zocor) was slightly better at
reducing total blood cholesterol than the red yeast rice concentrate Xuezhikang. However,
simvastatin was significantly better than Xuezhikang at raising HDL levels. Similarly, an
American clinical trial showed that Xuezhikang caused predictable reductions in total
cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglyceride levels, but had little effect on HDL.
However, in a study presented at a March, 1999 American Heart Association conference, red
yeast rice increased HDL levels by an average of 15 percent.
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Nature's Life
