Red Yeast Rice Dosage

People who are currently taking or thinking of taking red yeast rice often wants to know what the effective dosage amount is.

When it comes to treating high cholesterol, the dosage of red yeast rice that is recommended often depends on the amount of lovastatin that is contained in the supplement. Lovastatin is naturally produced in red yeast rice during the process where it is fermented. The lovastatin that is contained in the red yeast rice is very effective for reducing high cholesterol levels.

It should be noted that lovastatin is not contained in all red yeast rice products. Red yeast rice that is often used in foods has very little to no lovastatin. The production of red yeast rice is a result of fermenting a special type of yeast. It is during this fermentation process that manufacturers are able to control the levels of lovastatin that is contained in the red yeast rice. It is for that particular reason why these supplements are created to help lower cholesterol.

Dosage of Red Yeast Rice for High Cholesterol

The correct dosage of red yeast rice to treat high cholesterol was based on a study that was conducted. In the study the subjects were given a dosage of 1200 mg, 2 times a day. It should be noted that the study also had the subjects taking between 7-8mg of lovastatin per day.

It should be noted that lovastatin is an unapproved drug by the FDA. Many supplements do not contain this product that is key for reducing cholesterol. As a result of this the ones that do not contain lovastatin may not have any effect of cholesterol.

There is no real way to tell which product contains lovastatin as many companies are unwilling to put that information on their products due to the FDA banning its use.

Red Yeast Rice and Fish Oil For The Treatment of High Cholesterol

It is widely known, based on scientific evidence that statins (cholesterol-lowering medications) are very effective at stopping coronary artery disease. However, according to a new study taking red yeast rice supplements, fish oil and proper exercise and diet can also be just as effective to help in reducing cholesterol like the statins.

There was a study that was conducted to show the effectiveness of taking red yeast rice and fish oil supplements along with proper diet and exercise when it comes to treating individuals with high cholesterol.

Red Yeast Rice & Fish Oil Study

In this study 74 people who had high cholesterol were used as subjects. They were divided into two equal groups where one half took red yeast rice and fish oil supplements, while the others took Zocor a statin drug. This trial was conducted over a period of 12 weeks.

Red yeast rice comes from yeast grown on rice and it is extremely popular in China for the treatment of many medical conditions. The red yeast rice contains many different compounds that are known to stop the production of cholesterol in the body. Triglycerides in the body of also been shown to be lowered by fish oil.

During the course of the study, the group who took Zocor on a daily basis for a given 40 mg of the medication and also receive counseling and reading material related to exercise and diet.

The other group was given three fish oil capsules two times a day. It was also noted that people who had LDL cholesterol that was higher than160 mg/dL were also given 3.6 g of red yeast rice a day. For individuals who had LDL cholesterol lower than160 mg/dL they were given 2.4 g of red yeast rice a day.

The group who also took supplements also participated in meetings that focused on exercise and diet. This group was also encouraged to follow a strict that and do more exercise.

The Results of the Study

After three months of participants in the study had their bad cholesterol levels checked. In both groups the levels had decreased almost the same. The group that took Zocor noticed a reduction in their LDL cholesterol by 39%. The group that the supplements noticed a 42% drop in theirs.

It was also noted that the group who took the fish oil and red yeast rice supplements also lost on average about 10 pounds in 12 weeks. The group who took Zocor did not see any significant reduction in their weight.

The lead researchers are likely that the results of the study showed that taking supplements can reduce cholesterol levels if mixed with a proper diet and exercise regimen.

The researchers note that there needs to be a bigger, longer and more diverse trial that will be able to show long term benefits associated with the use of these supplements.