RED RICE FOR CHOLESTEROL: DOES IT WORK?
Let’s start with a curiosity: the red rice from which monacolin K, an active ingredient useful to reduce cholesterol levels in the blood, is extracted, is not red. This statement may come as a surprise, but in reality, medical purpose red rice is “built” with natural systems, starting from common white rice.
In China, fermented red rice has been used since ancient times to color food, especially meat, fish and soy foods. In several ancient texts of Chinese medicine, it is mentioned as a remedy improving blood circulation, spleen function and digestion, healing bruises and injuries, and used in case of diarrhea.
More recent studies coming from both China and Europe have shown that, in fact, red leavened rice has the greatest therapeutic effect by reducing cholesterol levels. Hypercholesterolemia has a very high epidemiology and is an important cardiovascular risk factor, especially in western countries.
Fortunately, in recent years, it has become possible to approach this pathology with natural aids such as food supplements, including Treacor, which combines monacolin K berberine and milk thistle, making it one of the most valid and effective remedies against cholesterol.
Red rice and cholesterol: what does science say?
Fermented red rice, according to Chinese tradition, is obtained from common rice (Oryza sativa L.) which, after being steamed, is fermented by adding Monascus Purpureus mushroom, “red yeast”, which, during the fermentation process, produces the pigments which cause this natural product’s characteristic colour.
M. purpureus is the only mushroom whose use is accepted for the fermentation of medical purpose rice, as reported in the International Pharmacopoeia.
In fact, the chemicals identified in fermented red rice are more than a hundred, but monacolin is the one to which it’s curative activity is attributed. Some other substances present are:
- organic acids
- polyunsaturated fatty acids
- sterols
- polysaccharides
- flavonoids
- lignans
More than 20 monacolin have been identified, the most important and studied of them being monacolin K. Its chemical structure is identical to that of lovastatin, a synthetic drug belonging to the statin class, used for high cholesterol treatment.
Monacolin K, like lovastatin, carries out its hypocholesterolemizing action by inhibiting the HMG-CoA reductase enzyme, which is present mainly in the liver and regulates the biosynthesis of cholesterol, consequently blocking its endogenous production. Basically, it’s like closing the tap of internal cholesterol production.
A major clinical study conducted on 5,000 patients (Effect of Xuezhikang, an Extract From Red Yeast Chinese Rice, on Coronary Events in a Chinese Population With Previous Myocardial Infarction – American Journal of Cardiology) has produced significant results regarding the use of monacolin k from red fermented rice:
- Total cholesterol -10.9%
- LDL cholesterol -17.6% (bad col.)
- HDL cholesterol + 4.2% (good col.)
Fermented red rice: side effects and contraindications
Red fermented rice supplements are generally very well tolerated. However, to avoid misuse, given the possibility of freely purchasing it, the Ministry of Health has preferred to place some limitations, only giving more strength to the effectiveness of this active ingredient.
Monacolin K may, in very rare cases, give the same side effects as chemical statins, namely moderate gastrointestinal discomfort and muscle pain, but the incidence of these possible effects is hundreds of times lower than the percentages of 15% reached by latest generation chemical statins.
The Ministry of Health recommends that women who are pregnant or breastfeeding, children under the age of 18 and adults over the age of 70 should not take monacolin K. The ban for pregnant women and minors is only because there have been no studies for those groups, while the ban for people over 70 is caused by the assumption of them being in a weaker age group and therefore more exposed to possible effects on muscles.
However, it is always best to consult a doctor before consuming fermented red rice.
Red rice for cholesterol: the synergistic approach of Treacor
Treacor is not just fermented red rice. This product’s composition is based on principles of scientific evidence and efficiency, and brings together innovative biotechnologies.
Treacor, in fact, is the union of:
- Monacolin K, the active ingredient extracted from fermented red rice which inhibits the HMG-CoA reductase enzyme responsible for the production of cholesterol in the liver. This makes it so that the production of endogenous cholesterol is limited.
- Berberine, a phytotherapeutic agent that, like monacolin, reduces LDL cholesterol levels, but does so by inhibiting the action of PCSK9, a gene able to modulate plasma cholesterol levels. An increase in its activity leads to a reduction of the hepatic receptors for LDL-Col, and a consequent increase of the plasma levels of the latter. Berberine is very effective but poorly bioavailable in the human body. For this reason, in TREACOR, milk thistle, whose active ingredient is silymarin, has been added.
- Silymarin also provides liver benefits related to the synthesis of liver proteins, so it has an incisiveness even at a therapeutic level and is a powerful purifying of the liver itself.
The composition is completed by Vitamin D3, which reduces cardiovascular risk, lowering levels of total Homocysteine and PCR.
How and when should you take fermented red rice?
The best time to take it is in the evening, after dinner: this way the effectiveness is enhanced by interacting on the metabolic parameters of hepatic activities. The recommended dosage is 1 tablet per day if monacolin dosages are appropriate, that is to say 3 mg per dose.
Treacor, like all cholesterol-reducing products, should be taken for an indefinite time period, as these are active ingredients that do not act by removing the cause of the disease, which remains unknown.
In the case of Treacor, which has the maximum doses allowed by the Ministry of Health, the intake is 1 tablet at night. It is advisable, in any case, to accompany the intake of Treacor with a healthy lifestyle and a proper diet.
EIDON salus and nutraceutical innovation
The efforts and studies of EIDON salus have always been devoted to the composition of food supplements, based on the fundamental assumption that some pathologies can be treated effectively with natural drugs, without chemical principles and with the help, if anything, of natural biotechnologies.
This is what has been done with Treacor, whose composition certainly represents an innovation in the field of modern nutraceuticals thanks to the synergistic and highly effective action of monacolin K, berberine, milk thistle and vitamin D3.
Treacor is important in reducing cholesterol, with all the benefits that come with it, such as reducing cardiovascular risk and the chance of going through dramatic events like a stroke or a heart attack.
It is important to take care of your heart’s health through an informed and aware approach: now you know how.
