Evidence: Reasonable Possible Benefits: Reasonable Safety: Low
TABLE OF CONTENTS
What is red yeast rice?
Red yeast rice is a naturally occurring statin made of fermented rice. It is commonly used for its cholesterol-lowering properties. This article is about the main benefits of red yeast rice, its potential side effects, the best time to take it, and more.
Possible benefits
All of the potential benefits mentioned below are dose-dependent. As with most other supplements, there is a sweet-spot dose that allows you to get most of the benefits without causing meaningful side effects or tolerance buildup in the body. We will discuss the best dosing protocol later in this article.
Major benefits
Improved cholesterol levels – As a statin, red yeast extract can greatly reduce LDL cholesterol and increase HDL cholesterol levels, especially in people with unhealthy levels of these blood lipids.
Minor benefits
Reduced risk of heart attack – This supplement was shown to reduce the risk of heart attack in people who are predisposed to it.
Possible side effects
The side effects below are dose-dependent. The risk for them increases (often linearly but sometimes exponentially) as you increase the dose. Some of the side effects only apply to very high doses.
Coenzyme Q10 depletion – Like other statins, red yeast extract can deplete levels of CoQ10, which can lead to various health problems. This side effect can be prevented by taking CoQ10.
Liver damage
Muscle pain
Muscle damage
Birth defects – Animal studies show that this statin may cause birth defects when taken by pregnant women.
Citrinin toxicity – Some red yeast rice products contain citrinin, a mycotoxin that can cause DNA damage and damage to kidneys and other organs, and has an LD50 in animals of 35mg/kg.
Allergic reaction – An allergy to this supplement is rare but possible.
Myopathies – Several case reports show people who take red yeast rice develop myopathies, a heterogeneous group of disorders primarily affecting skeletal muscle structure, metabolism, or channel function.
Contamination – Contaminated supplements are uncommon in the USA and other well-regulated countries. However, if you wish to buy products from China, India, or other countries without strict regulations, beware that the supplements may be contaminated. Either way, you need to choose the brand you order from wisely. Always read through some reviews for the specific product before you buy it. The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has the power to regulate dietary supplements but can only do so after they have been on the market for a while. That’s because supplement companies are not obligated to announce to the FDA when releasing a new product. The FDA has to discover the product and test it for potential impurities, which can take a lot of time. During that time, the supplement can be sold on the market even if it’s impure. Also, supplement companies can change their manufacturers without announcing it to the FDA.
Who should not take red yeast rice?
You should probably avoid taking red yeast rice if you:
experience a severe adverse reaction after taking the supplement
are pregnant or breastfeeding
Who will benefit the most?
You should consider taking the supplement if you:
have unhealthy cholesterol levels that don’t improve through other means
are predisposed to a heart attack
have a high budget for supplements and are willing to experiment with a variety of them (assuming you don’t fall into any of the categories that should avoid this supplement, red yeast rice appears relatively safe and is unlikely to do more harm than good for most people)
How much red yeast rice should you take?
The sweet spot dose typically ranges between 600-1200 mg daily for most people. This amount should provide most of the benefits without meaningful side effects.
The higher end of this range usually provides slightly more benefits in the short term. If you plan to take this supplement for a longer time (multiple months or years), the lower end is probably a better way to go since it is safer, and you would develop tolerance faster if you were to take higher doses.
The upper safety limit for this supplement is not well-established. To stay on the safe side, don’t take more than the recommended dose unless you have a great reason to do so. Higher amounts may cause problems if you take the supplement for a prolonged period.
Like most other supplements, it is best to cycle red yeast rice and take about two days off weekly to reset your tolerance. That will allow you to keep getting the benefits in the long term.
Best time to take red yeast rice
Red yeast rice is water-soluble, so you don’t have to take it with food to absorb it well.
Whether you take the supplement in the morning or the evening does not make much difference. Both options are fine so feel free to experiment.
Interactions
CoQ10 Many side effects caused by red yeast rice and other statins are related to the depletion of coenzyme Q10. Taking about 100 mg of CoQ10 together with statins can prevent the depletion and make statin use significantly safer in the long term. Combining the two can also have some additive benefits, such as an increase in HDL cholesterol.
Berberine Berberine may be synergistic with statins like red yeast extract as it reduces cholesterol levels through PCSK9 inhibition.
Omega 3 Omega 3 fatty acids may work synergistically with statins for improving cardiometabolic parameters.
Vitamin B3 Taking niacin with some statins may increase the risk of muscle damage in some people.
Vitamin K Statins can block the conversion of vitamin K1 and MK-7 to MK-4. If you are on stains, you will need to supplement with MK-4 instead of the other forms if you wish to reap the anti-cancer benefits of vitamin K.
Where to buy red yeast rice?
In most countries, Amazon is the best option for ordering red yeast rice supplements. They offer some very affordable products backed by many positive reviews. Also, you can choose from a wide range of brands without having to search through other markets on the Internet.
Some brands display the dosage per serving instead of per pill or capsule. Therefore, you may accidentally buy something less potent than you intended. Do not fall for this marketing trick.
FAQ
Like most other supplements, it is best to cycle red yeast rice and take a break from it for about two days per week to reset your tolerance back to baseline. That will keep your body sensitive to the supplement and allow you to keep getting the benefits in the long term.
All of these options are fine. The two most important things to consider are the price and dosing. Powders are almost always the cheapest form. However, you may need a highly accurate scale to dose them correctly (preferably 0.001g). You can get one for as little as $20 from Amazon. Dosing the powders also takes time which can add up over months or years. The disadvantage of capsules is that they are often made of bovine gelatine, which rarely comes from ethical sources.
Yes. Whether you take the supplement in the morning or the evening does not make much difference. Both options are fine so feel free to experiment.
This supplement should not become harmful once it exceeds the expiration date. However, it can lose potency over time. Keep this supplement in a cold, dark, and dry place so it remains as potent for many months or even years.
While acute toxicity is rare, taking very high amounts of this supplement could lead to various problems over time. High doses can also make you develop tolerance much faster than lower doses.
While you could safely take higher doses, there is usually no point in taking more than 1200 mg daily. This amount should give you most of the benefits without meaningful side effects.
The half-life of red yeast rice in the body is about 2-5 hours. This supplement gets metabolized within 20 hours after you consume it. However, most of the effects of this supplement are cumulative, so they mainly happen in the long term rather than acutely. Therefore, the half-life of this supplement isn’t very relevant in practice.
In the long term, you must take the supplement for about 2-4 weeks to begin noticing most of the benefits.
Yes, red yeast rice is vegan-friendly. If you buy the supplement in a capsulated form, beware that the capsules often contain animal-based gelatin. Instead, find a brand that puts its products into cellulose capsules.
No, it does not. The supplement should not interfere with fasting in any significant way. However, you still want to take the supplement with food as it will absorb better.
References
Most of the information in this guide is based on scientific research that can be found and verified in the PubMed medical library. We highly encourage you to use the library to verify anything you read in this article. We excluded from consideration studies that are either confounded or have a high conflict of interest.
