Red yeast rice has been used in China for centuries to make rice wine, to color and flavor foods such as Peking duck and as a health promoting food. It is prepared by fermenting a type of yeast (Monascus purpureus) over rice. Red yeast rice is a complex product that contains several active ingredients including monacolins. Monacolins act as HMG-CoA inhibitors. HMG-CoA reductase is an enzyme that enhance make cholesterol. By blocking its cholesterol producing action, the natural compounds in red yeast rice can enhance you maintain cholesterol levels that are within the normal range. A double blind clinical trial using red yeast rice and placebo with 80 human subjects was conducted at UCLA. After eight weeks with no changes in diet composition the group taking red yeast rice maintained healthy cholesterol levels.

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The Liver and Cholesterol
The amount of cholesterol you consume in food is not the most important factor for regulating normal cholesterol levels. The liver manufactures approximately 80% of total body cholesterol while the other 20% comes from dietary sources. Our bodies require cholesterol but we can also get too much of it. Cholesterol is only harmful to us if it becomes oxidized. Oxidized cholesterol can cause damage to tissues and accumulate in blood vessels. Balancing the cholesterol produced by your liver is critical to your total cholesterol and your cardiovascular health.

Natural Support For Your Heart
Nature provides us with special compounds that allow us to explore safe alternatives to support our health. Taking personal responsibility for your health is at the heart of the wellness revolution. Changing your lifestyle is one of the most effective ways to take that responsibility and provide support and protection for your heart. A diet low in cholesterol, saturated fats and trans-fatty acids, and high in complex carbohydrates and fiber is important. Exercise regularly, quit smoking and supplement your diet with heart-healthy compounds such as red yeast rice, CoQ10, folic acid, garlic, omega-3 fatty acids, carnitine, hawthorn berry extract, arginine, vitamin E and tocotrienols.

Source Naturals Red yeast rice is standardized to 1.5% mixed mevinolinic acid monacolins. This standardization process provides you with the assurance that you are getting a consistent concentration of these compounds in each dose. Red yeast rice is part of Source Natural’s extensive line of products cientifically formulated to provide support for your cardiovascular health.

References:
Heber, David. Cholesterol-lowering effects of a proprietary Chinese red-yeast-rice dietary supplement.
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1999: 69(2):231-236.
Zhu Y, Li CL, Wang YY, Zhu JS, Chang J,Kritchevsky D. Monascus purpureus (red yeast): a natural product that lowers blood cholesterol in animal models of hypercholesterolemia. Nutr Res 1998; 18:71-81.
Medical Encyclopedia. Medlineplus Health Information. U.S. National Library of a substance used in managing discofort and the National Institutes of Health, 2003 [October 22, 2003].