Red yeast rice has a warning with Biaxin... please see the post above.

Maybe, but the effects on my blood lipid profile has been to put them right on target. Granted, I'm doing other good things to control my cardiac risks, but nothing I tried for a two year period brought my HDL level up until starting the red yeast rice. And, I take the less than minimal recommended dose of 1200 mg. twice a day (I take 600 mg. twice a day).

I think we're in agreement that anything you eat or drink poses risks, especially herbs which contain bioactive alkaloids. Since the action of red yeast rice is similar to statins, and the active ingredients are a mixture of statins and statinlike compounds, the same precautions should be followed as in taking statin drugs.

The example you posted of muscle destruction was in a recent kidney transplant patient. It's unlikely that red yeast rice in reasonable dosage poses a risk of muscle destruction to most of us. Large populations in China eat red yeast rice in the amounts of 30,000 mg. to 200,000 mg. a day as part of their normal diet without ill effect.

I'm concerned that this rather esoteric discussion will dissuade people from taking red yeast rice, which can be life saving for them and is effective and much safer for people with PN and fibromyalgia and is less expensive than pure statin drugs.

My first Cariologist years ago insisted I take one of the first statins,
one that was taken off the market i believe..I had just started seeking
my new GP I told her I had polyneuorapathys and since being put
on this statins i hurt much more.. She told me to get off after reading
the other Drs. remarks on the computer...

This Cariologist sent me a note it got to my house the day before I was
to see her. Dear Patient I am moving my prictice to somewhere
bla bla...She was in the beginning of a lawsuit,I found out later.
She had insisted a ederly prominnent paient take that stupid statin.
then there was 2 and so on.

My neuro was worried about me taking them and saie she would speak
to my GP.. She tried 2 more then stopped..Now I come from a long
line of family members with high choestorol..So I went on the oatmeal,
cheerios and good diet. She is very open minded,I will copy and take
this to read and well as my neuro who it going crazy with her
shattlered leg. Thanks all Hugs Sue

with all due respect.... I don't think little reductions in cholesterol do much of anything.

The food grade red yeast rice is vastly different from the red yeast rice of today that targets cholesterol. They are just not the same.

Cyclosporine used in transplants is always problematic. In fact it interacts with St.John's Wort also, which is also an herb. The fact that rhabdo did occur means that certain medical conditions with their drug therapies, do interact with herbal products. Red yeast rice is not so innocuous, it capable of that.
Herbs are mini drugs...and should be treated with that respect.

If you believe that you have to lower your cholesterol to a TARGET, that means you believe what the drug companies have created.
And belief is a strong thing in medicine. Just remember the older you get, the more protective cholesterol is. (not the reverse).

I personally believe that cholesterol rises as we age because we make less sex/steroid hormones that use cholesterol as a precursor. Also the compound in the skin that makes Vit D...is cholesterol based. Lower that and you lower Vit D conversion in the skin.

Cholesterol is really important to the body. Why would a feedback for it exist unless it was very important. If you drastically reduce cholesterol intake, the liver will increase production of it. So you have a set point of sorts built right into you. That is why diet doesn't do much for modifying cholesterol levels.

Well, I can bow out of this debate for now, because RYR is definitely contraindicated with biaxin, which I"m going to be on for 3 months.

But I have written to NOW to ask about their manufacturing. Haven't heard back yet.

I bought the brand that wings was using, NOW, and took it for several weeks, and had a decline in cholesterol--both the good and the bad. Then I read this, and realized two things: it might come from China, in which case I can't trust the quality control, and it interacts with my antibiotic.

I went to the iherb site and looked it up, and NOW described it as "manufactured exclusively in Japan." So I wrote to NOW and asked them where the ingredients came from, and they told me: China.

So, those who are wary of drugs from China, might want to be wary of this one. And anyone taking it should google on drug interactions and their meds + lovostatin, to make sure they won't have a drug interaction.

I'm so glad this thread was started. Thank you all.

I wouldn't trust anything from China right now. You never hear what happens to their people over there as a result of their greedy and sloppy manufacturing techniques.. The crap they try to slip by us: pet food, meds, toys, who knows what else...

Every year, hubby takes a big load of high school boys to some far off place in the boonies. In about 25 years, he never has had trouble filling his trip-fills within a day or two of announcing it... 30-40 kids...

This year was supposed to be China... Nine kids signed up...

Cathie

If you bought the NOW with CoQ-10... I think the "Japan" refers to the CoQ-10 only.
That is the most bioavailable form.
I personally think that the RYR that is being used for cholesterol control is
being purified and selected for the certain ingredients, and grown in vats for that effect. It may turn out that all of the purified forms will show higher lovastatin content. And as long as FDA restricts lovastatin from OTC status it will seize and remove forms that are high in this ingredient.

My major complaint about RYR is that it does contain lovastatin. And recent research shows that statin type drugs affect mitochondrial
functions negatively. Using a statin in any form, then places you at risk for damage, of this type. This paper was posted on Parkinson's.
You can search there to find it.

China will continue to be a huge player in manufacturing all drugs/vitamins/herbs as long as they can produce it cheaper than anyone else. You would be hard pressed to find synthetic vitamin C that has been produced in the US or Europe. I do think there are reputable manufacturers in China that we don't hear about because they are not news worthy. However, that does nothing to instill confidence in the consumer as long as these contamination problems continue. Our government and the businesses who have outsourced their manufacturing are also accountable for the quality of products they bring into this country.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm...itamins03.html

LizaJane....Your suggestion to research all of your drugs for interactions is crucial. Most people do not realize how dangerous antibiotics can be to your body even when you are not taking any other medications. Many think digestive issues are the only side effects to be concerned about. Most doctors do not spend any time talking to you about potential risks. I think, in part, is that they themselves are only aware of a few common side effects.

http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/arti...ZER-ADS-DC.XML