Red yeast rice has been proven to be very effective at controlling and reducing levels of high cholesterol. Studies have shown that this over-the-counter supplement was as effective as statins when it comes to the reduction of cholesterol. The reason why red yeast rice was so effective is that it contained a natural ingredient called lovastatin which is the same as statin drugs. Statin drugs are all originally derived from yeast products and the lovastatin in red yeast rice occurs naturally. However, when the Food and Drug Administration FDA found out that that red yeast rice contains a substance that is regulated, the product was banned, unless the lovastatin was removed from it.
The red yeast rice products that still contained lovastatin were banned and taken off the market. The ones that were left were nowhere as effective, as they were missing a key ingredient. The FDA did some investigation and realize that there were still red yeast rice products that contained lovastatins. It was then that an warning was issued to consumers to avoid those products.
Right now the red yeast rice products available in the United States are not effective at reducing cholesterol. If an individual is interested in a way to reduce their cholesterol levels they should speak to their doctor about generic statin drugs. These drugs can be very effective in treating high cholesterol levels and they can be controlled more effectively by the doctor.