Q. I wanted to add my two cents to the advice you gave to a person who wanted to lower his cholesterol naturally.
I have had tremendous success using a natural substance derived from red rice yeast. My own cholesterol reading went from 229 to 179 in less than a year.
My doctor has been advised that I take this and of course he checks my liver function during my annual physical. I thought others might benefit.
Red Yeast Rice
A. Many readers agree with you that taking red yeast rice (or red rice yeast, if you prefer) is a simple, natural technique for lowering cholesterol. This yeast contains natural compounds similar to statin medications, so it is appropriate to be alert for possible statin side effects as well as for the potential benefits. Side effects are less common with red yeast rice than with statin drugs, but they do occur sometimes. We have written about that topic here.
We are glad that you have discussed this with your doctor. It is important for health care providers to know what herbs and supplements a patient might be taking, so that they can be alert for possible interactions with prescribed medicines.
Other Options
There are quite a few other approaches that also offer natural ways for lowering cholesterol. One of the simplest is to cut sugar, flour and foods made with sugar and flour from the diet-ease up on the cookies, crackers, pancakes, pretzels and pizza.
Vital Vinegar
Another is to conclude most meals with a salad dressed with vinaigrette. It’s easy to make and might be easier to take than trying to swallow spoonsful of apple cider vinegar to get cholesterol down. That approach does work for some folks, though. You can read about it here.
Other options include taking psyllium, sold as psyllium husk or under several brand names. The most familiar one is Metamucil.
You can learn lots more about cholesterol control in our book, Best Choices From The People’s Pharmacy. Be sure to read the appendix by Laura Effel, “How I Lowered My LDL Cholesterol 44 Points in 5 Weeks Without Drugs.” Her no-nonsense approach should be useful and easy for anyone to adopt.
