How I Used Red Yeast Rice to Lower My Cholesterol (Even As I Did Not Know the Supplement’s Risks)
RED YEAST RICE IS CHOCK FULL OF MONACOLIN K, a substance that can lower your total blood cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL or “bad”) cholesterol, and triglycerides.
Red yeast rice’s potential benefits include the following:
- heart health improvements
- metabolic syndrome risk reduction
- decreased inflammation
- cancer risk reduction
While you may have only noticed the pills on your pharmacy or grocery store shelves recently, folks have known about the medicinal properties of red yeast rice for hundreds of years.
Chinese and Koreans have used red yeast rice to make alcoholic beverages and various fermented foods since ancient times. The Japanese have used it to produce tofuyo (Okinawan-style fermented tofu) in Japan since the 18th century.
To prepare Okinawa-style tofu, also known as shima-dofu, one ferments tofu in red yeast, rice malt, and awamori (an alcoholic beverage). Adding red yeast gives tofuyo its reddish color.
