Is red yeast rice (statin) safe ?

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RJT
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Is red yeast rice (statin) safe ?

Post by RJT »

Hi
I am new in this forum, I am 52 years old, 80 % vegetarian the other 20 % I am eating fish twice a week, I do not eat proccesed food at all, not flours, grains, sugar, i am eating real organic nongmo food, 123 pounds, 5 7, bmi 20, apoe3/4, homocysteine 9.3 (I have mutated the genes) I do not know at this point if it's coming from my mom or dad side, I guess from my mom side because her father got arteriosclerosis and died at 65 the other three grand parents after 90 year old so its obvious. I've been visiting so many doctors and spent a lot of money from dr.fuhrman, naturopath to finally two functional doctors and at the end after trying different treatment the conclusion was you need to take red yeast rice to drop your Ldl-p and reduce the risk of coronary disease . Obviously my total cholesterol is a little high 221 , ldl-c 148 and HDL 58 but my ldl-p more than 2400, my question is knowing the statins side effects Do apoe3/4 or 4/4 take statins redude the risk of AD and heart disease? Is there another way to avoid statins to normalize or decrease the risk? I read Dr bredesen protocol, I also read that high doses of folate and b12 cause cancer. I like this forum, I found it so useful , Thank you!
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CarrieS
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Re: Is red yeast rice (statin) safe ?

Post by CarrieS »

RJT wrote:Hi
I am new in this forum, I am 52 years old, 80 % vegetarian the other 20 % I am eating fish twice a week, I do not eat proccesed food at all, not flours, grains, sugar, i am eating real organic nongmo food, 123 pounds, 5 7, bmi 20, apoe3/4, homocysteine 9.3 (I have mutated the genes) I do not know at this point if it's coming from my mom or dad side, I guess from my mom side because her father got arteriosclerosis and died at 65 the other three grand parents after 90 year old so its obvious. I've been visiting so many doctors and spent a lot of money from dr.fuhrman, naturopath to finally two functional doctors and at the end after trying different treatment the conclusion was you need to take red yeast rice to drop your Ldl-p and reduce the risk of coronary disease . Obviously my total cholesterol is a little high 221 , ldl-c 148 and HDL 58 but my ldl-p more than 2400, my question is knowing the statins side effects Do apoe3/4 or 4/4 take statins redude the risk of AD and heart disease? Is there another way to avoid statins to normalize or decrease the risk? I read Dr bredesen protocol, I also read that high doses of folate and b12 cause cancer. I like this forum, I found it so useful , Thank you!
Hello RJT and welcome to the community!
I am not qualified to answer your questions about statins but can direct you to our incredible Wiki and this entry Cholesterol, Lipids and Treatments, including statins. Red Yeast Rice is included here. You can also search the forum for previous threads about statins and red yeast rice by clicking on the "spyglass" icon to the left of your name and typing in a word or two. I'd like to also direct you to the Wiki again to a post titled How To Get The Most Out Of The APOe4.info Website. It's a jewel of a resource full of valuable information to help this website be even more useful to you!
APOe4/4
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Gillyp
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Re: Is red yeast rice (statin) safe ?

Post by Gillyp »

A warm welcome to the community RJT. It sounds like you've done a great job focusing in on nutrition. Food can be so powerful. I can't help you with your question about statins but I see from CarrieS' post that she has given you some good posts to check out. I hope you find them helpful. If you get any insights please share them with the community. We are here to support and learn from one another. Again, welcome.
ND, Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach
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slacker
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Re: Is red yeast rice (statin) safe ?

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RJT wrote:Hi
I am new in this forum, I am 52 years old, 80 % vegetarian the other 20 % I am eating fish twice a week, I do not eat proccesed food at all, not flours, grains, sugar, i am eating real organic nongmo food, 123 pounds, 5 7, bmi 20, apoe3/4, homocysteine 9.3 (I have mutated the genes) I do not know at this point if it's coming from my mom or dad side, I guess from my mom side because her father got arteriosclerosis and died at 65 the other three grand parents after 90 year old so its obvious. I've been visiting so many doctors and spent a lot of money from dr.fuhrman, naturopath to finally two functional doctors and at the end after trying different treatment the conclusion was you need to take red yeast rice to drop your Ldl-p and reduce the risk of coronary disease . Obviously my total cholesterol is a little high 221 , ldl-c 148 and HDL 58 but my ldl-p more than 2400, my question is knowing the statins side effects Do apoe3/4 or 4/4 take statins redude the risk of AD and heart disease? Is there another way to avoid statins to normalize or decrease the risk? I read Dr bredesen protocol, I also read that high doses of folate and b12 cause cancer.
Welcome RJT; it sounds like you have already been on quite a journey. Since I don't know the specifics of your interventions so far, you may have already tried what I would like to suggest.

First, in Dr Stavia's Primer, she states
GLYCAEMIC CONTROL TRUMPS LIPIDS, EVERY TIME
How is your glycemic control? There is a chapter in the Primer covering this.

Second, are you familiar with Dr Gundry's work? We have members who follow his approach, including two who have done very well. These two have been incredibly generous in sharing transcripts of their appointments with him. If interested, you can find more about Dr Gundry in our wiki.

I know of members who take statins to reduce risk of heart disease. I do not think there are any conclusive studies that prove that statins decrease risk of AD. You are welcome to share references with us for more discussion.

As far as cancer risk with high doses of folate and B12, it sounds like there is a possible tipping point between too much and not enough. Each individual has to navigate through these areas of uncertainty with curiosity and humility.
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RJT
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Re: Is red yeast rice (statin) safe ?

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Thank you for your answer!!! at one point it's hard to find a solution that works, these are my last blood test results Triglycerides=88, Total cholesterol 230, Direct LDL-C 169, HDL-C 66, non HDL-C 164, ApoB 119, LDL-P 2189, sdLDL-C 33, Lp(a) <15 ApoA-1 173 , HbA1c 5.4, Insulin 2, I am not IR. I am 85 % vegan, I am eating fish (salmon or Cod) and scallops (as Dr. Grundy suggests), nuts (almonds and walnut) 1/2 hand per day, fermented vegetable like kimchi. I am not eating grains, sugar, processed food, any kind of saturated fat only the ones are included in the nuts but they have a small amount. My lunch is a big salad with hemp, sun flower seed, 1/2 cup of black bean (I cooked them following Dr. Grundy recommendation) with olive oil and apple vinegar . My body fat is 11 % and internal fat 1 %, BMI=20. All the food that I consume is organic and non-gmo. So basically I do not know what else I need to cut or reduce or add to reduce the LDL-P. I appreciate so much your comments
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slacker
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Re: Is red yeast rice (statin) safe ?

Post by slacker »

RJT wrote:Thank you for your answer!!! at one point it's hard to find a solution that works, these are my last blood test results Triglycerides=88, Total cholesterol 230, Direct LDL-C 169, HDL-C 66, non HDL-C 164, ApoB 119, LDL-P 2189, sdLDL-C 33, Lp(a) <15 ApoA-1 173 , HbA1c 5.4, Insulin 2, I am not IR. I am 85 % vegan, I am eating fish (salmon or Cod) and scallops (as Dr. Grundy suggests), nuts (almonds and walnut) 1/2 hand per day, fermented vegetable like kimchi. I am not eating grains, sugar, processed food, any kind of saturated fat only the ones are included in the nuts but they have a small amount. My lunch is a big salad with hemp, sun flower seed, 1/2 cup of black bean (I cooked them following Dr. Grundy recommendation) with olive oil and apple vinegar . My body fat is 11 % and internal fat 1 %, BMI=20. All the food that I consume is organic and non-gmo. So basically I do not know what else I need to cut or reduce or add to reduce the LDL-P. I appreciate so much your comments
There appears to be little consensus on importance of LDL-P. CarrieS suggested reading the cholesterol chapter in our wiki in her prior post to you in this topic/thread. This wiki chapter is a good summary of the discussion we have had on this subject on the website.
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