Safety · Supplement
Red Yeast Rice: side effects, safety & interactions
Statin-class risks (myopathy, liver enzymes) plus contamination and dose-variability concerns. The same interactions as
- Overall grade
- Grade B
- Last revised
- 0
- graded outcomes
- 0
- references listed
Assembled by the app from other entries in this library. It adds no evidence of its own — follow the links to the entries it draws on.
What is uncertain
Read off the same rows as above. Nothing here is added that the entry does not itself record.
- Watch with Coenzyme Q10: Like all statins, lowers CoQ10.
The evidence in words
Safety profile
Statin-class risks (myopathy, liver enzymes) plus contamination and dose-variability concerns. The same interactions as statins apply, including CoQ10 depletion.
Interactions to respect
Coenzyme Q10 — Like all statins, lowers CoQ10.
What Red Yeast Rice is
Red yeast rice is fermented rice containing monacolin K, which is chemically identical to the prescription statin lovastatin. It is a drug wearing a supplement label.
The honest bottom line
It works because it's a statin — which means it carries statin risks with none of the dose control. If you want the effect, a prescribed statin is the safer, cheaper path.
Related reading
Entries that share this one's tags or conditions.
- Bergamot (Citrus Bergamia): side effects, safety & interactionsGenerally safe; theoretical additive effect with statins.Evidence grade C
- Artichoke Leaf Extract: side effects, safety & interactionsGenerally safe; caution with bile-duct obstruction.Evidence grade C
- Berberine: side effects, safety & interactionsGI upset is common. Treat it as a drug: additive hypoglycemia with diabetes medication, CYP-mediated interactions, and aEvidence grade B
- Chlorella: side effects, safety & interactionsGenerally safe; GI upset early; vitamin-K content matters for warfarin; possible photosensitivity.Evidence grade C
Sources
This entry lists no references of its own — it is assembled from the entries it links to, whose sources are on their pages.
Last revised . A grade is this entry's reading of the evidence, not medical advice.