Red yeast rice is traditionally made by soaking grains of rice in water until saturated.
It is then fermented with Monascus purpureus yeast, which turns the rice a bright
reddish purple color. The fully cultured rice is then either sold as the dried grain
or pulverized to a fine powder. It may be prepared and eaten in the same manner as
white rice or it can be used to color a wide variety of food products, including pickled
tofu, red rice vinegar, and Peking duck. In addition to culinary uses, red yeast rice
has also been used in traditional Chinese medicine to improve circulation, relieve
gastrointestinal distress, and prevent diarrhea (
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References
- The Health Professional's Guide to Popular Dietary Supplements.Third Edition (online only). American Dietetic Association, Chicago, IL2010
- (Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database Web site) (Accessed November 29, 2010)
- Cardiovascular Nutrition: Disease Management and Prevention.American Dietetic Association, Chicago, IL2004
- Tolerability of red yeast rice (2,400 mg twice daily) versus pravastatin (20 mg twice daily) in patients with previous statin intolerance.Am J Cardiol. 2010; 105: 198-204
- Marked variability of monacolin levels in commercial red yeast rice products: Buyer beware!.Arch Intern Med. 2010; 170: 1722-1727
- Sifting through the research on supplements.J Am Diet Assoc. 2007; 107: 912-914
Article info
Footnotes
This article was written by Eleese Cunningham, RD, of the American Dietetic Association's Knowledge Center Team, Chicago, IL. ADA members can contact the Knowledge Center by sending an e-mail to [email protected]
Identification
Copyright
© 2011 American Dietetic Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
