Can you use red yeast rice with carbadopa/levodopa to lower cholesterol? Is it safe to use?

[Smittybear7]

Trying to lower cholesterol. Is it safe to use red yeast rice with Carbidopa levodopa? I don't want to take statins. Thanks for your help!

[CaseyInsights]

I see you still do not understand that the issue of heart problems is not with 'high cholesterol' as you are still trying to lower it, though without the use of statins.

It may be best to get an idea of what cholesterol is and how it operates in the body rather than swallow 'wholesale' the dogma that 'high cholesterol' is bad for you. Here is one video among many that are available on YouTube that gives you an insight into the issue.

In this video, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, a cardiologist, discusses cholesterol and why cholesterol is blamed for heart disease and the real reason why heart artery narrowing happen.

youtu.be/4GW_K5HbiVI(Not working as expected?)

[Smittybear7 in reply to CaseyInsights]

Thanks for sharing this information. My family has a history of high cholesterol. I'm in the process of tracking down my 6 siblings information. My dad had 5 bypasses and my mom had high cholesterol. Mine is 264,HDL 53,LDL 198,TRIGLYCERIDES 77. Iv heard red yeast rice can lower cholesterol but can also have side effects and negative interaction with drugs and supplements. Your thoughts and again Thank you

[CaseyInsights in reply to Smittybear7]

I understand the fear. Good luck in your search

😱

[chartist in reply to Smittybear7]

The general process that Dr. Gupta is describing is atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is a main component of cardiovascular disease (CVD), the number one killer of people in the world. Atherosclerosis is an age related disease, like PD. With age comes the decline of melatonin. With that same age increase comes the increase of age related diseases :

healthunlocked.com/cure-par...

Dr. Gupta mentioned that increased inflammation is abrasive to the interior of the blood vessels and deteriorates the endothelium creating areas where fat can deposit and buildup essentially narrowing the area where the blood flows inside the blood vessels. Melatonin works against atherosclerosis by inhibiting oxidative stress and inflammation that is deteriorating the endothelium or Teflon non stick coating that Dr. Gupta used as his example in the video. Melatonin is effective at doing this and has shown the potential to ameliorate atherosclerosis as shown in the following study :

hindawi.com/journals/omcl/2...

Here is a relevant quote from the study :

>>> ' Collectively, our study revealed that melatonin prevented atherosclerotic progression via the blockage of NLRP3 inflammasome activation and inflammatory factor secretion, which was a novel mechanism of melatonin against AS. Melatonin induced Sirt3/FOXO3/Parkin-mediated mitophagy and decreased mitochondrial ROS production, thereby attenuating NLRP3 inflammasome activation in macrophages. Taken together, our study provides novel insight into melatonin as a new target for therapeutic intervention for AS. ' <<<

Melatonin is a potential solution to the problem of atherosclerosis by inhibiting the oxidative stress and inflammation that is causing it. Melatonin through its multiple mechanisms of action protects the endothelium(Teflon non-stick coating) in the blood vessels and heart. This huge feature of melatonin is reason enough to consider its use. Melatonin also has modest cholesterol lowering effects :

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/291....

Here is a relevant study quote :

>>> ' Melatonin supplementation has significant effects on triglycerides and total cholesterol levels, which was more evident in higher dose and longer duration and also in a higher concentration of cholesterol levels. ' <<<

I am not sure why doctors don't recommend melatonin for their CVD patients, but studies suggest that they should because melatonin can potentially be a preventative and a treatment for same.

Art

[Smittybear7 in reply to chartist]

I'll bring that up at my next appointment. I appreciate all your time and effort. I guess I am really frustrated and grasping for answers.

[chartist in reply to Smittybear7]

If you are going to take red yeast rice as a means to avoid statins and to lower cholesterol, you should be aware that red yeast rice is essentially a statin too, as outlined here :

webmd.com/cholesterol-manag...

Art

[Smittybear7 in reply to chartist]

Thanks for the help. The nutritionist/pharmacist I work with thinks that there's less of a problem with red yeast rice but I have also red the caution. I just hope I don't have a problem. The other concern is the interaction with all the systems and cl and baclofen..

[chartist in reply to Smittybear7]

Yes, I wouldn't use melatonin and baclofen together as they can both have sedative effects and both can cause drowsiness. If you are looking for an alternative to statins to lower cholesterol, I have seen benefit with two tablespoons of lecithin granules per day.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl....

A quote from the study :

>>> ' In this work, soy lecithin effect on the serum cholesterol concentration was evaluated. The results showed a decrease of 40.65% and 42.60% in total cholesterol and 42.65% and 56.11% in LDL cholesterol, one and two months after administration, respectively. The results of this study are in line with studies of soy protein as a whole; there is no work in literature on the isolated effect of lecithin. ' <<<

Art

[Smittybear7 in reply to chartist]

That was suggested as a follow up to red yeast rice.Not sure what to do since I started the red yeast rice yesterday. I don't know how to switch at this point. I guess because my numbers are so high they felt the yeast would work better. Still trying to see if there are any interactions with all the supplements and the yeast, carbadopa/levodopa and baclofen. I hope I haven't gotten myself into a mess thanks again for your help

[Boscoejean]

here is a link where you can enter the name of a medication, a supplement, etc and it tells you if there are interactions

reference.medscape.com/drug...

[Smittybear7 in reply to Boscoejean]

Thanks

[GrandNan]

Good morning ~ our Dr recommended Berberine. But, he said the only brand which was safe AND effective is :

Integrative Therapeucics, Berberine HCI, 500 mg

And I agree with what all has been said above. Try eating more whole fruits and veggies, taking an enteric coated garlic supplement + 2-3 grams (2,000 - 3,000 mg) of Vit C daily , spread out at meals

[Sydney75 in reply to GrandNan]

Does work but can cause gastric upset over time. May need to take a break every six weeks or so.

[Smittybear7]

Thanks