what is the 'situation' about red yeast for cholestrol lowering?

Question: This is really confusing...years ago there was this product being sold over the counter by Phamanex called Cholestine. It was very effective to lower my cholestrol levels.Then there was some law suite i guess by the FDA and it was taken off the market. Now I see that Costco is offering a product in tablet form called Red Yeast and I went to yahoo search and I see that red yeast is being sold as a 'supplement'. But it is mentioning also about the Cholestine that cannot be sold and also that red yeast does have what the statin drugs have in it,so any red yeast only should be taken under a doctor's guidance. So this is all confusing..is it or isn't it ok to take over the counter..and is it or isn't it actually a drug?

Answers:
My mother has very high cholestrol and did not want to go on prescription medication for the condition and looked for other natural alternatives and found red yeast. Basically there is a battle going on right now regarding red yeast. Because it is so effective, several large pharmaceutical companies have put pressure on the FDA and other agencies to take the product off the market. They want to sell it on their own and charge much more for it than you would in its supplement form right now. Also the FDA is worried, because supplements are not regulated, that people would us the product carelessly. I would recommend using it in conjunction with doctor's visits, and if your cholestrol goes down to a normal level, then go off the red yeast for a while, while you are monitoring your levels. Good luck!

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I HAVE A FRIEND WHO TOOK THIS. AND IT REALLY HELPED. GOT FROM A VITAMIN CATALOG. BUT HE HAS A TEST EVERY FEW MONTHS TO TEST HIS BLOOD. DOESN'T WANT TO; GET IT TOO LOW. GOOD LUCK.

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