Red Yeast Rice: Not Your Best Bet for a Natural Statin Alternative By Janet Bond Brill, Ph.D., R.D., LDN NABBW’s Healthy Heart Lifestyle Expert Red yeast rice, or red yeast, is a substance produced naturally during the fermentation of the yeast Monascus purpureus by certain fungi that grow on rice. The medicinal use of red yeast rice dates back to a.d. 800, during the Tang dynasty in China, when red yeast rice was ingested primarily as a remedy for digestive ills. Present-day use of red yeast rice continues in Asia as both a culinary staple and for its healing properties. The deep red... Read More