To chance and other naturalists,
Sorry to burst your bubble on red rice yeast, but it seems that the naturalists are the ones trying to make money on products that don’t work, not big Pharma. Here is a quote from Medicinenet:
“Small scale studies using pharmaceutical-grade red rice yeast have continued to demonstrate efficacy and safety. However, in the United States it is no longer legal to sell supplements of red yeast rice that contain more than trace amounts of cholesterol lowering substances. For example, the active ingredients of red rice yeast have been removed from Cholestin marketed in the United States. (Hypocol, another product containing red yeast rice is no longer being sold in the United States.)
The reasons the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has ruled that it is illegal to sell red yeast rice that contains more than trace amounts of the cholesterol-lowering substances and to promote red yeast rice for lowering cholesterol levels. Etc…”
Fish oil is good to use and many clinicians do prescribe it. As for Niacin (a B vitamin), even though it is sold over the counter and does work to lower your numbers, you should only take it if your doctor prescribes it. The reason is -it can have side effects and if your doctor puts you on it, he/she will monitor you for these possible problems!