The ONE Supplement I NEVER Recommend

Dear Reader,

I don’t make any apologies for it – I’m a supplements guy.

I’ve been recommending nutritional supplements to my patients for years.

And my personal medicine cabinet is full of them.

But that doesn’t mean I love everything that’s out there.

In fact, a supplement I’ve been warning my patients about for years has just made the news – and not the “good” kind of news.

That’s because this supplement is practically identical to one of the most dangerous heart meds around.

And every time you swallow a pill, you could be getting a MUCH larger dose than you bargained for.

The supplement I’m talking about is red yeast rice.

It’s been hailed for its heart-healthy benefits over the years, primarily because it’s been found to help lower blood pressure and cholesterol.

You might even be taking it yourself, thinking you’re doing something good by going the “natural route” to lower cholesterol instead of getting a prescription for a statin drug.

Well I have bad news for you… Taking red yeast rice could be WORSE than taking a statin drug.

Red yeast rice contains a compound called monacolin K that is CHEMICALLY IDENTICAL to the cholesterol-lowering drug lovastatin.

And that means it could carry all the same risks… like rhabdomyolysis (a potentially fatal condition in which muscle cells literally rip apart), muscle pain, back pain, memory loss, mental confusion, diabetes, cataracts… the list goes on.

But that’s just part of the problem.

What makes red yeast rice even MORE dangerous than statins is that you NEVER KNOW how much of this compound you’re actually getting.

A recent study in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology found that the amount of monacolin K in a daily serving can vary from .09 to 10.94 milligrams.

That’s more than a 120-fold difference!

The labels will tell you how many milligrams of red yeast rice you’re taking, but there’s no indication of the amount of the ACTIVE DRUG ingredient on the label.

And that means there’s absolutely NO WAY to know how much monacolin K you’re actually consuming.

If your supplement happens to be on the lower end of that spectrum, you’re essentially dumping money down the drain.

But if it’s on the upper, end you’re dramatically increasing your risk of any number of side effects – especially if you’re taking it in ADDITION to a statin drug.

Like I said, I’m a supplements guy – and I believe taking the right supplements can be life-saving.

And you can be sure that any supplement that appears in this e-letter or my Natural Health Response newsletter has the “Dr. G. Seal of Approval.”

But red yeast rice definitely does not.

It’s not some healthy vitamin or mineral. It’s essentially a drug – and not a very safe one at that.

To a brighter day,

Dr. Richard Gerhauser, M.D.