This overseas "Internet celebrity miracle drug" has caused death! Is the health food containing red yeast rice safe?

Recently, many people in Japan were hospitalized or even died due to kidney disease after taking health food containing red yeast rice produced by a well-known Japanese pharmaceutical company. As of the evening of March 28, 5 people have died, 114 have been hospitalized, and about 680 others have been admitted to the hospital for treatment or are preparing to be treated. This incident has attracted widespread attention in Japan and abroad, and once again sounded the alarm for the safety of health food.

What is red yeast rice? Can it be used to regulate cholesterol? Why can health foods cause such serious harm?

What is red yeast rice?

Red yeast rice is a kind of rice yeast fermented by Monascus purpureus. It originated in my country and has a history of more than 2,000 years. It was popular among the people as early as the Han Dynasty. As a microbial fermentation product, red yeast rice can be used as both medicine and food. It can not only be used as a natural non-toxic food coloring, but also as an antibacterial and antiseptic for various foods such as meat, fish, and beans. Red yeast rice is also rich in wine aroma and is a good raw material for making wine and vinegar.

The earliest record of the medicinal use of red yeast rice can be found in the Daily Materia Medica written by Wu Rui in the Yuan Dynasty. The book states that "red yeast rice is used to make wine, which can break blood and promote the efficacy of medicine, kill mountain mist and miasma, and treat injuries caused by beatings." Red yeast rice is sweet in taste and warm in nature. It enters the liver, spleen, and large intestine meridians, and has the effects of promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis, strengthening the spleen and digesting food, warming the middle and stopping dysentery. It is often used for food stagnation, abdominal distension, red and white dysentery, postpartum lochia, and injuries caused by falls. In the 1970s, it was found to have a good effect on regulating blood lipids, and is known as the "ancestor of statin lipid-lowering drugs."

Can red yeast rice be used to regulate lipids?

In the 1970s, Japanese scientists discovered and isolated a chemical component from red yeast rice fermentation liquid, monacolin K, which can significantly inhibit cholesterol synthesis in the body. After in-depth research, the first generation of statin lipid-regulating drugs, lovastatin, was born.

The lipid-regulating effect of drugs containing red yeast rice is recognized. In the "Guidelines for Blood Lipid Management in China (2023)" released in May 2023, Xuezhikang, whose main ingredient is red yeast rice, is classified as a statin and is used as a cholesterol-regulating drug to treat hyperlipidemia; Zhibitai, a compound preparation of red yeast rice and the traditional Chinese medicines hawthorn, oriental water chestnut, and white atractylodes, is also on the list of lipid-regulating drugs in the guidelines. Drugs containing red yeast rice such as Xuezhikang (capsules/tablets), Zhibitai (capsules), and Zhibituo (capsules/tablets) are all included in the 2023 version of the National Medical Insurance Catalog and can be used to regulate cholesterol and treat hyperlipidemia.

However, unlike medicines containing red yeast rice, health foods containing red yeast rice can only play an auxiliary role in lipid regulation and cannot be used for lipid regulation treatment. This is because health foods and medicines are essentially different. Medicines refer to substances used to prevent, treat, and diagnose human diseases, purposefully regulate human physiological functions, and have prescribed indications, usage, and dosage. Health foods are just a type of food used to regulate body functions and are not intended to treat diseases.

Therefore, medicines containing red yeast rice can be used for lipid-lowering treatment, but health foods containing red yeast rice cannot replace medicines. If patients with dyslipidemia need to use medicines containing red yeast rice for lipid-lowering treatment, it is recommended that they go to regular medical institutions and use them under the guidance of doctors or pharmacists. They should not rely solely on taking health foods containing red yeast rice, as this will not achieve the desired therapeutic effect.

Why are health foods containing red yeast rice deadly?

The exact cause of the aforementioned cases of illness and death caused by health foods containing red yeast rice has not yet been disclosed and needs further investigation. According to current literature reports, the adverse reactions of red yeast rice are relatively rare. However, as a natural statin, it may also produce the same adverse reactions as other statins, mainly including abnormal liver function, statin-related muscle complications, new-onset diabetes, etc.

At the same time, there is a big gap between health foods and drugs in terms of production process, market approval, and regulatory measures. Drugs are subject to strict drug regulatory laws and regulations and must pass a large number of clinical trials before they can be marketed. There are strict standards and requirements for their production environment, sterility standards, raw material quality, and even transportation and storage. Health foods are subject to relatively loose supervision and do not require clinical verification. The production process, transportation, and storage conditions of the products are lower than those of drugs. If there are loopholes in any link of health food production, storage, transportation, and storage, it may lead to product quality and safety risks.

In addition, although health foods generally do not cause harm to the human body if taken according to the prescribed usage and dosage, they can still pose safety risks if used improperly.

Therefore, we cannot assume that health food is absolutely safe just because it is a type of food, and consumers should not trust it blindly.

Health foods are not medicines and cannot replace medicines in treating diseases.