Most of you might be familiar with various red rice variants. And perhaps you might have heard about red yeast rice too. But unlike the regular rice variants this variant offers immense health benefits and also has some side effects too. Read through the red yeast rice review to know more about this variant of rice.

Overview
Red yeast rice, popularly known as red kojic rice, red fermented rice, anka, or ang-kak, it is a type of bright and red-purple hued rice which is popular for its immense health benefits. Actually the rice gains its red –purple hue from cultivated mold Monascus purpureus.

But recently it has been noticed that due to low cost of synthetic dyes, many of the manufacturers of red yeast rice have tried to dye their rice with a specific chemic dye called Sudan Red G.

The Red yeast rice is used in a wide variety of culinary preparations like red rice vinegar, pickled tofu, Peking duck, and various kinds of Chinese delicacies and pastries. This rice is also used as a food coloring in Peking duck dishes.

Benefits of Red Yeast Rice
 

• Cholesterol: Actually the red yeast rice is today marketed as the strong anti-cholesterol agent. It is believed that the monacolins found in the red yeast rice work extra to curb the cholesterol synthesis. According to a study, the subjects who were administered on red yeast rice for specific period of time actually had remarkable 27% drop in their LDL cholesterol levels. This signifies that the red yeast rice has very striking effect on cholesterol levels.

• Heart Disease: The studies confirm that red yeast rice also aids in lowering the instances of the heart disease. Lowered levels of cholesterol also improved the heart health.

• Other Benefits: The use of this rice in Chinese cuisine can be traced back to 800 AD during the reign of Tang Dynasty. The doctors in the court of emperor certified that the rice is best for invigorating the senses and body, revitalizing the blood and improving the digestion power. More description about importance of red yeast rice can be found in traditional Chinese Pharmacopoeia, Ben Cao Gang Mu-Dan Shi Bu Yi, which was created during the times of Ming Dynasty.

Criticisms
Many of the red yeast rice manufacturers market their products by saying that the rice is enriched with monacolin and other beneficial compounds. But during some rigorous clinical tests it was proved that these supplements rarely had any beneficial compounds. And most of them were loaded with toxins like citrinin. Also, some red yeast rice products pack only monacolin K, rather than the many monacolin compounds. The chemical used to color the red yeast dye is known to induce liver and kidney damage too.

It was also noticed that many of the manufacturers never gave out the exact details of monacolins on their product labels, and only focused on marketing their product through hype.

Conclusions
It is recommended that a person should read the label thoroughly before purchasing the red yeast rice. If there is no information given on the label then they should do some research on internet to find the right way out. 

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