Some red yeast rice supplements sold in U.S. stores don’t have any of the active ingredient (monacolin K) that’s supposed to help lower cholesterol, while others have wildly different amounts—from almost nothing to a lot—so you never know what you’re really getting.

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Pro

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Against

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

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Community contributions welcome

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Variability in strength of red yeast rice supplements purchased from mainstream retailers

Cross-Sectional Study

2017 Sep

Scientists tested 28 red yeast rice supplements bought in U.S. stores and found that two had no active ingredient at all, while the others had wildly different amounts — just like the claim said. So the study backs up the claim completely.

Contradicting (0)

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Community contributions welcome

No contradicting evidence found

Gold Standard Evidence Needed

According to GRADE and EBM methodology, here is what ideal scientific evidence would look like to definitively prove or disprove this specific claim, ordered from strongest to weakest evidence.

Source Study

Variability in strength of red yeast rice supplements purchased from mainstream retailers

Score: 21

DOI: 10.1177/2047487317715714

Similar Assertions

Even though the FDA says these supplements should be the same every time, the red yeast rice pills you buy at stores like Walmart or CVS can have wildly different amounts of the active ingredient—so sometimes they might work, sometimes they might not.

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