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weepingwillow
B.V. Info Seeker
Joined: Apr 04, 2008
Posts: 635
Location: U.S.A., Tennessee
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 Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 11:17 am Post subject: UK NEWSTHE MIRACLE INGREDIENT IN CHINESE FOOD |
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http://www.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/47670
UK NEWSTHE MIRACLE INGREDIENT IN CHINESE FOOD
Peking Duck: Miracle cure?
Tuesday June 10,2008
By Victoria Fletcher A MIRACLE cure for cancer and heart disease has been discovered in Chinese food, scientists revealed last night.
An extract of red yeast rice, which gives Peking duck its distinctive colour, may cut cancer deaths by two-thirds and heart disease by a third.
The compound could now be developed into a new treatment, saving millions of lives.
One scientist involved in the study on thousands of patients described the results yesterday as “profound”.
The health benefits from the extract, which has been used in Chinese medicine for a thousand years, even out-performed cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins.
When given to heart disease patients, researchers found that it reduced their chances of a repeat heart attack by 45 per cent.
It is important to recognise we do not know exactly how Chinese red yeast rice works
Dr David Capuzzi
It also cut the need to undergo bypass surgery or artery treatment by a third. Although the study focused mainly on 5,000 patients suffering from heart disease in China, the numbers of cancer deaths were also recorded.
Each day patients took either two 300 milligram capsules of a partially purified extract of a red yeast rice preparation xuezhikang (XZK) or a placebo. Their progress was compared for five years.
Dr David Capuzzi, who co-led the study, said: “If further testing and study prove true, my hope is that XZK becomes an important therapeutic agent to treat cardiovascular disorders and in the prevention of disease.
“It is important to recognise we do not know exactly how Chinese red yeast rice works.
“Still the results were so profound, even out-performing statins prescribed in numerous western populations, that further study should certainly be investigated.”
Doctors currently prescribe statins for heart disease, Britain’s biggest killer, to prevent a build-up of fatty deposits in the arteries.
Red yeast rice has been used in China for thousands of years as a preservative and as a herbal medicine for 1,000 years.
It is the colouring ingredient used widely in Chinese food and is found in pickled tofu, Peking duck and some types of red-coloured Japanese sake. The rice is fermented by adding a red yeast, monascus purpureus, with alcohol before removing the rice gluten.
Used medicinally, it has been known to improve blood circulation and aid digestion.
The rice is popular in the Far East where locals are thought to eat between 14 to 55 grams of it a day.
However, this is still 10 times lower than that given in pill-form to patients in the trial.
Dr Capuzzi, director of the cardiovascular disease prevention program at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, led the study with Dr Zonliang Lu, from the Chinese Academy of Medical Science, in Beijing.
Their findings were reported yesterday in the American Journal of Cardiology.
However, Dr Capuzzi said the capsules used in the study were carefully prepared for the research and are not the same as red yeast rice supplements available in health food stores.
Last night doctors warned people against taking large amounts of the rice over fears that too much can cause liver damage.
Anyone with heart problems are advised not to take the product without talking to their doctor first. |
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