Research shows red rice bran oil lowers cholesterol, triglycerides and glucose, while providing tocotrienols, anthocyanins and oryzanol, to increase antioxidant activity, anti-inflammatory activity and fight cancer.
Red rice bran - what doesn’t it do?
Yes, Red rice bran a variety of rice, and it is red because of the red husk. The red husk contains anthocyanin (think aubergines, blueberries, red cabbage, red cherries and pomegranate). It’s suddenly become a ‘go to’ product for people wanting to lower their cholesterol naturally, especially if they have cancer.
Anthocyanins are flavonoid antioxidants linked to various health benefits, including reducing inflammation and protecting against conditions like cancer, Alzheimer's disease, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes. Regular consumption of anthocyanin-rich foods may also benefit memory and overall brain health. One their own, anthocyanins have been shown to lower blood pressure, triglycerides and LDL cholesterol.
Ironically, in most Southeast Asia rice-growing countries, the husk is removed straight away and used as animal feed!
Red Yeast Rice and Rice Bran oil
But there’s more. In a study with rats fed a high cholesterol diet, the rats fed with a combination of two ingredients - Red Yeast Rice and Rice Bran Oil - showed significantly lower levels of serum cholesterol, triglycerides, and MDA (a marker of oxidative stress) when compared to controls (1).
Red yeast rice
This is a 2,000 year-old Chinese staple used in a wide variety of foods and drinks from Peking Duck to Japanese Sake. It is produced by cultivating the mould Monascus purpureus on rice for 3–6 days at room temperature in a process of fermentation. The rice grains turn bright red at the core and reddish purple on the outside. The rice can then be used as dried grain, or powdered, or cooked and pasteurised to be sold as a wet paste.
Red yeast rice also contains a compound called monacolin K, chemically identical to the lipophilic statin, Lovastatin. Lipophilic statins have research as anti-cancer agents.
Red yeast rice also contains high levels of natural Vitamin E including the anticancer tocotrienols which are banned from vitamin E pills in the high streets of Europe. As we have told you before at CANCERactive, tocotrienols are anti-inflammatory, known to clean up cellular pollution and suppress the growth of various cancer cells (2).
Rice Bran Oil
This contains high levels of unsaturated fat and plant sterols. In the research study, other oils such as the high ‘saturated fat’ sunflower or coconut oils produced far less benefit.
Rice Bran oil also contains Gamma-oryzanol (γ-Oryzanol). This improves gut microbiome health, has strong antioxidant effects, improves muscle mass (they give it to race horses!) and prompts energy recovery (3). In particular, γ-Oryzanol is proven to reduce inflammation in the body.
Fermented rice bran oil also lowers blood glucose levels, reducing type-2 Diabetes risk and reducing cellular oxidative stress (4).
Go to: 12 foods that fight cancer
References
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Effect of Red Yeast Rice and Coconut, Rice Bran or Sunflower Oil Combination in Rats on Hypercholesterolemic Diet; https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4866091/
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Anticancer properties of tocotrienols: A review of cellular mechanisms and molecular targets; Marina Montagnani Marelli et al; J Cell Physiol 2019, Feb;234(2):1147-1164.
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γ-Oryzanol suppresses COX-2 expression by inhibiting reactive oxygen species-mediated Erk1/2 and Egr-1 signaling in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages; Soon Young Shin et al; Biochem Biophys Res Commun; 2017 Sep 16;491(2):486-492.
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Ameliorating effects of fermented rice bran extract on oxidative stress induced by high glucose and hydrogen peroxide in 3T3-L1 adipocytes; Dongyeop Kim, Gi Dong Han; Plant Foods Hum Nutr, 2011 Sep;66(3):285-90.