Big Pharma wants you to think there’s no way off the statin train… but I beg to differ.

Most people can control cholesterol levels through lifestyle changes, but if you’ve had no luck, you still don’t need to turn to those drugs. One new study shows how a perfectly natural treatment used for centuries beat a common statin.

It’s called red yeast rice. It was actually banned once because it contains a natural version of a common statin (no wonder it works so well). But it’s also more effective, safer and comes with a lower risk of side effects than Big Pharma’s synthetic alternatives.

Researchers looked at 43 adults who had tried statins, but stopped taking them because of that infamous muscle pain — one of the main side effects of these drugs. Some were given 2400mg of red yeast rice a day for 12 weeks, while the patients who drew the short straw got the drug pravastatin for the same period.

Those who took red yeast rice saw a 30 percent drop in LDL cholesterol levels (that’s the bad stuff), while those on the drug saw a 27 percent drop, according to the study published in the American Journal of Cardiology.

But the good news doesn’t stop there: 9 percent of those on meds had to stop due to those notorious muscle problems… versus just 5 percent in the red yeast rice group.

No wonder Big Pharma’s been trying to replicate this stuff for years!

Too bad they can’t sell the real thing. Well, they can — but they’re not interested. That’s because you can’t patent a natural substance — and if you can’t patent it, you can’t make a big profit off it.

But they have pulled a few tricks to try to keep this natural competitor out of your store… including that ban I mentioned earlier.

Get this — Big Pharma’s FDA pals considered red yeast rice “contaminated” with a drug since it contains a natural version of a statin. That’s a little like saying tomatoes have been contaminated with red.

Just remember: the real key to cholesterol control isn’t in a pill, no matter what Big Pharma tells you. It’s in your lifestyle. If you commit to a better diet and steady exercise, you’ll see the kind of changes that’ll keep you off the drug train for good.